Even if the ratings for The Big Bang Theory begin to fall, we already know it won’t be cancelled — because the TV show’s already been renewed for season seven. Still, it’s fun to track the Nielsen numbers for a sitcom about a bunch of underdog geeks and gals.

The sixth season of The Big Bang Theory typically airs on Thursday nights at 8pm on the CBS network. The cast includes Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, Melissa Rauch, Mayim Bialik, and Kevin Sussman.

Below are the TV show’s ratings for the 2012-13 season, usually the best way to tell if Big Bang Theory is going to be cancelled or renewed for another season.

These figures will be updated as the weeks progress so be sure to bookmark and return to this page:

Final season averages: 5.3 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 16.80 million total viewers.

Episode 06-24: Thursday, 05/16/13
4.8 in the demo (-2% change) with 15.48 million (-5% change).
Season averages: 5.25 in the demo with 16.80 million.

Episode 06-23: Thursday, 05/09/13
4.9 in the demo (0% change) with 16.30 million (0% change).
Season averages: 5.27 in the demo with 16.86 million.

Episode 06-22: Thursday, 05/02/13
4.9 in the demo (+9% change) with 16.29 million (+8% change).
Season averages: 5.29 in the demo with 16.88 million.

Episode 06-21: Thursday, 04/25/13
4.5 in the demo (-14% change) with 15.05 million (-13% change).
Season averages: 5.31 in the demo with 16.91 million.

Episode 06-20: Thursday, 04/04/13
5.2 in the demo (+8% change) with 17.24 million (+8% change).
Season averages: 5.35 in the demo with 17.00 million.

Episode 06-19: Thursday, 03/14/13
4.8 in the demo (-13% change) with 15.90 million (-10% change).
Season averages: 5.36 in the demo with 16.99 million.

Episode 06-18: Thursday, 03/07/13
5.5 in the demo (-2% change) with 17.63 million (0% change).
Season averages: 5.39 in the demo with 17.05 million.

Episode 06-17: Thursday, 02/21/13
5.6 in the demo (+2% change) with 17.62 million (-2% change).
Season averages: 5.38 in the demo with 17.02 million.

Episode 06-16: Thursday, 02/14/13
5.5 in the demo (-11% change) with 17.89 million (-6% change).
Season averages: 5.37 in the demo with 16.98 million.

Episode 06-15: Thursday, 02/07/13
6.2 in the demo (+15% change) with 18.98 million (+7% change).
Season averages: 5.36 in the demo with 16.92 million.

Episode 06-14: Thursday, 01/31/13
5.4 in the demo (-16% change) with 17.76 million(-11% change).
Season averages: 5.30 in the demo with 16.77 million.

Episode 06-13: Thursday, 01/10/13
6.4 in the demo (+5% change) with 20.00 million (+4% change).
Season averages: 5.29 in the demo with 16.70 million.

Episode 06-12: Thursday, 01/03/13
6.1 in the demo (+13% change) with 19.25 million (+15% change).
Season averages: 5.20 in the demo with 16.42 million.

Episode 06-11: Thursday, 12/13/12
5.4 in the demo (+4% change) with 16.77 million (-1% change).
Season averages: 5.12 in the demo with 16.16 million.

Episode 06-10: Thursday, 12/06/12
5.2 in the demo (-6% change) with 16.94 million (-2% change).
Season averages: 5.09 in the demo with 16.10 million.

Episode 06-09: Thursday, 11/29/12
5.5 in the demo (-4% change) with 17.25 million (-2% change).
Season averages: 5.08 in the demo with 16.01 million.

Episode 06-08: Thursday, 11/15/12
5.7 in the demo (+12% change) with 17.63 million (+6% change).
Season averages: 5.03 in the demo with 15.85 million.

Episode 06-07: Thursday, 11/08/12
5.1 in the demo (-2% change) with 16.68 million (+5% change).
Season averages: 4.93 in the demo with 15.60 million.

Episode 06-06: Thursday, 11/01/12
5.2 in the demo (+4% change) with 15.90 million (+1% change).
Season averages: 4.90 in the demo with 15.42 million.

Episode 06-05: Thursday, 10/25/12
5.0 in the demo (+4% change) with 15.82 million (+1% change).
Season averages: 4.84 in the demo with 15.32 million.

Episode 06-04: Thursday, 10/18/12
4.8 in the demo (+7% change) with 15.73 million (+11% change).
Season averages: 4.80 in the demo with 15.20 million.

Episode 06-03: Thursday, 10/11/12
4.5 in the demo (-8% change) with 14.23 million (-6% change).
Season averages: 4.80 in the demo with 15.02 million.

Episode 06-02: Thursday, 10/04/12
4.9 in the demo (-2% change) with 15.18 million (-3% change).
Season averages: 4.95 in the demo with 15.42 million.

Episode 06-01: Thursday, 09/27/12
5.0 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 15.66 million total viewers.
Season averages: 5.00 in the demo with 15.66 million.

Compared to its season premiere a year ago, the show was up by 2% in the demo (vs a 4.9 rating) and up by 10% in viewers (vs 14.3 million).

Reference point: The fifth season of Big Bang Theory averaged a 5.0 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 14.88 million viewers.

Note: These ratings are collected by the Nielsen company and are the final national numbers. These are different from the fast affiliate numbers which are just estimates of the actual ratings and are reported on by most other outlets. The final nationals are typically released within 24 hours of the programming or, in the case of weekends and holidays, a couple days later.

What do you think? Do you still like the Big Bang Theory TV series? Do you think it should be cancelled or renewed for an eighth season?