HBO’s Westworld returned for its seconds season on Sunday with numbers that were slightly down from where it ended its first year but that were still good enough to start it in the Top 10 in our Scorecard at the Number 9 slot. Of course, at 10+ million dollars per episode, I’m thinking that the premium cable service has its own scorecard for gauging the success of this show that relates more to how many new subscriptions it is bringing. HBO does not share those numbers, so we will have to go with our benchmark for now. Entering at the Number 17 slot is The CW’s The Originals which puts it above several other shows currently airing on that network. Don’t expect the network execs to change their minds about this being the show’s last season, but if the show continues to outperform its fourth season numbers (when it aired on Fridays last year), that may encourage the network to go forward with the proposed spin-off that would focus on the Hope Mikaelson character. Entering the Scorecard at about the midway point is AMC’s Into the Badlands which starts at the Number 24 slot. That show’s numbers are down from its second season and it is likely expensive to produce. If it slides further down in the rankings, it will be getting pushed to Bubble status.
Taking a big drop this week (from Number 37 to Number 47) is Legion which saw its ratings slip notably with last Tuesday’s episode. If that one does not rebound this week, it will be getting moved to Bubble status. Most of the rest of the slippage for the week was incidental due to three new shows entering the Scorecard. You can see the full rankings below.
The scorecard ranks all of the sci fi and fantasy shows’ ratings performance vs. their network’s ratings benchmark (see definition below). Shows at or above their benchmark should be okay, whereas those slipping notably below are getting into iffy territory.
Scorecard rankings based on the ratings through April 22nd (metric definitions below):
| Rank (PW) | Series | Net | Std Avg | Net Bench | % Var | Live+7 Avg Rtg | Status |
| 1 (1) | The Walking Dead (O) | AMC | 3.39 | 0.50 | 578.0% | 5.22 | Renewed |
| 2 (2) | Fear the Walking Dead (O) | AMC | 1.36 | 0.50 | 172.0% | n/a | Renewal Possible |
| 3 (3) | American Horror Story (O) | FX | 1.10 | 0.50 | 120.7% | 2.47 | Renewed |
| 4 (4) | The Flash (O) | CW | 0.73 | 0.39 | 85.9% | 1.61 | Renewed |
| 5 (5) | Krypton | Syfy | 0.30 | 0.17 | 74.1% | 0.77 | Renewal Possible |
| 6 (7) | Ghosted (O) | FOX | 1.60 | 1.00 | 60.1% | n/a | On the Bubble |
| 7 (6) | Outlander | Starz | 0.32 | 0.20 | 59.6% | 0.60 | Renewed |
| 8 (8) | The Magicians (O) | Syfy | 0.26 | 0.17 | 54.3% | 0.57 | Renewal Likely |
| 9 (n/a) | Westworld | HBO | 0.89 | 0.60 | 48.3% | n/a | Renewal Possible |
| 10 (11) | Black Lightning (O) | CW | 0.56 | 0.39 | 42.3% | 0.97 | Renewed |
| 11 (9) | Supergirl (O) | CW | 0.56 | 0.39 | 42.0% | 1.01 | Renewed |
| 11 (10) | Supernatural (O) | CW | 0.56 | 0.39 | 42.0% | 0.99 | Renewed |
| 13 (12) | Siren | Freeform | 0.26 | 0.20 | 30.0% | 0.55 | Renewal Possible |
| 14 (13) | Happy (O) | Syfy | 0.21 | 0.17 | 24.3% | 0.55 | Renewed |
| 15 (15) | Riverdale (O) | CW | 0.44 | 0.39 | 12.7% | 1.01 | Renewed |
| 16 (14) | The Expanse | Syfy | 0.18 | 0.17 | 5.9% | n/a | Renewal Possible |
| 17 (16) | Legends of Tomorrow (O) | CW | 0.41 | 0.39 | 4.2% | 0.94 | Renewed |
| 18 (n/a) | The Originals (O) | CW | 0.40 | 0.39 | 1.4% | n/a | Final Season |
| 19 (18) | Z Nation | Syfy | 0.17 | 0.17 | 0.5% | 0.37 | Renewed |
| 20 (19) | The Orville (O) | FOX | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.1% | 2.15 | Renewed |
| 21 (17) | Arrow (O) | CW | 0.39 | 0.39 | -1.1% | 0.93 | Renewed |
| 22 (20) | The X-Files (O) | FOX | 0.95 | 1.00 | -4.9% | n/a | Final Season |
| 23 (21) | The Good Place (O) | NBC | 1.04 | 1.15 | -9.3% | 1.95 | Renewed |
| 24 (n/a) | Into the Badlands (O) | AMC | 0.45 | 0.50 | -10.0% | n/a | Renewal Possible |
| 25 (23) | The Gifted (O) | FOX | 0.85 | 1.00 | -14.9% | 2.08 | Renewed |
| 26 (22) | Final Space (O) | TBS | 0.24 | 0.30 | -19.5% | n/a | Renewal Possible |
