SurrealEstate is a spooky, fun show that has yet to build up much of an audience because it received little in the way of support from Syfy.
What Is It?
This supernatural dramedy follows the Roman real estate agency that focuses on haunted or possessed houses in order to clear out their supernatural tenants before new buyers take up residence.
Aired: 2021-25, 3 Seasons Totaling 30 Episodes
Starring: Tim Rozon, Sarah Levy, Adam Korson, Maurice Dean Wint, Savannah Basley
Created By: George R. Olson
Why Was It Cancelled?
This fun little series slipped onto Syfy’s schedule a few years back without much promotion and managed to stick around for three seasons against all odds. Syfy originally cancelled the show after its first season, but then reversed that decision and brought it back for a second and third year. It is produced in a partnership with the Canadian CTV Sci-Fi Channel, and that helped to keep it viable despite low ratings. During its third season, it averaged only a 0.02 score (two one-hundredths of a ratings point) based on same-day viewing for the 18-49 demographic with 130K total viewers for its Syfy broadcasts, which were not good numbers even for basic cable. Of course, it didn’t help that Syfy relegated it to the Thursday 10 PM EST timeslot without much of a lead-in and that the network does very little to promote its own shows.
Syfy seems to be barely clinging to scripted originals these days, having only a few offerings like SurrealEstate and Revival on the schedule throughout the year. But the fact is that both of those shows are actually quite good and have started to develop a fan following (you can read my review of the former at this link and the latter at this link). If the network had paired those two up and given them more promotion, they might have found a wider audience than the small followings they have right now. And they are not expensive to produce compared to what the streaming services are paying for originals these days, so the network should give them the support they need so that it can continue with scripted programming on its schedule.
SurrealEstate wrapped up its third season back in June, and just recently, its cancellation was confirmed by series co-star Elena Juatco, though Syfy still has not made an official announcement on the show. It did resolve several of its storylines, but it also set up the continuation to a fourth season, and fans will be disappointed if it gets truncated at this point. But the network appears to have moved on from this one as its lineup of scripted originals continues to diminish. (I discuss the renewal/cancellation prospects of Revival in more detail at this link.)
Be sure to keep up with the status of all the current sci fi and fantasy shows with our Cancellation Watch posts and page.
What Can Fans Do to Help the Show?
If fans want a fourth season of the show, the best thing they can do is watch it and get it trending on social media. All three seasons are currently streaming on Hulu, so you can watch it there and your views will be counted (no Nielsen filtering). In addition, fans should get the show trending on social media with hashtags like #SaveSurrealEstate and #SurrealEstateSeason4. That will bring more attention to the show and perhaps convince another venue to pick it up (or maybe Syfy will reverse its cancellation a second time). Perhaps Hulu will consider taking a flier on this one since they are streaming the first three seasons. It would be relatively inexpensive compared to the cost of streaming originals, and they could pick up the partnership with the CTV Sci Fi Channel in Canada to share the expenses.
SurrealEstate was a survivor across its three seasons, and perhaps it will find a way to live on to a fourth year. But I believe the fans will need to come together and show their support for that to happen. People are tuning into the show and want it to stick around, and there is a good chance it has found a bigger audience on Hulu. If they rally together, perhaps this one will continue to a fourth season and beyond.
Where Can You Watch It?
As mentioned above, all three seasons are currently streaming on Hulu. It may still be showing up on Syfy’s schedule in reruns from time to time, but it is no longer streaming on that network’s website.
Have you been watching SurrealEstate, and will you support fan efforts to keep the show alive? Chime in with your thoughts in the comments below.
Why Were They Cancelled? 2nd Ed.
What happened to it? Where did it go? Why were no more episodes produced? Will the story ever be resolved?
The answer to what happened is simple: it got cancelled. And it was cancelled because viewership did not meet expectations, whether that was measured by the Nielsen ratings or whatever metric the network or streaming service uses to gauge its audience.
But why was the viewership low, you ask? It was such a great show and more people should have been tuning in. Why didn’t its network do more to promote it? And why do the companies that produce and air television shows seem to hate sci fi and fantasy so much?
These are questions genre fans have been asking for years, and Why Were They Cancelled? is here to provide some answers. This is the updated and expanded second edition of the book, and it looks at the era of the Nielsen ratings and how that is becoming a thing of the past while also focusing on the more recent impacts of the streaming services and Peak TV.