The biggest drops on the scorecard this week were with Spike’s The Mist and CBS’ Zoo as both continue their rating’s declines. The Mist slipped nine slots (from Number 37 to Number 46) while Zoo slipped ten (from Number 34 to Number 44). The latter series looks certainly headed to cancellation while The Mist may still have a chance because it is leading the charge of scripted programming for Spike as it transitions to the Paramount network. A few shows looked like they improved several slots like Dark Matter and Preacher, but that is mostly just incidental movement with The Mist and Zoo shifting beneath them.
The scorecard ranks all of the sci fi & 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 based on the ratings through August 6th (metric definitions below):
| Rank (PW) | Series | Net | Std Avg | Net Bench | % Var | Live+7 Avg Rtg | Status |
| 1 (1) | The Walking Dead (O) | AMC | 5.39 | 0.60 | 798.2% | 7.95 | Renewed |
| 2 (2) | Game of Thrones (O) | HBO | 4.49 | 0.60 | 647.5% | n/a | Renewed |
| 3 (3) | American Horror Story (O) | FX | 1.58 | 0.60 | 162.5% | 3.16 | Renewed |
| 4 (4) | The Flash (O) | CW | 1.06 | 0.50 | 112.2% | 1.88 | Renewed |
| 5 (5) | Fear the Walking Dead (O) | AMC | 0.98 | 0.60 | 62.8% | 1.83 | Renewed |
| 6 (6) | The Magicians | Syfy | 0.31 | 0.20 | 54.6% | 0.71 | Renewed |
| 7 (7) | Supergirl (O) | CW | 0.72 | 0.50 | 45.2% | 1.28 | Renewed |
| 8 (8) | Star Wars Rebels (O) | DXD | 0.14 | 0.10 | 44.7% | 0.34 | Renewed |
| 9 (9) | American Gods | STARZ | 0.28 | 0.20 | 38.1% | 0.55 | Renewed |
| 10 (10) | Westworld | HBO | 0.80 | 0.60 | 33.8% | 1.50 | Renewed |
| 11 (11) | Into the Badlands | AMC | 0.79 | 0.60 | 31.5% | 1.30 | Renewed |
| 12 (12) | Son of Zorn (O) | FOX | 1.28 | 0.98 | 30.2% | n/a | Cancelled |
| 13 (13) | Legends of Tomorrow (O) | CW | 0.64 | 0.50 | 28.8% | 1.13 | Renewed |
| 14 (14) | Arrow (O) | CW | 0.63 | 0.50 | 25.7% | 1.12 | Renewed |
| 15 (15) | Z Nation | Syfy | 0.25 | 0.20 | 24.3% | 0.42 | Renewed |
| 16 (16) | Supernatural (O) | CW | 0.60 | 0.50 | 19.6% | 1.07 | Renewed |
| 17 (17) | Gotham | FOX | 1.09 | 0.98 | 10.7% | 1.80 | Renewed |
| 18 (18) | Lucifer | FOX | 1.03 | 0.98 | 4.8% | 1.77 | Renewed |
| 19 (19) | Shadowhunters | Free | 0.26 | 0.25 | 2.9% | 0.43 | Renewed |
| 20 (20) | Stan Against Evil | IFC | 0.08 | 0.08 | -4.7% | n/a | Renewed |
| 21 (21) | The Librarians | TNT | 0.47 | 0.50 | -5.2% | 0.88 | Renewed |
| 22 (22) | Channel Zero | Syfy | 0.19 | 0.20 | -5.8% | 0.38 | Renewed |
| 23 (23) | The Last Man on Earth (O) | FOX | 0.91 | 0.98 | -7.0% | 1.48 | Renewed |
| 24 (24) | The Good Place (O) | NBC | 1.25 | 1.35 | -7.4% | 1.91 | Renewed |
| 25 (25) | Colony | USA | 0.26 | 0.30 | -12.6% | 0.60 | Renewed |
| 26 (26) | Killjoys | Syfy | 0.17 | 0.20 | -14.2% | n/a | Renewal Possible |
| 27 (27) | MacGyver (O) (F) | CBS | 1.08 | 1.26 | -14.9% | 1.67 | Renewed |
| 28 (28) | The Expanse | Syfy | 0.17 | 0.20 | -15.0% | 0.39 | Renewed |
| 29 (29) | Timeless | NBC | 1.11 | 1.35 | -17.6% | 2.07 | Renewed |
| 30 (30) | Incorporated | Syfy | 0.16 | 0.20 | -20.0% | 0.34 | Cancelled |
| 31 (31) | Aftermath | Syfy | 0.16 | 0.20 | -20.8% | 0.33 | Cancelled |
