When it comes to scripted TV shows, Syfy has had both hits and flops. Which of the current series will be cancelled or renewed for another season?
Syfy execs consider a lot of data when deciding whether to renew or cancel a TV series, but ratings are a major factor.
Scripted Syfy Network shows listed: 12 Monkeys, Aftermath, The Ark, Astrid & Lilly Save the World, Bitten, Blood Drive, Channel Zero, Childhood’s End, Chucky, Continuum, Dark Matter, Day of the Dead, Deadly Class, Defiance, Dominion, The Expanse, Ghost Wars, Happy!, Haven, Helix, Hunters, Incorporated, Killjoys, Krypton, Lost Girl, The Magicians, Nightflyers, Olympus, Reginald the Vampire, Resident Alien, Superstition, SurrealEstate, Vagrant Queen, Van Helsing, Wynonna Earp, and Z Nation.
Last updated: Most recent ratings added for The Ark.
Note: If you’re not seeing the updated charts, please try reloading the page. You can also view them here and here.
A couple of notes about these charts:
These figures are updated automatically as new ratings are released (usually a day or so after the broadcasts). The averages are based on the final national numbers (live plus same day viewing). For technical reasons, I have to resort them manually so feel free to let me know if I missed something.
The demo numbers, which are typically most important to the broadcast networks, aren’t quite as vital to cable channels because their audiences are usually much smaller. Demo numbers are typically reported using the 10ths decimal place (2.4, for example). In the averages, I’m using an extra decimal for easier ranking.
What do you think? Are you surprised by any of the ratings? Which shows should be doing better? Which one do you think will be cancelled next?
How can Van Helsing be rated when it hasn’t even started airing? It’s got the 2nd highest rating of any of SyFy series and no episodes have ever aired.
There was a special commercial free preview airing of the first episode; this is where the rating comes from.
Good question…..?
Why cancel Dominion when a year later it’s still got the fourth highest ratings on your channel? Like seriously?
Cost. It didn’t pull in enough viewers and the budget for Dominion probably nearly covers both Killjoys and Dark Matter.
Last year or 2 years ago shouldn’t be compared to this years ratings. Neilsen ratings are dropping 30-50% a year, so neilsen ratings are becoming irrelevant.
I’m with you Josh, it makes no sense?….BUMMED
Right!!! I agree. Great show!
Just as stupid as canceling Defiance. Based on the numbers is 3rd rated show. Good idea to renew magicians… Wtf is that show? Never heard of it.
SYFY needs the triple B
Buck Rodgers
Barberella
Buckaroo Banzai
These low rated shows stick around because SYFY doesn’t pay production costs on these shows.Many are made in Canada for their broadcast stations.SYFY just buys syndication rights.Only a few shows are SYFY produced,and a majority of them get canceled because they are not cost effective.
They closed the great series “dominion” with a demo rating of 0.25, but was extended for a terrible (in my opinion) Wynonna Earp with a rating of 0.13 and weak 12 Monkeys with a rating of 0.12. What Syfy is going on? Where is the logic? Why a top series close? This is fucked up
Overseas sales are a major factor, DVD sales, etc are factored in as well as the costs of production.Dominion was filmed in South Africa.
SyFy continues to defy certain logic but at least for the moment it seems there may be a change in tide. So much damage is already done that there is a long road back they’ve barely traveled at this point. Renewing 12 Monkeys and Wynonna Earp are positive steps toward the small but dedicated base of fans. If SyFy follows typical patterns, that will all be erased quickly when they cancel each without a proper end. SyFy could possibly regain some loyalty if they would resurrect some previous programming to allow for fan closure. Whether they bring shows back for… Read more »
SyFy isn’t in the business to bring closure to fans, especially a minority of science fiction fans who may remain loyal to a storyline. It’s very expensive to rebuild sets and try and re-sign actors who have gone onto other series, just to give fans closure. If the story isn’t holding a majority of fans, at least enough to keep the advertisers interested in supporting it, there is no economical reason for continuing the series. It’s a studio network that is in the business of making a profit, not comforting fans …. who actually pay nothing to watch the series.… Read more »
Last I checked, people had to pay for basic cable..
