This breaking renewal announcement came as expected and perhaps the headline should read Space and Syfy renewed the shows. Syfy partnered with the Canadian Space Channel on both and I understand that they have performed quite well up north. The numbers in the states have not been quite as good with Dark Matter averaging only a 0.3 rating based on the overnights for the 18-49 demographic and Killjoys averaging only a 0.2 score. But the joint partnership means that both networks share the costs, making them more economical. And Syfy has shown patience with its new shows of late, typically giving them a second season even if the first did not produce great ratings results (we saw that earlier this year when 12 Monkeys received a renewal nod despite only a 0.2 ratings average). I have been leaning toward renewal on these two shows all Summer, and they have been picking up some decent buzz among sci fi fans since their debuts. Dark Matter will be getting a thirteen episode second season and Killjoys will get ten eps (the same counts as there first seasons)
With the renewals for these two now in the bag, that leaves three Syfy shows awaiting work on their fates: Defiance, Dominion, and Olympus. Defiance is looking like it may be done based on the fact that its numbers have slipped notably and its season three finale looked an awful lot like a series finale (more on that one at this link). Dominion still has a chance because it has performed decent for Syfy in its second season, though its numbers are down from its first. Olympus looks like it might not be coming back seeing as there has been no word on the show since it wrapped up its first season two months ago. Syfy did partner with the Canadian Super Channel on that one, though, so perhaps that network will elect to keep it going. Keep an eye on this site and the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site over the next few weeks because I expect Syfy to announce the fate of all three of these shows within that timeframe.
