Cancellation Watch: Status updates for the sci fi and fantasy shows on the broadcast networks, cable channels, and streaming services as well as breaking news on the currently airing, returning, and upcoming genre entries.
Status Updates
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Prime Video, Status: Renewal Possible): This fantasy series slipped to Number 2 in the Nielsen Streaming Rankings for the second week of its second season, but it still went over one billion minutes of viewing. Word is that a renewal announcement should be coming soon, and work has already begun on Season 3. This one is certainly expensive to produce, but Amazon has a 50-hour plan for the series and it looks like the streamer is sticking with that for now.
Velma (Prime Video, Status: On the Bubble): It appears that this animated Scooby Doo spin-off will be ending after two seasons. It just released its Halloween special this past week (with absolutely no notice), but that will apparently act as its finale. Background artist Davey Cummings announced on Instagram that the show will not continue to a third season, and that would not be a surprise seeing as this one has been mostly panned so far. That is not an official announcement, though, so if there are any fans out there, they should certainly make some noise on the social networks if they want the show to stick around.
KAOS (Netflix, Status: Cancelled): This show improved to Number 3 for its second week in the Nielsen Streaming Rankings, pulling in an estimated 825 million minutes of viewing. But that is apparently not good enough for Netflix as news broke yesterday that the show has been cancelled after one season. Whether it will be shopped around remains to be seen.
Grotesquerie (FX, Status: Renewal Possible): The early viewership numbers that I have seen for this show are not spectacular, but also not bad for a basic cable entry. If it performs well in digital viewing on Hulu, perhaps this one will stick around for a second season.
The Swarm (CW, Status: Ended): It has now been over a year-and-a-half since this eco-thriller had its premiere in Europe and a year since it bowed on The CW in the States and there has been no word on a second season. It pulled in high viewership in its home country of Germany and actually did okay on The CW as well. But with this much time having passed, it looks like a second season will not be happening and I will be counting it as ended for now.
You can see the status of all the shows from the current season at our Cancellation Watch Page.
Cancellation/Renewal Score:
With the announcement yesterday for KAOS, the score for the 2024-25 season currently stands at seven cancelled and ending sci fi and fantasy entries (35% of shows tracked) vs. ten renewed (50%). Below are this season’s numbers, and you can see the list of shows and keep up with the score for the current and prior seasons throughout the week at our Cancellation Watch Page.
| Show Count | 20 | ||
| Cancelled | 4 | 20.0% | |
| Ending | 3 | 15.0% | 35.0% |
| Renewed | 10 | 50.0% | |
| On the Bubble | 0 | 0.0% | |
| Renewal Possible | 3 | 15.0% | |
| Mini-Series | 2 |
Be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for breaking news and updates. And for the latest news and discussions on sci fi and fantasy television, follow r/SciFiTV
Follow our Sci Fi TV Schedule for all the currently airing and upcoming sci fi and fantasy television shows, and you can see the premieres for all the upcoming genre entries at this link.