| 32 (32) | Van Helsing | Syfy | 0.16 | 0.20 | -21.3% | 0.30 | Renewed |
| 32 (41) | People of Earth | TBS | 0.32 | 0.40 | -21.3% | n/a | Renewal Possible |
| 34 (33) | Ash vs Evil Dead | STARZ | 0.16 | 0.20 | -21.5% | 0.34 | Renewed |
| 35 (35) | Once Upon A Time (O) | ABC | 0.93 | 1.21 | -23.1% | 1.53 | Renewed |
| 36 (36) | Guardians of the Galaxy | DXD | 0.08 | 0.10 | -24.0% | n/a | On the Bubble |
| 37 (38) | Blood Drive | Syfy | 0.15 | 0.20 | -24.4% | n/a | On the Bubble |
| 38 (39) | Teen Wolf | MTV | 0.23 | 0.30 | -24.4% | 0.44 | Final Season |
| 39 (40) | Vampire Diaries (O) (F) | CW | 0.38 | 0.50 | -24.7% | 0.75 | Ended |
| 40 (42) | Legion (O) | FX | 0.45 | 0.60 | -25.0% | 1.17 | Renewed |
| 40 (43) | Dark Matter | Syfy | 0.15 | 0.20 | -25.0% | 0.40 | Renewal Possible |
| 42 (44) | The 100 (O) | CW | 0.34 | 0.46 | -25.9% | 0.64 | Renewed |
| 43 (46) | Preacher | AMC | 0.44 | 0.60 | -26.0% | 1.20 | Renewal Possible |
| 44 (34) | Zoo (O) | CBS | 0.52 | 0.70 | -26.2% | n/a | Cancellation Likely |
| 45 (45) | Making History (O) | NBC | 0.67 | 0.90 | -26.2% | n/a | Cancelled |
| 46 (37) | The Mist | Spike | 0.15 | 0.20 | -27.1% | 0.50 | On the Bubble |
| 47 (47) | The Originals (O) (F) | CW | 0.32 | 0.46 | -30.9% | 0.63 | Final Season |
| 48 (48) | The Exorcist (O) (F) | FOX | 0.67 | 0.98 | -31.7% | 1.09 | Renewed |
| 49 (50) | The Strain | FX | 0.40 | 0.60 | -34.2% | 0.85 | Final Season |
| 50 (49) | iZombie (O) | CW | 0.30 | 0.46 | -34.3% | 0.63 | Renewed |
| 51 (53) | Wynonna Earp | Syfy | 0.12 | 0.20 | -37.8% | n/a | Renewed |
| 52 (51) | Scream Queens (O) | FOX | 0.61 | 0.98 | -37.8% | 0.96 | Cancelled |
| 53 (52) | Agents of SHIELD (O) | ABC | 0.74 | 1.21 | -39.3% | 1.58 | Renewed |
| 54 (54) | Grimm (O) (F) | NBC | 0.80 | 1.35 | -40.7% | 1.43 | Ended |
| 55 (55) | The Leftovers | HBO | 0.35 | 0.60 | -42.1% | n/a | Final Season |
| 56 (56) | Powerless (O) | NBC | 0.70 | 1.22 | -42.6% | n/a | Cancelled |
| 57 (57) | Beyond | Free | 0.14 | 0.25 | -42.7% | n/a | Renewed |
| 58 (58) | Emerald City (O) (F) | NBC | 0.69 | 1.22 | -43.5% | 1.23 | Cancelled |
| 59 (59) | Sleepy Hollow (O) (F) | FOX | 0.51 | 0.90 | -43.8% | 0.94 | Cancelled |
| 60 (60) | Frequency (O) | CW | 0.28 | 0.50 | -44.4% | 0.51 | Cancelled |
| 61 (61) | Salem | WGN | 0.08 | 0.15 | -48.0% | n/a | Cancelled |
| 62 (62) | Falling Water | USA | 0.15 | 0.30 | -51.0% | 0.30 | Renewed |
| 63 (63) | 12 Monkeys | Syfy | 0.09 | 0.20 | -53.3% | n/a | Renewed |
| 64 (64) | Time After Time | ABC | 0.53 | 1.19 | -55.9% | 0.70 | Cancelled |
| 65 (65) | Twin Peaks | Show | 0.10 | 0.25 | -60.4% | n/a | Final Season |
| 66 (66) | Dirk Gentlys Holistic Detective Agency | BBCA | 0.09 | 0.40 | -77.5% | n/a | Renewed |
| 67 (67) | Orphan Black | BBCA | 0.07 | 0.40 | -81.4% | n/a | Final Season |
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/produced by the network and/or a sister studio. (F) indicates the show airs on Friday when ratings expectations are lower. These typically just apply to the broadcast networks where they are more of a factor.
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 FOX, Empire is also excluded because it counts as an outlier). 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