| 27 (25) | Lucifer | FOX | 0.79 | 1.00 | -20.9% | 1.37 | Renewal Possible |
| 28 (24) | Shadowhunters (O) | Freeform | 0.16 | 0.20 | -21.0% | 0.40 | Renewal Possible |
| 29 (27) | MacGyver (O) (F) | CBS | 0.87 | 1.10 | -21.2% | n/a | Renewed |
| 30 (28) | Stan Against Evil | IFC | 0.06 | 0.08 | -21.9% | n/a | Renewed |
| 31 (26) | The Last Man on Earth (O) | FOX | 0.78 | 1.00 | -22.4% | n/a | On the Bubble |
| 32 (29) | Van Helsing | Syfy | 0.13 | 0.17 | -25.8% | 0.30 | Renewed |
| 33 (30) | The Librarians | TNT | 0.29 | 0.40 | -27.5% | 0.60 | Cancelled |
| 34 (31) | Mr Robot (O) | USA | 0.22 | 0.30 | -28.0% | 0.44 | Renewed |
| 35 (33) | Gotham | FOX | 0.70 | 1.00 | -29.9% | 1.41 | Renewal Possible |
| 36 (32) | The Crossing (O) | ABC | 0.80 | 1.17 | -31.7% | 1.60 | On the Bubble |
| 37 (34) | iZombie (O) | CW | 0.24 | 0.39 | -38.4% | 0.50 | Renewal Possible |
| 38 (35) | Timeless (O) | NBC | 0.62 | 1.15 | -46.2% | 1.23 | On the Bubble |
| 39 (36) | Superstition | Syfy | 0.09 | 0.17 | -48.5% | n/a | Cancellation Likely |
| 40 (38) | Channel Zero (O) | Syfy | 0.09 | 0.17 | -49.0% | n/a | Renewed |
| 41 (39) | Ghost Wars | Syfy | 0.09 | 0.17 | -49.8% | n/a | Cancelled |
| 42 (40) | The Inhumans (O) (F) | ABC | 0.59 | 1.17 | -50.0% | 1.13 | Cancellation Likely |
| 42 (41) | Kevin Probably Saves the World (O) | ABC | 0.59 | 1.17 | -50.0% | 0.97 | Cancellation Likely |
| 44 (42) | Counterpart | Starz | 0.09 | 0.20 | -53.0% | n/a | Renewed |
| 45 (43) | Agents of SHIELD (O) (F) | ABC | 0.55 | 1.17 | -53.4% | 1.23 | Renewal Possible |
| 46 (44) | The Shannara Chronicles (O) | Spike | 0.09 | 0.20 | -54.3% | 0.30 | Cancelled |
| 47 (37) | Legion (O) | FX | 0.22 | 0.50 | -55.3% | 0.70 | Renewal Possible |
| 48 (45) | Beyond | Freeform | 0.09 | 0.20 | -56.7% | n/a | Cancelled |
| 49 (46) | The Exorcist (O) (F) | FOX | 0.42 | 1.00 | -58.0% | 0.60 | Cancellation Likely |
| 50 (48) | Once Upon A Time (O) (F) | ABC | 0.45 | 1.17 | -61.6% | 1.02 | Cancelled |
| 51 (47) | Ash vs Evil Dead | Starz | 0.08 | 0.20 | -61.9% | n/a | Cancelled |
| 52 (49) | Dirk Gentlys Holistic Detective Agency | BBCA | 0.07 | 0.30 | -76.7% | n/a | Cancelled |
Metric Definitions:
Rank (PW): Current rank based on the variance of a show’s season to date ratings average vs. its network’s benchmark (see definition below). The number in parenthesis is the prior week’s rank. Note that shows on the streaming services are not included because of insufficient viewership data and foreign imports like Doctor Who will not be included because they rely more heavily on their viewership in their home countries.
Series: (O) indicates the show is owned or co-owned by the network and/or a sister studio. (F) indicates the show airs on Friday when ratings expectations are lower on the broadcast networks.
StD Avg: The show’s season to date ratings average based on the overnights for the 18-49 demographic.
Net Bench: (Network Benchmark) For the broadcast networks, this is the net’s season to date average rating based on the overnights for the 18-49 demographic for non-sports, non-special, non-repeat broadcasts. For the cable channels, this is the lowest level at which a show is typically renewed by that network if there are enough genre entries on that channel to provide a decent sample. But note that with cable entries intangibles such as international and/or streaming partnerships can play an important factor in a shows survival and that is not measured here.
% Var: The percent variance between a show’s season to date average and the network benchmark as defined above. The higher the variance, the better a show is performing vs. the benchmark.
Live+7 Avg Rtg: The show’s season to date ratings average based on delayed viewing up to three days past the live broadcast. This data is not available for all shows.
Status: My assessment of the likelihood that a show will get renewed or cancelled. The statuses are Renewal Likely, Renewal Possible, On the Bubble, Cancellation Likely (plus Renewed and Cancelled/Ended)
Ratings Source: ShowBuzzDaily and TV by the Numbers
