Entertainment News

Fall TV cancellation odds: Which shows are safe, which are not

By JAMES HIBBERD 

Hear that? It’s the eerie silence that descends when it’s a month into the fall season and not one new show has yet been canceled. But several titles have received orders for additional episodes, effectively making them safe (for now). Here’s a rundown of which new broadcast shows you can rest assured aren’t going anywhere, and which might be in danger. They’re roughly ranked from safest to the seemingly least safe:


Manifest (NBC), 12.3 million viewers and 2.7 rating. Boosted by its lead-in from The Voice, the mystery drama is the fall’s biggest new show. NBC has ordered a total of 16 episodes which will represent a full season.

New Amsterdam (NBC): 10 million viewers, 2.2 rating. Probably the most surprising success of the fall given the show’s relatively modest reviews. The aspirational medical drama sheds quite a bit of its This Is Us lead-in, but has received an order for additional episodes for a total of 22.

The Conners (ABC): 10.5 million viewers, 2.4 rating. The Roseanne spin-off has only aired a couple episodes so far so it’s tough to say where its numbers are going to settle, but it currently ranks as the second-biggest show on Tuesday nights and ABC ordered an additional episode of the comedy after the second episode aired.

FBI (CBS): 11.4 million viewers, 1.5 rating. Producer Dick Wolf’s latest isn’t the breakout procedural smash the network might have hoped, but isn’t shedding too much of its NCIS lead-in either and has been stable the last few weeks (and stability is a blissfully rare commodity in the fall). It also has a full-season order.

The Neighborhood (CBS): 7.6 million viewers, 1.4 rating. Cedric the Entertainer’s comedy has solidly performed the tough job of cold-starting a Monday lineup against tough competition.

God Friended Me (CBS): 9.8 million viewers, 1.3 rating. The spiritual dramedy is doing better-than-average numbers on Sunday nights and has a full-season order.

The Cool Kids (Fox): 6.3 million viewers, 1.4 rating. The retirement home comedy is drafting heavily off its Last Man Standing lead-in, but it’s also winning its Friday time slot and has a full season order. But it better put the brakes on — this comedy hasn't stopped slipping since its big premiere.

Charmed (The CW): 1.4 million, 0.5 rating. CW’s entry into Sunday nights with this supernatural reboot is doing fine, and the network has bigger problems later in the week (why did they renew Dynasty again?).

Single Parents (ABC): 5.1 million viewers, 1.5 rating. The new Wednesday family comedy has seemingly stabilized into a passable number following Modern Family.

The Kids Are Alright (6.5 million viewers, 1.4 rating): The working class comedy is losing a lot of its Conners lead-in, yet is also ABC’s second highest-rated show on Tuesdays.

Magnum P.I. (CBS): 8.2 million viewers, 1.3 rating. The poster show for the supposed declining interest in reboots, the flashy Hawaiian drama is losing its time slot to strong rivals (yet also has a full season order).

A Million Little Things (5.9 million viewers, 1.4 rating): Dubbed, fairly or unfairly, a This Is Us clone, the Wednesday drama has apparently stabilized at a modest audience. On Oct. 26, ABC gave the series a full-season order.
Happy Together (CBS): 5.5 million viewers, 1.0 rating. The Damon Wayans Jr. comedy is part of CBS’ should-be-doing-better-than-it-is Monday block.

Dancing with the Stars Jr. (ABC): 5.4 million viewers, 1.2 rating: Only aired two episodes so far. Presumably cheap to make, plus it isn’t doing much worse than ABC’s other Sunday reality fare.

Murphy Brown (CBS): 8.7 million viewers, 1.3 rating: You might think this is ranked a bit low given the revival starring Candice Bergen averages nearly 9 million viewers, but performance is all about context and this is the lowest-rated entry in CBS’ Thursday comedy lineup (and not by a little).

The Rookie (ABC): 5.4 million viewers, 1.0 rating: Nathan Fillion returned to ABC with a crime drama that got decent reviews. Its weak performance is a head-scratcher.

Rel (Fox): 2.8 million, 1.1 rating: History shows that you never want to be the live-action weak-link entry shoved into Fox’s popular Sunday animated lineup.

All American (The CW): 650,000 viewers, 0.2 rating. This CW football drama stepped outside the network’s genre comfort zone, got good reviews and showed some growth this week, but has fumbled in the Nielsens overall.

I Feel Bad (3.7 million, 0.9 rating). The worst-titled show of the fall is really struggling on Thursdays where it’s NBC’s lowest-rated program and managing to get beat up by Murphy Brown.

The Alec Baldwin Show (2 million viewers, 0.3 rating): Far below the line for a major broadcast network across its first two episodes. If you picked this Sunday night talk show for your First Canceled Show office pool, you’re probably going to win.