What TV Shows Will Be Canceled In 2019? ‘Blindspot,’ ‘Lethal Weapon,’ More In Danger
UPDATE: May 10 — “Fresh Off The Boat” was renewed by ABC while NBC gave “Blindspot” a fifth and final season.
UPDATE: May 10 — Fox has canceled “Lethal Weapon” and ABC has canceled “Speechless.”
UPDATE: May 9 — CBS has renewed “Madam Secretary.”
Original story: The TV industry is a tough one. Shows have to have enough viewers tuning in to get advertisers to pay big bucks for commercials. While ratings for some shows clearly hint they’ll be renewed, others aren’t so lucky. These shows are “on the bubble,” meaning they’re in danger of cancellation.
“Madam Secretary” — Shows get more expensive as they go on, and “Madam Secretary” isn’t exactly bringing in a ton of audience members. With an average of 5.4 million viewers in Season 5, the show ranks 19 out of all 26 scripted CBS shows. With a demo of 0.56, it ranks 24th. However, it has over 100 episodes and a dedicated fan base. Is that enough to save it?
“Fresh Off The Boat” — Despite Constance Wu becoming a big star in last summer’s “Crazy Rich Asians,” people still aren’t tuning in to the ABC sitcom, which is in its fifth season. The family-friendly show is averaging a little over 3 million viewers each week and a 0.6 in the demo. That puts it in the bottom five shows on ABC.
“Speechless” — ABC’s comedy lineup is in trouble, but no show is doing worse than “Speechless.” The half-hour show is at the bottom of the ratings for ABC’s scripted shows in both average weekly viewers (2.3 million) and the demo (0.49). Finishing last is a very bad sign, but the show gets a lot of critical praise. Another factor is syndication, which usually kicks in when a show has 80 to 100 episodes. ABC could keep the DiMeo family around for a fourth season to make more money after the series goes into syndication.
“Lethal Weapon” — The Fox show’s ratings aren’t great, but they could be good enough to secure another season. However, after firing star Clayne Crawford and star Damon Wayans saying he wants to leave after the third season, it isn’t clear if Fox will actually bring the show back. Could another replacement be brought in to give the series a soft reboot? Will Wayans be convinced to stick around? Does the behind-the-scenes drama make this show more trouble than it’s worth? Only time will tell.
“Blindspot” — The mysterious drama has a Friday night timeslot, which isn’t typically a good thing. However, it was also on the same night last year and ratings haven’t slipped too much. Still, averaging 2.8 million viewers with 0.48 in the demo isn’t exactly reassuring. A fifth season might not happen.
There are other factors in determining whether a show gets canceled or renewed. Numbers from watching On Demand and on streaming platforms like Hulu or the network's own website might be factored in. International deals, which brings shows overseas, may also be considered. Unfortunately, those numbers are not public.
Audiences will learn if these shows are canceled or get a lucky renewal later this month.
All ratings are from TV Series Finale.
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