FOX announced yesterday afternoon that its Batman prequel series Gotham will be returning for one more shortened season. I have had that one On the Bubble and I considered it the more likely of the two between it and Lucifer to get cancelled. But instead, the network gave the latter show the ax and will bring Gotham back with the chance to wrap up its storylines. Lucifer fans are certainly fuming at the news because their show is slightly higher rated and has definitely seen much more support on the social networks. But the bottom line worked in Gotham‘s favor as it is already at the 88-episode threshold preferred for a profitable sale into syndication. And apparently Warner Bros. wanted the show to play better in an encore run with a chance to provide some sort of resolution to its ongoing arcs. The studio likely gave Gotham to FOX for the fifth season for next to nothing to accomplish that and also to reach the one hundredth episode mark, a prestigious accomplishment for any show. Warner Bros. will definitely make its money back on the long-term profits. Lucifer is still a season-and-a-half from the 88-episode mark, and apparently WB could not work out a suitable deal with FOX to keep that one on the air (but fans are still lobbying hard for that show to continue). The producers have said that the fifth season of Gotham “will wrap up this unique origin story of the great DC Comics Super-villains and vigilantes, which revealed an entirely new chapter that has never been told”. It will likely make it to the schedule at mid-season next year.
There are still three more broadcast network shows awaiting word on their fate and I expect we will know their status this week as the nets unveil their schedules for the 2018-19 season. ABC’s Agents of SHIELD seemed like it was heading to a sixth season renewal nod, but the network has not confirmed that yet. The creative team have written the show’s upcoming fifth season finale so that it can act as a series finale, and ABC may let it play out that way. I’m not certain what negotiations are going on behind the scenes at the moment, and the network’s hesitation has me close to moving the show to Bubble status. But for now I am still leaning toward this one getting the renewal nod. NBC’s Timeless aired its season finale last night and left fans on a game-changing cliffhanger. Allegedly, the network will look closely at the ratings results for that episode to decide if they will bring it back. I have that one On the Bubble though I am (unfortunately) leaning toward cancellation. There has been no word yet on FOX’s supernatural comedy Ghosted which is strange because the network has made decisions on all of its other shows. I don’t know if maybe that one is just assumed cancelled since it got kicked off the schedule a while back or if maybe it is still in play because its ratings in Fall were decent. I am moving it back to Bubble status, though I am still leaning toward cancellation.
Be sure to follow our Cancellation Watch Tracker as well as the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for breaking news on these shows as we head into the this week’s Upfronts when the broadcast networks will present their schedules for the 2018-19 season.