That doesn’t pay the production costs of making a series. Basic cable costs are to cover the service that is provided, including all the wages of the staff that provides it. And it covers multiple networks and many types of programming. A SyFy series will cost between $2 and $5 million per episode, times 10-20 episodes to produce, and a network like SyFy might be funding 8-15 series all at the same time, that’s a lot of outstanding costs that need to be covered… Basic cable costs don’t even come close to covering a fraction of those costs. Advertising will… Read more »
But sweetie without the dedicated fan base there is no one to watch and hence no one to watch advertising. Which is why everyone, including myself binge watches. It’s not about Nielson anymore, they are an archaic institution that does not matter anymore, but these advertisers STILL covet that 18-49 female dem who they believe buys all their stuff and this is not true anymore. It worked in the 70s, 80s and 90s, but not now.
Hahaha, the ratings only matter to advertisers, which coincidentally are the ones funding each new season. So your “archaic” statement has no basis in reality. It doesn’t matter if a hundred million viewers Binge watch, it does not keep a series on the air, because no one watches the advertising and that’s the ONLY reason advertisers pay for the programing.
If you can’t follow that simple logic, there’s no point in trying to educate you.
Your post is actually 100% incorrect. Unlike the major networks,which gain most profit from commercial advertisement, we ARE paying. Your cable bill is the total of the channels you receive and the cost passed on by the company. This is why we have had “outages” of certain networks as they negotiate these fees. However, I agree that they are only interested in making money and not pleasing fans. The greed is actually doubled as they get advertising dollars on top of our fees through cable and satellite. The only thing we can do is stop watching everything, which we know… Read more »
You need to look at the actual numbers involved to understand how wrong your assumption is. The majority of your cable bill goes to the providers of the service and the rest is divided amongst all the entities providing each genre of programing, potentially dozens. It is INSIGNIFICANT campared to what advertisers pay to air their products on each specific program. People who pay cable bills always think they are funding their favorite shows and they aren’t. They are simply paying for the services provided to them. And each tier of management along the way providing that service takes a… Read more »
I don’t mean to get political, but everyone agrees that greed is the problem behind pretty much everything. But yet some people still think we need less government regulation. Just had to say that.
Studios that fund science fiction programming that appears on SyFy keep repeating the same mistakes, which drives the dedicated science fiction fans away. The show runners constantly select a theme for the main characters that causes aversion amongst their largest fan base, and they have yet to figure that out. They’re listening to THE WRONG VOICES, and refuse to listen to anyone who could fix their losing streak, because they may not already be on the inside of the industry, and unfortunately it’s an industry of egos. They fail to realize that it often takes a person looking on from… Read more »
I’m really curious to hear your formula seriously.
Dont you get it, he wants to tell you for a price.
No he wants the networks to pay, I’m just an audience member. hehehe 😛
Exactly LN 77! Why should I give the results of six months of research and the discovery of what the formula for success in science fiction is to the networks for free?? No one would.
And what purpose would it serve to post 60 pages here for you or anyone else to read, you wouldn’t do anything with it anyway, cause you don’t fund or develop programming.
Besides, anyone can find this out if they choose to do all the work themselves and research it….it isn’t a secret, they just haven’t connected the dots to reveal it.
I didn’t say give it to the networks for free. I was simply curious as to what your research was. I was only half serious when asking; sure if you were willing to e-mail it to me then I would like to see it. That would have been the purpose. 🙂 Besides, why would I do all the work when you’ve already done? 😉 I hope the networks do contact you about it, especially if it would help things out. Anyways, that’s all I have to say about it.
I am hoping to relay the details to the networks, at least to the SyFy network so that we may all enjoy long lasting science fiction adventures. It is very difficult to get them to listen though, as it’s an industry dominated by egos and they don’t like being told they are doing something wrong. The show runners prefer to blame the loss of fan support on a fickle audience, instead of realizing they aren’t providing what the audience wants to spend their time on.
Mervyn, I applaud the work you’ve done and I’m sure it’s an interesting read. You’ll never collect much (or any) money up front for a variety of reasons, two of which are – A) It wasn’t a commissioned study by reputable firm with a history in the field and B) Just like optioning a book, little money is exchanged up front because we all know a sale is statistically unlikely. It’s only when there is a sale that the author/publisher gets more money. As a TV producer/writer myself, I wouldn’t be able to option nearly enough material (nor would studios… Read more »
I could have spared them the expense of producing Aftermath, and having it’s ratings open at a lower level than what other series are cancelled for. They will never learn what the problem is until they find out what the majority of fans want to see.
