Cancellation Watch Weekly Roundup: Cloak and Dagger is Struggling, The Orville Moves to Bubble Status

Weekly Roundup: Ratings results and status updates on all the currently airing sci fi & fantasy shows as well as those still awaiting word on their fates. For the latest ratings updates, be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site

Ratings Results of Interest: On Thursday, Freeform’s Cloak and Dagger took a notable drop to a 0.09 rating based on same day viewing to the 18-49 demographic with 311K total viewers. This show is below the level that got Shadowhunters cancelled last year and has to be considered On the Bubble at this point. Disney owns both Freeform and Marvel (and they’ll own you and me pretty soon), so they could still keep it going another year, but this one could definitely use a Call to Action from fans. Over on The CW on Thursday, iZombie returned for its final season and posted a 0.2 rating with 726K total viewers.




On Sunday, HBO’s Game of Thrones dropped a bit to a 5.1 rating with 11.8 million total viewers. Expect those numbers to increase as it heads into its final two episodes. Over on The CW, Supergirl and Charmed held mostly steady with a 0.3 rating and 1.1 million total viewers and a 0.2 score with 584K total viewers respectively. Both have already been renewed.

On Wednesday, FX’s What We Do in the Shadows improved to a 0.17 rating with 418K total viewers, but that one probably still needs to edge up a bit more to be considered safe. Over on Syfy, Happy! improved a tick to a 0.10 rating with 289K total viewers, but that one remains firmly On the Bubble. The CW’s Riverdale remained low at a 0.2 rating with 702K total viewers, but it does much better with digital viewing and has already been renewed for a fourth season.

On Tuesday on The CW, The 100 returned for its sixth season with a 0.3 rating and 864K total viewers. It has already been renewed for a seventh season. In the lead-in hour, The Flash slipped to a 0.5 rating with 1.4 million total viewers, but that one has already been renewed for a sixth season.

On Monday, AMC’s Into the Badlands lost some of its prior week gains as it slipped to a 0.16 rating with 503K total viewers. That show has been cancelled, but fans are still attempting to save it with their #SaveTheBadlands campaign. Over on Freeform, Shadowhunters ticked up to a 0.11 rating with 332K total viewers for its penultimate episode. On The CW, Legends of Tomorrow and Arrow held steady with the prior week.

The other sci fi and fantasy entries remained mostly steady or did not air new episodes during the week.  You can see the full ratings results for the week at this link, and be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for the latest results and breaking news.  Ratings Source: ShowBuzzDaily


What’s to watch on the Streaming Services?  Click on the following links for a comprehensive list of the Sci Fi TV Shows available on Netflix | Prime Video | Hulu | Other


Call to Action: We are down to the wire on the regular season and several sci fi and fantasy shows are struggling or have already been cancelled. But as we have seen the last few seasons, a strong outpouring of support from fans can convince the networks to change their mind about the cancellation or at least produce a series finale (i.e., Timeless and Shadowhunters) or sway other venues into picking up these shows (i.e., The Expanse and Lucifer). Among the shows currently in need of support from fans are The Orville, Deadly Class, Siren, Origin, Wynonna Earp and more. You can see the full rundown of our Call to Action shows at this link.

News Roundup: Hulu is expanding its Marvel Universe offerings with Agents of SHIELD spin-off series Ghost Rider on the way as well as Helstrom, based on the comic book character of the same name. Phil Lord and Chris Miller are working on adapting several of the Marvel Universe characters that Sony as the rights to for live action and animated TV shows with a Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse spin-off possibly among that batch.

Status Updates: The Orville Moves to Bubble Status

Below are the status updates for all the currently airing shows or those still awaiting word on their fate.  This does not include streaming shows, unless there is information worth mentioning, because there is typically too little data available to gauge their fates. You can click through to the show pages to see week-over-week ratings results (where available) and find out more information about the series.  You can see the status of all the currently airing and returning sci fi TV shows at the Cancellation Watch Page.

Currently Airing / Streaming:

Arrow (CW, Status – Renewed): This show has been renewed for an 8th season and that will be its last. Expect it to wrap up with next season’s Crisis on Infinite Earths cross-over event which will bring major changes to the Arrow-verse.

Charmed (CW, Status – Renewed): The same day ratings for this show may not be great on highly competitive Sunday nights, but it is one of the most watched shows in digital viewing on the network’s website and app.  Since The CW has better adapted to the 21st century than the other broadcast nets, it factors online viewing more heavily into its model and has given this one a second season renewal.

Cloak and Dagger (Freeform, Status – On the Bubble): This show took a drop with its latest episode and it is definitely in iffy territory at the moment. Disney owns Marvel and Freeform, so they could give the show some slack and still bring it back for a third season. But a Call to Action from fans on the social nets could definitely help give it a boost.

A Discovery of Witches (AMC, Status – Renewed): The linear numbers for this show are not great, but it has already been available on the Shudder and SundanceNow streaming services and it has been renewed through a third season by Sky One in Britain.

The Flash (CW, Status – Renewed): As expected, this show has been renewed for an 6th season. There could be some changes coming with next season’s Crisis on Infinite Earths cross-over event which I discuss in more detail at this link.

