FOX TV Show Rankings for 2010-11 season [1/15/11 update]

Which FOX TV shows will be cancelled or renewed for the 2011-12 season? Several FOX shows had original episodes for the week and their ratings were different enough to change their average rankings, despite it being mid-season. Bob’s Burgers, a new animated show, debuted and the numbers were quite good. Its debut was a 4.5 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 9.38 million viewers. Based on just that one episode, it’s the second-highest rated series of the season, right behind Glee. Of course, the real test will be to see how many people return week after week.

Fellow Sunday night residents The Simpsons and Family Guy both saw positive rises for the week. On Monday, Lie to Me, which had already been struggling, fell to a season low with a 1.5 rating and 5.43 million viewers. On Thursday, Million Dollar Money Drop’s ratings were up but, because the ratings were so much higher in the beginning of the run, the latest episode actually brought the season average down.

Wonder if your favorite FOX show’s been renewed or cancelled? Check out our comprehensive list. We’ll keep updating it as new info becomes available.

Below is a list of the regular FOX TV shows and their 2010-11 season average ratings to date. It only incorporates the ratings for original episodes that have aired this season, not repeats. The data is sorted by the 18-49 demographic averages, the group that advertisers will pay the most to reach. The “compared to” column reflects whether the demo average has gone up, down, or stayed the same since last week.

Demo rank	Scripted TV Shows	Average viewers (millions)	Average 18-49 demo	Compared to last week
1	Glee (renewed)	11.61	4.8	---
2	Bob's Burgers	9.38	4.5	new
3	The Simpsons	8.68	3.9	up
4	House	10.08	3.8	---
4	Family Guy	7.73	3.8	up
6	The Cleveland Show	6.51	3.0	---
7	American Dad	5.71	2.7	---
8	Raising Hope (renewed)	6.26	2.6	---
9	Bones	9.28	2.5	---
10	Fringe	5.08	1.9	---
11	Lie To Me	5.53	1.8	down
12	Human Target	6.04	1.6	---
12	Running Wilde (cancelled)	3.72	1.6	---
14	Lone Star (cancelled)	3.66	1.1	---
15	The Good Guys (cancelled)	2.46	0.7	---
Demo rank	News or Reality TV Shows	Average viewers (millions)	Average 18-49 demo	Compared to last week
1	Hell's Kitchen 9pm	6.33	2.7	---
1	Hell's Kitchen 8pm	6.03	2.7	---
3	Million Dollar Money Drop	5.19	1.7	down
4	America's Most Wanted	4.83	1.6	---
5	Cops	4.45	1.5	---

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 The Good Guys, Running Wilde, and Lone Star). 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.

The list has been separated into two sections. Of the two, scripted programming is the most expensive. News and reality TV shows are less expensive to produce but the networks can’t program just news/reality (though they might like to since they are less of a financial risk).

It should be noted that Friday and Saturday nights are the least watched evenings of television so ratings for shows on those nights are lower. The networks understand this and take 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.

Raw data: © The Nielsen Company via Media Week. Nielsen doesn’t release the final Friday and Saturday night ratings until a few days later so these ratings may change slightly once the final numbers are released.

What do you think? Which shows do you think won’t survive to see a new season?