But the SyFy network would rather spend millions listening to show runners who have approved many consecutive failures and throw darts at a wall that has a variety of series concepts taped to it, rather than to scientifically examine their errors and successes and discover what is missing.
I’m really curious to hear your formula seriously. It sure sucks for people who enjoys tv shows. I can’t buy all those products.
Hi LN 77; The formula includes 6 (positive) attributes that existed in the story lines of every single successful series that went for 5 to 10 seasons, 100-200 plus episodes. It also points out 6 (negative) attributes that were contained in every single series that was cancelled in 1-3 seasons. The longevity of the series is directly related to how many of the positive attributes it contained and how many of the negative attributes existed specifically for the Science fiction fan base. Those which had all 6 negative attributes and few or none of the positive attributes, died in the… Read more »
Do you think Z Nation will survive the “1-3” season cut-off? It’s my favorite TV show and I’m worried it’s not going to get renewed for a fourth season. Although looking at the viewer ratings, it has been on the higher scale than most of Syfy’s other shows, and its rating have been consistent enough.
Hi MKS98. I hope you intended to ask me this question directly, if not then I apologize in advance for wasting your time. From what I can see of Z-Nation, it is appealing to a fan base that is partial to that particular genre and the attributes it exhibits. It’s ratings maintain a level well above other series like Dark Matter and Kill Joys which have been renewed….. so I see no reason why it would not be given another season. As long as they maintain the right attributes that are appealing to their major fan base, there is no… Read more »
If SYFY really wants the good reputation they once had they can do a simple thing.Spinoff shows of the great shows that made us run to the Sci Fi in the first place.A new Farscape and a new Lexx.
It’s more complicated than simply doing spinoffs. That’s the result of a lack of imagination on the part of the writers and show runners. New, fresh science fiction stories can and will grab the attention and loyalty of the dedicated fans, if the studios understood what the fans want to see, and spend their time on.
I considered Lexx complete garbage.
haven was cancelled but the ended the show with a proper ending. so it should say ENDED. and why the hell won’t they tell us if Olympus is cancelled? this is not cool.
How to calculate the rating ?
This is SyFy Internacional: http://www.syfy.com/international
Only USA or Worldwide ratings ?
I’m dissapointed with the recent cancellations by SyFy! It really does seem to be hit or miss with them. I’m a huge science fiction fan, and the channel puts out entertaining shows, but I’m getting leery of watching any new shows on SyFy. Who wants to invest the time just to see the show cancelled?
Hey I liked Hunters a lot! Also I liked Wynona Earp, And all the rest that were cancelled. Watched The Magicians, Dark Matter, Killjoys is fun, never watched 12 Monkeys. Watched all seasons of Haven… But.. I really like Hunters and it wouldn’t have been cancelled if not for the moving around and final time slot. I DVR’d it. Sorry to see it go.
The wrong time slot is always the excuse chosen for why a poorly written series is cancelled. Every storyline will appeal to some people, but NOT TO THE MAJORITY, of dedicated science fiction fans, which is why they get cancelled.
I liked Hunters also. But it was cancelled when they moved the timeslot. All they did was burn off the remaining episodes. They just didn’t make the cancellation announcement at that time.
Please please please bring back DOMINION .. that was such a great show .. loved watching it develop and grow as a show . just as it was taking off you cancelled it and gave us now ending to boot .. what a jerk move .. if you have any sense you will not cancel this show
Bring back dominion
Bring back dominion……. please …
sorry kerry it was a great show. so was defiance. helix got so loopy that it was doomed. but it was cancelled due to cost. as well as defiance. not ratings. this way they could do more movies and new shows. but at least they gave us proper endings for haven,bitten, lost girl, and continuum the last two were actually canadian shows and not scy fy’s productions. but they still haven’t cancelled or renewed olympus!! crazy eh? but no , they won’t renew them due to costs. sadly.
So Dominion was cancelled because it cost too much? Isn’t part of it filmed in a desert or something?
I just think it’s hilarious that ya’ll don’t have money for these good shows, but make crappie movies like Sharknado.
Unlike Dominion, Sharknado as corny as it was, got fantastic ratings and made them a lot of money.