10 Broadcast TV Shows on the Cancellation Bubble
We’re still a few months away from the broadcast TV networks’ upfront season, when ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and The CW hype up their upcoming TV shows while trying to cancel their under-performers as quietly as possible. But it’s never too soon to worry about your favorite broadcast TV show.
While some of those series have already gotten renewals for next season — including Quantum Leap, So Help Me Todd, and All American — the casts and crews of many others are still sweating.
According to SpoilerTV’s calculations — based on ratings, production costs, cast availability, and other factors — these are the broadcast TV shows most likely to be canceled this season, ranked from vulnerable to critically endangered. (Hat tip to TV Series Finale for the ratings and viewership stats.)
Alert: Missing Persons Unit
Fox’s police procedural — starring Dania Ramirez and Scott Caan as formerly-married cops whose own son went missing — dropped 68 percent in the 18-to-49 demo between its first and second episode. (On the plus side, however, the premiere was Fox’s most-streamed drama debut in three years, per Variety.)
Walker: Independence
This Walker spinoff — starring Katherine McNamara as a woman who braves the Wild West solo after the murder of her husband — is getting far fewer views in its first season than Walker is in its third. Plus, we know that The CW will only renew a “minimal” number of shows under its new Nexstar ownership.
Big Sky
Even with a new storyline titled Deadly Trails and starring Reba McEntire and Jensen Ackles, this ABC drama’s third season was down more than 16 percent in average total viewers compared to Season 2.
Young Rock
Dwayne Johnson might crush it at the box office, but the NBC coming-of-age comedy about his early years isn’t dominating the ratings. The show lost 40 percent of its viewers between Season 2 and Season 3, and the numbers have just gotten worse since then.
Lopez vs Lopez
It remains to be seen whether George Lopez’s father-daughter comedy on NBC can live up to his self-named ABC series, but it’s not looking good so far. In both total viewers and 18-to-49 ratings, Lopez vs Lopez and Young Rock rank last among NBC’s scripted offerings.
Alaska Daily
Over at ABC, meanwhile, Alaska Daily is trailing all other scripted shows in the 18-to-49 demo. Perhaps, however, the Hilary Swank-led drama can get a bump in the ratings when it ends its three-and-a-half month hiatus and returns on March 2.
Call Me Kat
Jeopardy! co-host Mayim Bialik might not have to pull double duty much longer. The third season of her Fox sitcom is down 40 percent in the 18-to-49 demo compared to Season 2.
Fantasy Island
So far, the second season of this TV reboot starring Roselyn Sanchez is averaging 0.21 in the 18-to-49 demo, down 30 percent from Season 1. That’s hardly a fantasy for Fox, but the show’s ratings have improved since Season 2’s January 2 premiere.
HouseBroken
This animated sitcom about anthropomorphic animals in a support group has the lowest total viewership of scripted Fox shows so far this season. 9-1-1, the leader, has more than six times the audience.
Welcome to Flatch
Worrisomely for fans of this small-town mockumentary, the Fox series pulls in fewer than 1 million viewers per week on average and ranks as the broadcast TV show most likely to be axed, according to SpoilerTV. In better news, Season 2’s total viewership average was up 30 percent over Season 1’s average!
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