As the Current Season Gets Rolling, We Continue to See the Number of Sci Fi and Fantasy Shows Decline

We are currently two months into the 2025-26 season, and a trend that we have been seeing for a while is continuing. The number of sci fi and fantasy shows across the linear channels and the streaming services has been on the decline, and it appears that will continue this season. Peak TV has allegedly come to an end, so the drop in genre premieres should not come as any surprise. But the question at this point is: when will it level out? Are we going through a market correction, or is this the bursting of the bubble? It’s hard to say at this time, but the drop in the number of sci fi TV shows is definitely notable.

Looking at the past four seasons and into the current one, we have seen a definite drop in the number of genre shows that have premiered each year. The 2021-22 season had 111 shows, up from the COVID-impacted prior season, but since then, the numbers have been dropping. The 2022-23 season had 100 genre premieres, down 10%. The 2023-24 season had 88 premieres (down 12%), and the 2024-25 season had 72 premieres (down 18%). We are only two months into the current season, so it is hard to predict how things will play out, but the early numbers are not promising. August had seven premieres, the same as the prior season, but September had only five, a five-season low. October currently has only six on the schedule, which again is a five-season low. Based on the declines we have been seeing, I have projected out the 2025-26 season, and I am currently forecasting 65 premieres for the year, a drop of 11% from the 2024-25 season. The chart below shows the trends and numbers, with the bottom line reflecting the projections.

When you look at the breakout of shows by broadcast, basic cable, premium cable, and streaming, you will see that the latter platform continues to have the majority of sci fi and fantasy shows, while broadcast and basic cable continue to have fewer options. This is another trend we have been seeing, as those old-school networks shy away from genre shows and scripted programming in general. And as the current television landscape continues to evolve, I am guessing we will see less and less in the way of scripted originals on those channels. Streaming continues to pick up the slack, but the number of shows available is also on the decline. After years of pouring large amounts of money into originals, they are growing more cautious by cutting costs and reducing the number of shows they are greenlighting.

Throughout all of this, I had been expecting to see the cancellation rate increase, but the 2024-25 season currently stands at 49% renewals for sci fi and fantasy entries vs. 28% cancelled and ending, with fifteen shows still awaiting word on their fates. It may be that with fewer and fewer shows getting the greenlight each season, we won’t see the cancellation rate increase, and the total population will continue to decline by attrition. Still, if we get the predicted 65 genre premieres this year, that’s a lot to keep up with, and still higher than what we saw in the pre-Peak TV era. And are we really fretting over the loss of the mediocre entries that broadcast networks and basic cable channels used to crank out and not give much support to?

There are only so many hours in the day, and there is only so much money that the networks and streaming services can pour into their shows. We knew several years back that these numbers would have to start dropping at some point. What we are seeing should have been expected, though sadly it does lead to the loss of shows that people have gotten attached to. Perhaps things will level out this year and the declines will slow or come to a stop. But that hasn’t happened yet, so we will have to keep an eye on the numbers and see where they stand at the end of the season.

Keep up with the status of all the current sci fi and fantasy shows as well as news and updates on new and upcoming shows at CancelledSciFi.com.

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Sci Fi TV Highlights: Listings for the upcoming week along with the latest sci fi TV news and trailers.

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