Game of Thrones (HBO, Status – Final Season): A strong return for this show’s final season makes you wonder if HBO execs are questioning the decision to end this one with its eighth season. But they have several spin-offs on the way, so the network is not done with this franchise yet.

Happy (Syfy, Status – On the Bubble): The numbers for this show remain low in its second season and have it at levels that have seen other Syfy entries cancelled. The network’s parent company does have an ownership stake in the show, though, so it still has a chance.  Fans should definitely take to the social nets with a Call to Action to bring more attention to this one.

Into the Badlands (AMC, Status – Cancelled): This show has wrapped up its three season run, though it has definitely picked up a fan following that appears to span across the globe  If fans can stage a Call to Action on the social networks and make enough noise, perhaps they can convince AMC to change its mind about the cancellation or another venue to pick the show up.

Legends of Tomorrow (CW, Status – Renewed): As expected, this show has been renewed for an 5th season. It could be targeting wrapping up with next season’s Crisis on Infinite Earths cross-over event which I discuss in more detail at this link.

MacGyver (CBS, Status – Renewal Likely): This show’s ratings are down from last year’s levels, but that likely will not matter. It is owned by CBS and it will have three full seasons after this year, so it is worth it to the network to keep it going at least one more season to get it to the episode threshold the syndication market prefers. Also, it plugs up and hour on low-viewership Fridays.

Riverdale (CW, Status – Renewed): This show is only down slightly from last year’s numbers and it tends to get plenty of attention on the social networks. It also performs very well in its encore runs on Netflix and is on the verge of the syndication stretch. The CW has renewed it for a fourth season as expected and it could stick around beyond that.

Roswell New Mexico (CW, Status – Renewed): This show’s same day rating numbers have been down the last few weeks but it does very well in digital viewing and has been renewed for a second season by The CW.

Shadowhunters (Freeform, Status – Cancelled): This show has been cancelled by Freeform and is currently airing the second half to its third season which will also include two additional episodes that will act as its series finale.

Siren (Freeform, Status – Renewal Possible): This show started its second season with decent debut numbers, but then saw those slip somewhat.  I don’t count it as a Bubble show just yet, but it could benefit from a Call to Action from fans on the social networks to bring it some more attention. It returns from hiatus on July 11th.

Supergirl (CW, Status – Renewed): As expected, this show has been renewed for an 5th season. There could be some changes coming with next season’s Crisis on Infinite Earths cross-over event which I discuss in more detail at this link.

Supernatural (CW, Status – Renewed): As expected, this series has been renewed for a record-busting 15th series, but it will finally be coming to an end with that announced as its final year. More on that at this link.

What We Do in the Shadows (FX, Status – Renewal Possible): TThis show got off to a decent start ratings-wise, but then took a dive with its third episode.  It has improved some since then, but it could definitely use a Call to Action from fans to give it a boost.

Season Ended But Still Awaiting Renewal / Cancellation Decision:

Deadly Class (Syfy, Status – Renewal Possible): This show got off to a decent start, but then saw its numbers slip in subsequent weeks.  But it still did okay overall for a Syfy entry, especially with its delayed viewing numbers, and the network’s parent company NBC Universal has an ownership stake in the show.  It has a chance at coming back for a second season, but fans may want to make a Call to Action on the social nets to give it a boost.

Humans (AMC, Status – On the Bubble): This show’s numbers were down in its third season, and AMC kicked it out of Prime Time to the 11 PM hour; never a good sign. Its fate is more closely tied to how it is performing in Britain on Channel 4, but its numbers are down over there as well according to Wikipedia. I have moved it to Bubble status and will keep it there until we hear final word on its fate.

Mars (NGC, Status – Renewal Possible): This show’s same day viewing numbers were down notably in its second year, but it relies more heavily on its global viewership stats. I consider a third season possible, though Nat Geo may decide to wrap it up at that point.

The Orville (FOX, Status – On the Bubble): This show ended its second season as one of FOX’s lower rated shows, though it did seen notable gains in Live+7 delayed viewing like last year. As a marginal performer in same day viewing, it could get swept out with any house-cleaning that might follow from the Disney buyout and I am moving it to Bubble status as we head to the end of the season. Fans should certainly take to the social networks at this point with a Call to Action to bring the show more attention and give it a boost.

The Passage (FOX, Status – On the Bubble): This show got off to a good start with its premiere, but it wrapped up its first season with less than stellar numbers and I have moved it to Bubble status (more on that at this link).  If fans want this one to return for a second season, a Call to Action on the social networks could definitely give it a boost.

You can see the list of all of this season’s renewals and cancellations at this link.


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Author: johnnyjay

1 thought on “Cancellation Watch Weekly Roundup: Cloak and Dagger is Struggling, The Orville Moves to Bubble Status

  1. Part of the problem I see with the Orville is Fox it’s self when ever I watch Fox I rarely see them promote the show among there other shows on a regular basis. However when the Orville is on on that all Fox does is promote all there other shows on the Orville which makes no sense if the show is so low rated as this article is saying.

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