The Upfronts kick-off later this week which is when the broadcast networks unveil their schedules for the upcoming season. The Friday before has become known as “Black Friday” because cancellations of current season shows are typically announced on that day. However, two networks are kicking off early and most have already been making announcements over the last few weeks. (See updated dates below.) As of this point, not many shows are facing uncertain fates, especially genre entries. The CW has already renewed most of its lineup. FOX cancelled neXt last Fall. ABC did not have any sci fi/fantasy shows this season. CBS has cancelled MacGyver, and its only other genre entry is Evil which still has not kicked off its second season. That leaves only NBC’s Debris and Manifest (and a couple of CW acquisitions) waiting for word on their fate.
Currently, I have Debris On the Bubble and Manifest as Renewal Possible, but the latter show is close to getting moved to Bubble status as well. Debris got off to a decent start, but its ratings took a downward turn pretty quickly and it has not made up much slack in delayed viewing. The numbers for Manifest are down by 25% from its second season, and I have not seen any delayed viewing numbers for the show yet (Nielsen seems to have gotten behind on those stats). In past seasons, I would have had Debris at Cancellation Likely status by this point and likely would have moved Manifest to the Bubble list. But in this pandemic-challenged season, I’m giving them a little more leeway.
In Fall, the networks had little in the way of scripted programming as most of the shows that typically debut then were delayed due to COVID-related production shutdowns. By mid-season, most of those shows had returned to the schedule, but apparently viewers had lost interest due to the lack of offerings early in the season and glut of scripted programming available on the streaming services. The numbers for the broadcast networks are at all-time lows, and execs may be leery about cancelling shows based on low ratings when there are very few strong performers this year. But then these are network execs, and cancelling shows is what they do.
Between Debris and Manifest, I believe the former is the least likely to return next season. It is performing well below the network’s average for non-repeat, non-sports, non-special programming and freshman shows tend to have a high mortality rate on the broadcast networks with over fifty percent getting axed after their first year. Manifest is in its third season, but it is far short of the syndication stretch due to its shorter episode runs. Still, I’m thinking that NBC would lean towards giving it at least a fourth and final season to make it a more binge-worthy show that would be attractive to the streaming market. In both cases, a Call to Action on the social networks from fans could help the shows, but it needs to happen now and they need to make some noise because decisions could be made on these shows by Friday.
The CW has still said nothing about a third season of its space opera acquisition Pandora, and there could be an announcement on that one when the network reveals its 2021-22 schedule. Their fantasy series The Outpost was given thirteen additional episodes, but there has been no word on when those will air and if that represents a wrap up for the show. So stay tuned for word on that one as well. CBS has not announced a second season premiere date for Evil, so I am guessing they will not make a renewal or cancellation announcement on that one at the Upfronts. But don’t be surprised if Season 2 lands on the Summer schedule and that amounts to a burn-off run.
It is also possible that the networks will not announce cancellations just yet as they may still be trying to sort things out for next year. But we are getting close to the time that decisions need to be made, so an announcement could come out at any time. Below is the schedule for the Upfronts, and be sure to stay tuned to this site and the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter site for updates and breaking news into next week.
NBCUniversal – Monday, May 17, 2021
FOX – Monday, May 17, 2021
Disney/ABC – Tuesday, May 18, 2021
ViacomCBS – Wednesday, May 19, 2021
CW – Tuesday, May 25, 2021
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. And be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for breaking news and updates.
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