Cancellation Watch: The Winchesters Improves, Chucky and American Horror Story Sink, and More

Cancellation Watch: Ratings results for the sci fi and fantasy shows on the broadcast networks and cable channels as well as status updates and breaking news on the currently airing, returning, and upcoming genre entries. See our Digital Ratings posts for the viewership of the streaming shows.

Linear Ratings Results of Interest:

On Tuesday last week, The CW’s The Winchesters improved to a 0.11 rating based on same-day viewing for the 18-49 demographic with 571K total viewers, its best numbers since its premiere. But that one has been capped at thirteen episodes for its first season, and its future is in doubt with the new owners shaking things up at the network. Over on NBC, La Brea slipped to a 0.32 rating with 3.5 million total viewers as its numbers have remained down in its second season, which is not a good thing.

On Wednesday, The CW’s Stargirl slipped to a 0.08 rating with 440K total viewers while Kung Fu improved to a 0.08 score with 427K total viewers. Both are among the network’s higher-rated shows, but the former was just cancelled and the latter could follow it out the door as new owners continue their house-cleaning.

On Syfy on Wednesday, Chucky slipped to a 0.16 rating including its simulcast on USA, though I don’t consider that one to be in trouble just yet. If it does not continue its downward trend, it could still get a third season nod. Over on FX, American Horror Story averaged only a 0.07 rating with 228K total viewers (series lows) for the two episodes it aired on Wednesday. (Maybe it was post-Halloween blues for both horror-themed shows.) AHS show has already been renewed through its thirteenth season, though it could wrap up about then.

On Thursday, Ghosts remained the top-rated genre show on the linear channels as it improved to a 0.55 rating with 6.2 million total viewers. Expect that one to stick around for a third season.

On Sunday, AMC’s The Walking Dead ticked down to a 0.28 rating with 1.4 total viewers as it heads into its last two episodes.  In the lead-out out, Interview With The Vampire improved to a 0.10 score with 473K total viewers, but I am sure network execs were hoping for higher numbers for that show (more on that below).

You can see the full, season-to-date ratings for the sci fi and fantasy shows at this link, and below are the ratings for the genre shows from the past week. Ratings Source: ShowBuzzDaily

Ratings Results for the Week of 10/31/22

Status Updates:

Interview With The Vampire (AMC, Renewed): This show received a second season renewal before its first season premiere, but the linear numbers have been disappointing. The network has claimed that the show is “the #1 New Ad-Supported Cable Drama of 2022” which factors in delayed and possibly digital viewing. But it has not moved the needle much in the way of same-day viewing. I don’t believe that puts the show in danger, but I am sure they hoped for better numbers from such a high-profile property.

Pennyworth (HBO Max, Renewal Possible): This Batman prequel has moved over to HBO Max from EPIX and it has not placed in the Nielsen Streaming Top 10 so far for its third season run. I’m not going to move it to Bubble status just yet, but Warner Bros. Discovery has been cleaning house since the merger and this one could find itself on the wrong end of that. Fans should definitely make a Call to Action on the social networks to bring this show some more attention if they want it to continue to a fourth season.

Shining Girls (Apple TV+, Renewal Possible): The first season of this time-traveling drama wrapped up the story from the novel, but series star Elizabeth Moss has said that she believes the show has more story to tell. It has been several months since it wrapped up, though, and no word on future seasons. The presence of Moss makes this a high-profile series and Apple TV+ tends to renew shows more often than cancel them, so it is possible this one could return. But the more time that passes, the less likely that is to occur.

The Imperfects (Netflix, On the Bubble): This show fell off the streaming charts only a few weeks after its premiere, and several other shows with much higher viewership have fallen to the Netflix Red Queen’s “Off With Their Heads!” verdict just recently such as Fate: The Winx Saga. If The Imperfects developed any sort of fan following, they should be making some noise on the social networks to support the show, otherwise this could be the next Netflix casualty.

You can see the status of all the currently airing, returning, and upcoming sci fi and fantasy shows at our Cancellation Watch page.

ALSO READ:

Digital Ratings: Cabinet of Curiosities Enters the Netflix Top 10, House of the Dragon Remains at Number 1, and More. Read

CancelledSciFi.com: Keep up with the status updates of all the currently airing sci fi and fantasy shows with our Cancellation Watch posts. And be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site  for breaking news and updates.

SciFiTVSite.com: Follow our Sci Fi TV Schedule for all the currently airing and upcoming sci fi and fantasy television shows, and you can see the premieres for all the upcoming genre entries at this link.