Cancellation Watch: Status updates for the sci fi and fantasy shows on the broadcast networks, cable channels, and streaming services as well as breaking news on the currently airing, returning, and upcoming genre entries. 

Status Updates

House of the Dragon (HBO, Status: Renewed): For the first full week that the Nielsen charts measured this show’s second season, it improved to Number 2 in the list of acquired shows with an estimated 1.23 billion minutes of viewing. That is the highest viewership the show has seen thus far, surpassing the 1.02 billion mark it achieved in its first season. Not surprisingly, this one has already been renewed for a third season.

The Ark (Syfy, Status: Renewal Possible): Nielsen ratings data for linear viewing has been hard to come by lately, but TVSeriesFinale.com does have the premiere ratings for this show’s second season and it posted a 0.04 score based on same-day viewing in the 18-49 demographic with 240K total viewers. That is down from its first season average of a 0.06 rating, and not a strong return for the show. I will watch how this one tracks in the coming weeks, but it could be shifting to Bubble status shortly.

The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy (Prime Video, Status: Renewed): This animated sci fi comedy arrived on Prime Video with little in the way of promotion in February 2024 and did not make it into the Nielsen Streaming Rankings. But apparently it was renewed in advance for a second season and work on that is already underway. Whether it will continue beyond that remains to be seen.

Beacon 23 (Syfy, Status: On the Bubble): This show had originally been a joint production by AMC and Spectrum and had been picked up for two seasons, but those two venues backed away from it before it aired. MGM+ acquired the series and has now aired the two seasons, though it received little in the way of promotion and that may have just been a burn-off run. They have not indicated whether they have an interest in carrying it into a third season and I am going to shift this one to Bubble status.

Velma (Max, Status: On the Bubble): People were surprised that this show received a second season after the first was pretty widely panned, but apparently that had been planned in advance. It did not make it into the Nielsen Streaming Rankings across its two seasons, and it currently holds only 39% on the Tomatometer scale and a 10% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes. I am going to assume that a third season is unlikely, so I am moving this one to Bubble status.

You can see the status of all the shows from the current season at our Cancellation Watch Page.

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Cancellation/Renewal Score:

This past week brought two more cancellations with Halo getting the ax from Paramount+ and Reginald the Vampire coming to an end at Syfy. In addition, apparently a fifteenth season of Doctor Who was part of the Disney partnership with the BBC and that is in the works, and The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy was renewed for a second season in advance as mentioned above. So factoring in all of that, the current score is at 21 cancelled and ending sci fi and fantasy entries (28% of shows tracked) vs. 31 renewed (42%). Below are this season’s numbers, and you can see the list of shows and keep up with the score throughout the week at our Cancellation Watch Page.

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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.

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