Which CW TV shows will be cancelled or renewed for the 2011-12 season? As the smallest network, The CW has the fewest number of hours of primetime to fill and the fewest number of shows. The network also focuses on attracting the young female demographic which is a little different than the other networks.
Life Unexpected was on the bubble last season and the ratings dropped this season, leading the show to be cancelled. Despite having the network’s highest rated program (Vampire Diaries) as a lead-in, Nikita ranks lower than Life Unexpected. The network seems happy with Supernatural’s performance on Friday nights but it remains to be seen if it’s enough to get it renewed.
Below is a list of the regular CW TV shows and their 2010-11 season average ratings to date. It only incorporates the ratings for original episodes that have aired this season (no repeats). The data is sorted by the 18-34 female demographic averages, the group that the CW focuses on attracting and selling to advertisers.
| TV Shows | Average viewers (millions) |
Average 18-49 demo |
Average women 18-34 demo |
||
| 1 | The Vampire Diaries | 3.40 | 1.6 | 2.5 | |
| 2 | Gossip Girl | 1.86 | 1.0 | 2.3 | |
| 3 | America's Next Top Model | 2.87 | 1.3 | 2.2 | |
| 4 | 90210 | 1.93 | 1.0 | 1.8 | |
| 4 | One Tree Hill | 1.91 | 1.0 | 1.8 | |
| 6 | Hellcats | 2.20 | 0.9 | 1.6 | |
| 7 | Life Unexpected (cancelled) | 1.52 | 0.7 | 1.3 | |
| 8 | Nikita | 2.63 | 1.0 | 1.2 | |
| 9 | Supernatural | 2.37 | 1.0 | 1.1 | |
| 10 | Smallville (ending) | 2.71 | 1.1 | 1.0 | |
The closer a show is to the bottom of the list, the closer it is to being cancelled (if it hasn’t been cancelled already like Life Unexpected). If it’s closer to the top of the list, it’s more likely to be renewed. Shows that are in the middle (“on the bubble”) can be a little tougher to call. Their future typically comes down to other factors like overall costs, contracts, who produces the show, and what new shows are on the horizon.
It should be noted that Friday nights are one of the least watched evenings of television so ratings for shows on that night are lower. The network understands this and takes it into account. However, regardless of when a show is aired, its production costs remain the same. Ultimately, it must still be profitable enough for the network to keep ordering more episodes.
Nielsen doesn’t release the final Friday and Saturday night ratings until a few days later. The ratings with an “*” may change slightly once the final numbers are released.
Raw data: © The Nielsen Company via Media Week.
What do you think? Which shows do you think won’t survive to see a new season?
Image courtesy The CW.
oth is most likely ending. i hope hellcats or nikita, ive been extra bitter since melrose was axed, even though the ratings were bad. LUX was great and i know some guys that loved the show. Dawn is just a ratings ***** who goes by quantity over quality. So glad she is leaving the network, although she should have done so ages ago. 90210 looks like utter crap so get rid of that.
I think the ratings are really one sided viewpoints here. What about the male demo that watches some of these show ? . I know there target is women, and teen girls..but i’m neither and my favorite show on tv is Supernatual. I watch it every chance it’s on. This show is the best show on tv. They have the most fans when they do conventions and stuff…it’s to bad it’s on Fridays.. it would be bringing in more people if it was on Thursdays at 9pm. like it should be.
I only watch Smallville, Supernatural, and Vampire Diaries…
Smallville is on its final season, so no matter what anyone says, it won’t be around next season (which is fine), Supernatural will probably squeeze out maybe 1 more season, and the Vampire Diaries will obviously go on and on and on
I LOVE Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill so I would be REALLY disappointed in the CW if they cancelled them. I really like Hellcats, 90210 and Vampire Diaries and think they should give them this spring season to see how well they do for fall. I liked Nikita in the beginning but now I’m not so into it. You know what to expect-Nikita tries to stop Division. America’s Next Top Model is cool but I tape it so I can skip all the stupid young girl drama and just watch the good parts. I am REALLY glad they cancelled… Read more »
I think Life Unexpected was one of the best produced, written and acted shows in the CW lineup. Unfortunately, it was the kind of show that the old WB would have made into a signature show and give it a run akin to Everwood, Dawson’s Creek and 7th Heaven. But, with the likes of Dawn Ostroff at the helm (former head of UPN) its no wonder that the types of shows are continuously flawed in their target demo. The network wants to brand itself as the network to attract a female demographic, but it gets rid of those type shows… Read more »
Supernatural has got to survive. It’s the best show period. I like Hellcats so that one should be renewed also
Supernatural and Vampire Diaries are the only shows I watch on CW. So if Supernatural goes….I’m going, no matter if I watch VD or not. I can watch it when it comes out on DVD.
The only show I watch on CW is Nikita. Bringing it back and giving it a different twist is good. I missed the old Nikita with Peta Wilson. The writing was great. That show worked for me because they stayed focus on the relationship between Michael and Nikita. There was great chemistry there. That was what kept me an avid fan of the show. I think the writers here need to do more on the relationships. It worked on the old Nikita.
I don’t think the CW is doing a very good job of targeting that audience of young women. Many of the shows sound like they would be interesting to young women, but the episodes don’t follow through. I think many of the plots tend to be a better fit for audiences that don’t include young women. Maybe the CW should demand more young female writers on the shows so that the scripts stay interesting to the target audience.
WHO CARES
If they cancel Supernatural, I will say buh bye to CW.
I just hope Nikita survives. Gossip girl and 90210 for my mom.
The ONLY cw show i watch is Supernatural. if that goes away then i am finished with the cw. I’ll watch whatever Jensen and Jared’s next projects are!! I’ll follow them wherever they go, movies and television.
they should just cancelle the hole cw crap network an do us all a favor
Here’s my two cents. The CW really needs to revamp itself next season and it did a descent job in picking up a “different” show for once(NIKITA). It’s sad that NIKITA has almost 2.7 million viewers and it’s not holding on to TVD’s women audience. It’s pretty obvious the show skews an older audience such as its Friday neighbors(SV&SN). With SMALLVILLE ending, Life Unexpected is now cancelled, I think the CW should really end ONE TREE HILL. Don’t get me wrong, OTH is my second favorite show on the CW(NIKITA being the 1st) but the show is losing it’s momentum.… Read more »
I don’t like “Hellcats”. I never watched that show anyway. I think it should be canceled. Don’t you?
I’ve never even heard of it and I watch Supernatural, Vamp Diaries and Smallville, so it’s not like I don’t see ads!