Cancellation Watch Season Roundup: A Look at How This Year’s Sci Fi and Fantasy Shows Did on the Linear Networks and Streaming Channels

The 2018-19 television season has wrapped up its primary run (we still have some Summer shows coming, though), so now is a good time to take a look at where the sci fi and fantasy shows stand at season end. I’m looking at the shows that premiered between September 2018 and the end of March 2019 (or thereabouts). Among that group I count 79 entries (is there anybody out there who managed to watch all of them?), and its possible that I missed a few because that’s quite a lot to keep track of. Of those, eighteen were cancelled, four were airing their final season, and two more are currently On the Bubble. 45 shows were renewed, though four of those are for a final season, and nine more currently appear to be on track for renewal.

2018-19 Season Tally of Sci Fi / Fantasy Shows:

Looking at the Big Four broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC), the sci fi offerings were sparse and the shows they did have did not fare too well. ABC had exactly zero genre entries on its schedule during the regular season, though Agents of SHIELD arrived this month and has already been renewed for a seventh season (it is not included in the tally because I count it as a Summer show). That network does have one new genre entry headed to the schedule this Fall with Emergence (you can see the preliminary Fall schedule at this link). CBS had two shows, MacGyver and God Friended Me, though they barely count as genre entries. Both were renewed, though I plan to stop covering the latter series next season because I don’t believe the audience for CancelledSciFi.com has much interest in it. CBS does have one new show headed to the schedule in Fall, the supernatural procedural Evil.

FOX and NBC had more in the way of genre entries, but also more cancellations. FOX aired four genre shows during the season, two of which were cancelled, The Gifted and The Passage, and one of which was in its final season–Gotham. Only The Orville survived for another season (and that apparently required some late-night deal-making), and FOX only has one genre entry scheduled for the upcoming season (the AI drama neXt which bows as Mid-Season). NBC had three genre entries, one of which was one of the bigger hits for the season–Manifest. That one was renewed as was the fantasy comedy The Good Place, but time ran out for supernatural drama Midnight, Texas after its second season ended. That network currently has no new sci fi / fantasy entries scheduled for the upcoming season.

Big Four Broadcast Net Shows (Sorted by Network and Status):

As for The CW, aka the Happy Net, exactly ALL of that network’s sci fi and fantasy shows were renewed (actually, the network’s entire slate). Two were renewed for a final season, Arrow and Supernatural, but two new genre entries have been added to the upcoming schedule: Batwoman and Nancy Drew (the latter adds a supernatural twist to the classic mystery tales). It’s still a good time to be a fan of The CW’s shows, because those tend to stick around longer than the genre entries on other networks.

The CW Shows:

As for Syfy, the network that is supposed to be dedicated to sci fi and fantasy shows, it aired seven shows, three of which were cancelled–Channel Zero, Nightflyers, Z Nation–and one of which appears to be on track for cancellation–Happy!. Two were renewed–The Magicians and Van Helsing–and Deadly Class appears to be on track for renewal. At over a fifty percent cancellation rate–perhaps higher depending on how things work out–you can understand why sci fi fans remain reluctant to support this network.

Syfy Shows (Sorted by Status):

As for the other cable networks, it was mostly hit or miss. AMC had the most genre entries with four, but one was cancelled–Into the Badlands–and another was renewed for a final season–Preacher. And A Discovery of Witches is more of an import with its renewal hinging on its performance in the UK. Add to that the fact that the prior season’s Humans was just cancelled, and the track record for that network is not great for genre shows.

Cable Shows (Sorted by Network and Status):

As for the streaming services, Netflix had a mind-boggling 21 genre entries, though five of those were cancelled (including the heart-breaking dismissal of the Defenders shows) and one was airing its final season (A Series of Unfortunate Events). Netflix is definitely cranking out plenty of sci fi and fantasy shows, but unfortunately it is more interested in churning through as many new shows as possible and loses interest in keeping a series around beyond its third season.

Amazon had only two genre entries during the season, Man in the High Castle and The Tick, with the former being renewed for a final season and the latter getting the ax just recently.  But that streamer does have more in the way of genre entries on the way.  Hulu had four shows, with The First getting cancelled, Future Man renewed for a final season, Runaways getting renewed, and Into the Dark on track for renewal.  CBS All Access has renewed Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek Short Treks, and The Twilight Zone and has even more genre entries on the way.  DC Universe renewed both Titans and Doom Patrol and I like the chances of Young Justice getting a fourth season.  Sadly, YouTube canceled its sci fi series Origin, but that one could still find a new life on another venue.

Streaming Shows (Sorted by Network and Status):

In general, we continue to see a shift of sci fi and fantasy shows to the streaming channels and I believe that is what the future holds for television in general. The good news is that the streamers are not as quick to cancel shows. The bad news is that they don’t seem to be interested in keeping them around beyond a few years. I will be looking at that in more detail in a future post, but maybe that is not a bad direction as long as they allow the shows to at least provide some sort of conclusion to their stories. The streaming market has definitely brought major changes to television and the broadcast networks and cable channels are having a harder time drawing viewers to their shows with so many options out there.

Be sure to stay tuned to CancelledSciFi.com to keep up with the status of the sci fi and fantasy shows airing across the broadcast networks, cable channels, and streaming services and for more developments on the direction of where television is heading.

More Season Roundup Coverage:

List of all the Cancellations and Renewals from the 2018-19 Season

Syfy Appears to Be Fading as a Network, Will It Become a Peak TV Casualty?

Final Scorecard for the Regular Season, Game of Thrones Sit Atop the Rankings

Scoring This Season’s Predictions for Shows Like The Orville, The Gifted, Z Nation, and More

First Look at neXt, Batwoman, Evil, and More of the Upcoming Season’s New Shows (with Trailers)

First Look at the Fall 2019 Slate of Sci Fi and Fantasy Shows

Roundup of the Renewals, Cancellations, Pickups, and Schedule Announcements from the Upfronts

More from CancelledSciFi.com:

Keep up with the ratings developments and the status of all the currently airing sci fi and fantasy shows with our Weekly Roundup posts. Join the #CancelledSciFiArmy on Twitter to bolster our ranks and help us fight for the struggling and cancelled sci fi and fantasy shows.

Check out our Sci Fi TV Schedule for debut and season finale dates and follow our Weekly Listings for a rundown of the shows airing in the current week.

Look back at the classics of sci fi and fantasy television with Classics Sci Fi TV.