Sci Fi TV Update: Status updates, news, and developments on sci fi and fantasy television. For breaking news, be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site
Renewal Announcements
Paramount+ continues to go all-in on Star Trek and just issued a renewal announcement for several shows in the franchise. Discovery has been renewed for a fifth season, Strange New Worlds has been renewed for a second season in advance of its first season premiere (which is set for May 5th), and Lower Decks has been renewed thru its fourth season (it had already been renewed for a third season). Star Trek: Picard has already been renewed for a third season and its second season premiere is set for a March 3rd premiere. And Star Trek: Prodigy has already been renewed for a second season. Franchise executive producer Alex Kurtzman had the following to say about the renewals:
Four years ago, we made a promise to grow Star Trek into something it had never been before, and thanks to the incredibly hard work done by our many talented showrunners, writers, and directors, along with the extraordinary support of CBS Studios and Paramount+, we’re keeping our word. Now our current shows are set up for the future as we work to build Trek’s’ next phase of programming for years to come.
The announcements do not come as a surprise as Paramount+ has invested heavily in the franchise which has driven significant viewership to the streaming service. And with prior shows like Star Trek: The Original Series, The Next Generation, and Deep Space Nine rolling off streamers like Netflix, Hulu, and Prime Video, Paramount+ will soon be the exclusive streaming service for the franchise. Star Trek: Discovery is currently on hiatus but resumes new episodes on February 10th.
Netflix Top 10
Netflix’s new horror series Archive 81 premiered in that streamer’s Top 10 for English-language shows for the week of January 10th through 16th. It bowed at the Number 7 slot with 22.2 million hours viewed. That show is less costly than some of the other high-profile Netflix entries and it may be on track for a second season renewal. The Witcher continued to pull in strong viewership with Season 2 holding at the Number 3 slot with 34.4 million hours viewed and Season 1 at the Number 8 slot with 18.6 million hours. Season 1 of Manifest joined the second season which re-entered the chart last week. Those were at the Number 6 and 9 slots. The Korean space drama The Silent Sea dropped out of the Top 10 Non-English language shows after a three-week run. Following are all the sci fi and fantasy TV shows on the Netflix charts for the week (the number in parenthesis is the prior week rank):
Netflix Top 10 for the Week of Jan-3 to Jan-9
English Language Shows
3 (3) The Witcher: Season 2 34.4 Million Hours
6 (5) Manifest: Season 1 28.1 Million Hours
7 (n/a) Archive 81: Season 1 22.2 Million Hours
8 (6) The Witcher: Season 1 18.6 Million Hours
9 (n/a) Manifest: Season 2 14.8 Million Hours
Non-English Language Shows
No Genre Entries
Source: Netflix
Ratings Results of Interest
The CW’s Legends of Tomorrow returned from hiatus last Wednesday and pulled its highest ratings of the season. It had a 0.11 score based on same-day viewing for the 18-49 demographic with with 559K total viewers. In the lead-out hour, Batwoman held steady with its season-to-date average, pulling a 0.08 score in the demo with 523K total viewers. Both shows were previously on track for renewal, but the pending sale of the network could impact that. On Sunday, Two Sentence Horror Stories had its Season 3 premiere on The CW and averaged a 0.10 rating with 223K total viewers (based on the preliminaries). I covered the early week ratings in the prior Sci Fi TV Update post, and below are the full ratings for genre shows from the past week. Ratings Source: ShowBuzzDaily
Ratings Results for the Week of 1/10/22
| Series | Rating / Tot Viewers |
| 4400 (CW) Mon 9 PM | On Hiatus, Status: Renewal Possible |
| Superman and Lois (CW) Tue 8 PM | Rtg: 0.23 / Tot Vwrs: 1.1M, Status: Renewal Possible |
| Naomi (CW) Tue 9 PM | Rtg: 0.14 / Tot Vwrs: 802K, Status: Renewal Possible |
| Legends of Tomorrow (CW) Wed 8 PM | Rtg: 0.11 / Tot Vwrs: 559K, Status: Renewal Possible |
| Batwoman (CW) Wed 8 PM | Rtg: 0.08 / Tot Vwrs: 523K, Status: Renewal Possible |
| Legacies (CW) Thu 9 PM | On Hiatus, Status: Renewal Possible |
| Ghosts (CBS) Thu 9 PM | Rtg: 0.65 ↓ / Tot Vwrs: 6.5M, Status: Renewal Possible |
| Nancy Drew (CW) Fri 9 PM | Rtg: 0.06 ↑ / Tot Vwrs: 395K, Status: Renewal Possible |
| Blade Runner Black Lotus (Syfy) Sat 12 AM | Rtg: 0.12 ↑ / Tot Vwrs: 237K, Status: Renewal Possible |
| Two Sentence Horror Stories (CW) Sun 9 PM | Rtg: 0.05 / Tot Vwrs: 233K, Status: Renewal Possible |
Follow our Sci Fi TV Update posts each week for the status of the current sci fi and fantasy shows, the latest news, schedule info, and more.
Follow our Sci Fi TV Schedule for all the currently airing and upcoming sci fi and fantasy television shows, and keep up with what is airing/streaming each week with our Weekly Listings.
