Last week, CBS renewed 11 TV shows for the 2016-17 season. Supergirl was not among them. With declining ratings, should the Monday night series be renewed for a second season on CBS? Should it be cancelled instead? Moved to The CW?
Supergirl revolves around Superman’s cousin, Kara Zor-El (Melissa Benoist). As a girl, she survived Krypton’s destruction by being sent to Earth where she was raised as a human. She kept her powers a secret and now, as an adult, works as an assistant at a big city media conglomerate. Kara’s existence becomes known to the world and she is enlisted by a super-secret agency to help protect the citizens from evil forces as Supergirl. The rest of the cast includes Calista Flockhart, Chyler Leigh, Mehcad Brooks, David Harewood, and Jeremy Jordan.
The ratings for this freshman series have not exactly been “super”. After a positive start back in October, the latest ratings are less than half of the premiere’s. It’s currently averaging a 1.73 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 7.9 million viewers. Last week’s episode hit a new low with a 1.29 in the demo with 6.0 million. Those are poor numbers for a CBS show.
CBS head Les Moonves recently said that he expected several of the new CBS shows to be renewed for second seasons. Still, they haven’t been renewed yet and things can change quickly in the TV industry, particularly as the network execs review pilots for next season.
Tonight’s crossover with CW’s The Flash should bring a bump in the ratings but that’s not expected to help the next week’s new installment’s numbers and there are only two more episodes in this season.
Given the ratings, Supergirl probably shouldn’t be renewed for a second season on CBS. The series could work well on The CW but that might mean that the show’s budget would have to be downsized and production moved to Vancouver, British Columbia — where Arrow, The Flash, and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow are produced.
What do you think? Do you think Supergirl should be cancelled or renewed for a second season? Should it move to The CW or stay on CBS?
I’m just now getting into the show. I binged watched the whole season in about 2 days. Please don’t cancel this show. I actually enjoy it a lot! Get some new writers, do whatever needs to be done but please don’t cancel it. Plus melissa benoist is too cute to let go.
Bring it back!! I love this show!!
Supergirl is a wonderful show. Anyone who is a comic nerd will love it! My family and friends watch it religiously, and WE LOVE IT! I love how it’s bringing in the dynamic between Kara & Alex & Hank ( MARTIAN MANHUNTER!!!!! LUV HIM!) Please please please renew it for a second season- IT’S AMAZING!!!!
Anyone who is a comic nerd will hate it. This show dumps on its source material. Maybe don’t cancel it because people seem to like it (I hate it but I can just not watch it) but at least admit the writing is terrible and does no justice to the comic.
no it’s much like the original comics. from the sixties and seventies. and 80’s. I don’t like the constant need for EVERY character to be edgy. that’s crap. supergirl is not edgy.
Supergirl cannot be cancelled!! Please bring it back or move to CW!
Please Renew it’s my Current/Only Favorite Show
please renew! Supergirl is one of the few shows that acknowledges the most underrated characters and give young girls a positive role model to show them that they are capable of anything.
Positive role model? She’s a bumbling buffoon as a superhero and idolises a terrible boss in her personal life. If she was good at what she does in both aspects of her life she might be a positive role model, and this might be a decent show.
As it is I do not want my daughter to look at her and think she’s someone to aspire to. Black Widow, maybe. One of the Arrow or AoS girls, perhaps, but not this blonde whimsy. She a crown and a dress away from a Disney Princess.
Uhm, you do know Black Widow kills people? Yeah, I’d choose her for a role model over SUPERGIRL ( who doesn’t kill) anyday…….. SMH, Right………
Obviously, we haven’t been watching the same show. Supergirl is everything I needed in a role model when I was younger – brave, kind, and not scared of messing up sometimes. I’m sensing a little misogyny here – you seem to think girls have to be tough and cold-hearted to be role models. They don’t. Also, if you think Disney princesses aren’t something to look up to, well. Jasmine? Rapunzel? Belle? Ariel? Pocahontas? MULAN?! How are these women not something that you would aspire to be? And yeah, I wouldn’t use Black Widow, a character that has been literally TRAINED… Read more »
Please renew Supergirl for season two. The acting is much better than many other shows on t.v. these days (especially the ridiculous sitcoms that are dominating t.v.!!!) The writers are doing a good job developing the story line of the characters and I’m certain fans will want this show to continue.
what shows are you watching that Supergirl has better acting? Those Nick shows? Two broke girls maybe?
Renew, please!
I don’t like most of the hero shows out currently but Supergirl I like the least. This show tries it’s absolute hardest to crap on the source material.
Please renew the show I love it. It’s getting really really good.
Really? Given the ratings, Supergirl probably shouldn’t be renewed for a second season on CBS? Are you that lost tvseriesfinale? Have you forgotten that DVR numbers are also included in the ratings game? Also, Supergirl has more viewers and better ratings than any DC & Marvel comic book TV show and your gonna say that Supergirl probably shouldn’t be renewed for a second season on CBS? Whoever wrote this article, You should retire from writing. You also wrote and i quote—Tonight’s crossover with CW’s The Flash should bring a bump in the ratings but that’s not expected to help next… Read more »
Well said!!
