Status: Cancelled
Aired: 2013-15, 3 Seasons Totaling 38 Episodes
Network: Syfy
Starring: Grant Bowler, Julie Benz, Stephanie Leonidas, Tony Curran, Jaime Murray, Graham Greene, Mia Kirshner, Jesse Rath
Series Website: www.syfy.com/defiance
Description: In the year 2046, it’s a new Earth – with new rules. Over thirty years after various alien races arrived on Earth, the landscape is completely altered, terraformed nearly beyond recognition. To the town of Defiance, on what used to be St. Louis, comes the mysterious Nolan (Grant Bowler) and his charge, Irisa (Stephanie Leonidas). As they settle into town – overseen by the mayor, Amanda Rosewater (Julie Benz) and filled with residents like the powerful Rafe McCawley (Graham Greene), enterprising lounge owner Kenya (Mia Kirshner) and the ambitious, alien Tarrs (Tony Curran and Jaime Murray) – events begin to unfold that threaten the fragile peace this border town has fought for. Syfy.com
Why Was It Cancelled? This show’s ratings dropped notably over the past two seasons suggesting that the audience was bailing on it. In its first season, it averaged a 0.8 rating based on the overnights for the 18-49 demographic and then it dropped to a 0.5 average during its second season and a 0.3 score this past Summer. Syfy’s Dark Matter and Killjoys, which aired in a three hour block with Defiance on Fridays this past Summer, pulled lower ratings and got renewed, but they are part of a partnership with the Canadian Space Channel. As more and more scripted shows are appearing across the many cable and broadcast channels and the audience is getting further fractured, these partnerships are becoming more important to the survival of television shows. Since Defiance was likely an expensive entry and did not have much in the way of international partnerships that I am aware of, it fell to a dwindling audience and the economics of the current market.
Season to Date Ratings Results:
| Week | Airings | Live+SD Rtg | StD Avg | Tot Vwrs (MM) | Live+7 Rtg | Cancel Alert |
| 6/12/15 | 1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 0.6 | Moderate |
| 6/19/15 | 2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 0.5 | Moderate |
| 6/26/15 | 3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 0.6 | Medium |
| 7/3/15 | 4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 1.3 | n/a | Medium |
| 7/10/15 | 5 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 0.6 | Medium |
| 7/17/15 | 6 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 1.1 | n/a | Medium |
| 7/24/15 | 7 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.2 | n/a | Moderate |
| 7/31/15 | 8 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 0.5 | Moderate |
| 8/7/15 | 9 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 0.6 | Moderate |
| 8/14/15 | 10 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 0.6 | Moderate |
| 8/21/15 | 11 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 0.5 | Medium |
| 8/28/15 | 12 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 0.5 | Medium |
For the latest updates on the current and upcoming shows, follow Cancellation Watch and the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site
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And I know this is changing the subject, but what about Almost Human? Is that cancelled too?
Almost Human was cancelled back in 2015 due to poor decisions and scheduling on the part of the network: http://www.cancelledscifi.com/sci-fi-tv-shows/almost-human/
if it were on a different time slot, it would make a lot of difference. fri. nite is when a big demographic group is not sitting at home to watch tv. i am talking about the younger generation!
allen
I agree! Friday was not a good time. The hit shows always seem to be Thursday.
Historically, Thursdays have not been good nights for Syfy’s scripted shows and typically they have performed better on Fridays.
THIS SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!! I had no idea either Defiance or Dominion were cancelled. Given the HORRIBLE CRAP that proliferates all across television, it sucks that interesting, fun and different shows aren’t watched and get consistently axed. Meanwhile Haven, which started out well, but got progressively sillier, more disjointed and simply absurd, hung around way too long. And Lost Girl? It should have been canned after Season 4 as the most recent season was dreadful.
We LOVE Defiance!! This comes as a real shock that we will NJ it have any more new ones to see!! I would think you could at the very least come back with a 2 hour movie or maybe a 3 to 5 episode mini to bring Nolan back and wrap up some things that were left hanging…. for a serious fan this would help ease the loss of such a great show wonderfully written and acted so admirably. Please consider doing a movie or a mini to bring the show to a close with Nolan home and let us all have closure! Thank you….
I love this show, even now I still watch it, having each episode in HD quality never gets old. Sitting around with friends, not even a word spoken, just watching the whole story unfold. It was beautifully written and one of the only shows I have ever enjoyed. Wish they would at least make a fourth season just to wrap everything up or at least make a movie to sum everything up in the end. To many good shows have been abandoned with the ending never being certain, just like “Space above and beyond” Back in 1996. Why must Defiance, one of the best Sci-Fi shows of its time be canceled?
I love Defiance and pray it gets another season. Too many characters and areas to take them for it to just end!
Love It!
Im hoping they will renew Defiance. There is so much more to be told in this story. Its beautifully done and simply a stunning story in every way.
I love the show and after the season finale tonight it looks as if the producers have set it up to end. They poured out the money on CGI and sets in tonight episode and closed nearly every character arc.
With such a large ensemble cast through most of the show, they rushed a lot of story arcs and it is evident they tried to keep arcs brief over just a few episodes for most things.
The show would have flourished if they had been given a multi-season commitment up front with time allowed to slowly develop the characters and story over time. It’s a shame they let this one slip by.
As hokey as it was, Nolan’s end made me smile. The actors were fantastc and the story of the show had so much promise as a long term venture. I’m not sure what will happen to my sanity with no Datak and Stahma in my house at the end of each week.
I enjoy Defiance so much that I will turn down a date on a Friday night in order to stay home and see the next installment. Not since the creation of Vulcans on Star Trek have I found an alien culture so compelling as the Castathens. I hope that somehow Datak escapes the shaming rack; perhaps Stauhma will convince her alien lover to intervene. Then her life may be complicated by …..shhh…another child?
I enjoy this show, it is different than the other syfy shows by having an alien daughter and human father team on earth in a Post-apocalyptic environment doing the best they can to survive. It’s good that they aren’t perfect & that they have issues they have to work out as well as the other regular characters. Just when things start to settle down, something else happens, just like any soap opera, but with the added aspect of alien characters… I Like IT!