Will the Fifth Season be the Last for Agents of SHIELD?

We have not heard the fate for Agents of SHIELD yet, but its showrunners Jed Whedon and Maurisa Tancharoen are approaching this year’s season finale as if it could be the show’s final episode.  Talking to TVLine.com, Whedon said of the season finale “we’re ready for if this is the end. We’re definitely going to make it rewarding either way.”  He went on to say:

We can certainly pivot and there are certain things that we’re putting in that at the last minute could be adjusted. But we know at the end we’re not moving off that mark. We’re going to do what we were planning to do, and I think that it’ll be thrilling either way.

The numbers for Agents of SHIELD have not been great in its Friday night timeslot, but it has seen significant delayed viewing gains, typically placing in the Top 25 shows on the broadcast networks based on Live+7 viewing. Of course, Once Upon A Time was doing the same thing in Fall and ABC decided to go ahead and end that show this season. Whether they do the same with AoS remains up in the air at this point. It is worth noting that last year the Once Upon A Time writers wrapped up many of the shows story arcs with the sixth season finale and it still came back for a seventh year. Ultimately, I believe the fate of Agents of SHIELD will depend upon how strong the network feels about its new development and how much Disney wants to keep a Marvel Universe tie-in on the network (no new MU shows are currently in the works at ABC). We should hear final word on the show’s fate in May before the Upfronts when the networks present their 2018-19 schedules. Stay tuned to this site and the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for updates and breaking News.

Ghosted is a Ghost on the Schedule

FOX’s supernatural comedy Ghosted has not aired a new episode since January 7th and it will remain a ghost for a while longer. The network plans to put Brooklyn Nine-Nine in the Sunday 8:30 PM EST timeslot starting on March 18th. The schedule had shown a new episode of Ghosted for March 11th, but apparently that is not going to happen now as the network is planning a return later in the season (no timeslot or date has been given). Ghosted had decent ratings in Fall, but those were largely driven by a strong lead-in from NFL Football. There have been some behind-the-scenes rumblings from this one and the showrunner was changed for the additional six-episode order it received in Fall. This scheduling move will do nothing to help the show and suggests that FOX may have lost faith in it. If fans want to keep this one from going to the grave, they should definitely stage a Call to Action to help bring attention to it and perhaps get it a second season renewal.

Ratings Results of Interest: Lucifer and Gotham Return Weak

Most shows were back from the break they were on during the Olympics, but it looks like the typical Spring lull is already starting to kick in as the numbers for many shows are on the lower side. On Monday, Lucifer posted a 0.8 rating based on same day viewing for the 18-49 demographic with 3.2 million total after two weeks off. Those are not strong numbers for that show and it is not assured of a fourth season at this point. Over on The CW, iZombie returned for its fourth season with a 0.3 rating and just under one million total viewers. That is about the same levels it was seeing last season, and I expected it to stick around at least one more year. The new TBS animated comedy Final Space debuted on Monday with a 0.26 rating and 483K total viewers. Those are decent numbers for a cable series these days and that one could make it to a second season if it doesn’t drop off too much.

On Tuesday, Kevin (Probably) Saves the World improved some to a 0.6 rating with 2.1 million total viewers, though that will almost certainly be too little too late. On Wednesday, The X-Files slipped to a 0.8 rating with 3.2 million total viewers. It has been assumed that this is the show’s last season, and FOX probably does not want it back at these levels anyway. On Thursday, Gotham returned from its Winter break and posted only a 0.8 rating with 2.6 million total viewers. As with Lucifer (also a WB production), this show’s fate is uncertain at this point. Over on Freeform, Beyond slipped to a 0.09 rating with 230K total viewers and that show’s fate remains in doubt.

Be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for the latest ratings results as well as breaking news throughout the week.  Ratings source: ShowBuzzDaily.