You can tell the article was written by someone that does not like the show. LOL They read your comment because they crossed out next week on it for the episode. The thing that these writers do not seem to take in to perspective is other events. like Monday night football played apart in low ratings. You have The last yr of American Idol that started up for awhile before it was moved. And now dancing with the stars. Sadly some people really love Reality shows and they are ruining the fun tv with those garbage shows. Supergirl is still… Read more »
Another big factor: Supergirl goes head-to-head with Gotham on Fox, most likely splitting the audience that likes comic book based shows. (I know that I generally watch Supergirl live if I’m home, then catch up with Gotham a few days later off of the DVR. If Supergirl wasn’t directly up against another comic-based show, it would likely do better in the ratings. However, fans CAN make a difference if enough of them work together. The NBC show, Chuck, was kept on the air for 5 years in spite of modest ratings because the fans were so vocal. The targeted one… Read more »
It is true that they did receive a boost but supergirl really doesn’t have many sponsors and it takes lots of budget and that is one reason it isnt on the cw right now, they don’t have the budget and with superhero shows at an all time high right now it’s best to say that supergirl with better rating for those shows but when matched with cbs shows it’s going to be canceled asked with the crossover lots of people will hate on cbs, but I want it Ito go to the cw if they have the budget so they… Read more »
like i said to someone else, being the highest rated superhero show mesans nothing. the other superhero shows are on cw which isnt a big network channel and not a comparison. supergirl may do well on cw, but if it has bad ratings compared to alot of other cbs shows then it will be cancelled and that isnt stupid it is business
Keep telling yourself that. Marvel shows are all on big networks and Supergirl has out done them all in ratings. CW is not as small of a channel as you think it is. Many shows that are watched highly are on that channel. Warner Bros is not a little company. So To put CW as if they are a nothing channel is totally wrong. But if it makes you feel better to think that have at it. Because no matter how you try to spin it her ratings are still higher than any other superhero shows. Even on the big… Read more »
Also she is rating at number 3 in her time slot and number 5 on CBS Monday night over all. That is actually very good. And does not call for cancellation she also has ratings higher than any other CBS new series. So you have to look at the big picture.
Thanks for your thoughtful and kind comment. 1. DVR numbers are becoming more important but, for now, advertisers still only pay for live viewing and commercials seen within three days of airing via DVR (if Nielsen viewers skip the commercials, the advertisers don’t pay). Despite whatever spin you might hear, networks are interested in the bottom line. A good show is one that is profitable. They are corporations with shareholders (mostly regular people) who invest because they want dividends. Most of their revenue still comes from commercials. 2. Networks look at a show’s ratings RELATIVE to the ratings of other… Read more »
You are incorrect about the impact of DVR numbers as they relate to advertising (from someone actually IN advertising). In the 18-49 demo, only SIX shows on CBS had higher ratings…so no, you cannot just plug another show in there and achiever the same or higher ratings. Also, how can you say that a ratings bump because of a cross-over does not have an impact? That is absolutely incorrect as well. We look at these things when making decisions like this; especially if there are other shows on television for which other, future crossovers can be endeavored (Arrow, Legends, etc).… Read more »
Thanks for your comment. Nice to hear from someone in advertising. I’ve worked in advertising for many years. In regard to the averages, I’m not only looking at the averages but also at what the show’s been doing lately. I didn’t say that the ratings bump won’t have an impact. I did say that I believed that the crossover bump wouldn’t impact the next episode’s ratings. That’s been my experience. As I’ve stated earlier, I have nothing against this show or any other for that matter. Cheers.
i just wanted to say something about your comment that supergirl gets the best ratings of superhero shows. supergirl is on cbs which is a network channet. most of the other superhero shows are on cw which is much smaller than cbs. i think it is not a good comparison. cbs doesnt look and say hey we are the most popular superhero show, they look at their shows and see which shows have good ratings, which are struggling etc… if supergirl is one of your lower rated shows (i dont know if it is) then yes they will probably cancel… Read more »
Please renew… show is awesome,
The problem is the writing. The sisters angle is very over done and everybody’s always crying on this show and eating ice cream. Why do the villains not just blow up the city? Why do they always step in and then go away? It’s an illogical show that never makes any internal sense. The Red Kryptonite show was so stupid.
The sisters is the fan favorites. They are very much trending on Twitter #Danverssisters. If the villains blew up the city the show would last 20 min. Why on the Flash do they not blow up the city? or on Arrow?. Its called entertainment. you have to have the drama build up to keep the show going. The Red Kryptonite by the way was a fan favorite episode also. Everything you ripped apart in this show every superhero show does. lol. even in the movies. The villains sometimes win. But the superhero come in and eventually saves the day. That… Read more »
really? i like supergirl, but i hated the red kryptonite episode, probably my least favorite of all the episodes. i agree with the rest though
I actually have a supergirl fb group and yes it was a fan favorite. They want her hit with it again. lol I think it was fun to see Kara go bad girl. I loved the peanuts scene in the bar in reference to the old Superman movie with Christopher Reeves. That was Epic!
You can have entertainment without sacrificing writing. I watched season one and, for the most part, could guess what was going to happen in every episode….the exception being Hank Henshaw revealed as the Martian Manhunter instead of Cyborg Superman. Daredevil does a great job at moving the plot along without using formulaic plot devices.
Yep. Nailed it.
Supergirl is a great show. I grew up reading the comics and I love how they are reintroducing her to a modern day Supergirl . I love that its not exactly spot on like the comics. The writers and DC once again doing an amazing job with another superhero show. I am very thankful to have so many of these great shows at one time. We use to be lucky if we just got one on network tv. Enjoy them all while we have them folks because this may never happen like this again.
What? CW renewed 11 shows plus they have 6 pilots. They won’t bother with this. Berlanti has one pilot of those 6 pilots. Good Luck.
CW stands for CBS and Warner Bros. They are joined networks meaning when you look at it CBS is the parents to CW.