Comments on: Renew or Cancel Index: 'Til Death Most Likely To Be Cancelled

By: chelle

chelle — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 23:20:36 +0000

they also need to take in the fact that for over a month brighthouse cable couldnt not air any of Fox networks chanles because fox was really being retarded they wanted money for something we can get off an antenna. I am an advid terminator fan so they might wanna go back and redo the numbers based off the fact that even thugh bright house isnt a huge cable compant and us usally only in rual areas that we do watch some of theses shows.

By: Don Cowan

Don Cowan — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 05:12:31 +0000

I really don’t get it. Of all the truly awful programs on TV, you guys see fit to cancel my very most favorite one…..Boston Legal. It’s a sad night in TV land for my home.

By: Tere

Tere — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:06:10 +0000

Yes!! I love Supernatural =)
The best show ever!!!!

By: Julia

Julia — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 23:19:18 +0000

Helen, you’d better get ready to throw out your TV. It’s already been canceled. This is the last season, and a shortened one at that.

By: Helen Heron

Helen Heron — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 23:07:29 +0000

If they cancel Boston Legal, I will never watch TV again in my life!!!

By: lynky

lynky — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 06:24:11 +0000

thanks alot! you are going to cancel every show I look forward to. I’m giving up TV and strickley going to read books.

By: Holly

Holly — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 02:29:17 +0000

I figured that’s what happened. No problem.

By: Bill Gorman

Bill Gorman — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 02:26:11 +0000

Holly, our spam filter is very sensitive to hypertext links and even though it should allow a single one, sometimes it surprises us!

By: Holly

Holly — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 01:05:38 +0000

Louis, Bill posts a new, updated list each week. If you go to the home page, you can find the latest list in the middle column.

By: Holly

Holly — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:56:42 +0000

louis, Bill posts a new, updated list each week. This week's can be found here.

By: louis

louis — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:52:29 +0000

where is dirty sexy money on the lists?

By: Dan

Dan — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 23:01:40 +0000

Worst Week should be put on the likely to be cancelled list. Retention out of Two and a Half Men is horrible and its bringing down numbers for CSI: Miami. Again Earl should not be on the Cancellation likely list. If anything would be cancelled between Cold Case and Without a Trace it would be Without a Trace just based on the fact that CBS moved it to the deadly Tuesday night 10pm slot. And Ugly Betty definitely won’t be cancelled this season.

By: Lori

Lori — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 20:36:07 +0000

Wondering about what will happen with NBC’s LIFE, starring Damian Lewis. It’s also too good for television. Thanks.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 19:09:25 +0000

Thank you for the explanation Bill =)

By: Bill Gorman

Bill Gorman — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 19:02:08 +0000

Jonathan, one reason I tried using the data I did for this is that we *get* it. There are lots of other things that could effect the renew/cancel decision, but we have a limited set of data to use.

By: Kenny

Kenny — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:14:04 +0000

I’d love it if they moved Prison Break to 8 or on a different night. Having it go up against Heroes means I have to watch it on Tuesdays on Fox.com. I love both shows, but Heroes means a must watch.

By: eydie

eydie — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 16:57:29 +0000

cold case and without a trace might be cancelled??!! oh my god! i’m still in mourning for “moonlight.” cc and w/o a trace can’t die! we need to get rid of the horrible show that dared soil moonlight’s time slot, the ex list. i didn’t see it listed here, but it needs to go. if cbs is so idiotic as to cancel cold case and without a trace, i will never upon NEVER watch watch that horrid network again.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 16:50:47 +0000

Johnthemon — I believe they said it would updated Tuesday evenings, but I could be wrong

Bill, I think this is a terrific experiment, and I hope it works out! If indeed this index proves to be true, then fans of shows on the verge of cancellation can watch it en force and help their friends jump on board, as well.

What would be cool would be to factor in DVD sales of shows that are in their second season or beyond; I don’t know the TV industry intimately, but I imagine that strong DVD sales (such as for Family Guy) help keep shows on the air.

I, too, want to see Sarah Connor Chronicles stay on the air; I just got on board with this show (even though I’m a huge fan of the Terminator mythology, it somehow took me a year to watch this…) and I am impressed with the writing and pacing of it.

If SCC can’t make it through this year on FOX, I think NBC should pick it up and place it before Heroes, giving a Monday night Sci-Fi vibe along the likes of their Thursday night Comedy block.

By: Bill Gorman

Bill Gorman — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 16:22:05 +0000

Later today, likely Eastern time zone evening.

By: Johnthemon

Johnthemon — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 16:17:02 +0000

when are you gonna update this list for hte second week of the season?

By: Kari

Kari — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:41:59 +0000

It would be interesting to see how some of the non-big network original shows do. Like The Starter Wife (can’t remember the network – maybe USA) and Eureka and SG-Atlantis on SciFi. Just for comparison, really – I know those networks have lower viewership, but the non-traditional networks are pumping out some phenomenonally great shows.

By: Heradite

Heradite — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 02:57:51 +0000

Til’ Death…despite highly low ratings, it still gets renewed every single year since it premiered. Hopefully this will finally be the last of the zombie sit-com.

By: Bill Gorman

Bill Gorman — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 17:13:20 +0000

Paula, the Private Practice premiere was last Wednesday, so its not in the list above. It will be in this weeks Index though. Likely posted late Tuesday or early Wednesday.

ABC premiered lots of shows last week, and things could shift around a bit, so its hard to tell where PP will be till I get the numbers.

By: Paula

Paula — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 17:08:04 +0000

Bill. I’ve seen the ratings for Private Practice for the SP and it wasn’t good at all after all that promotion ABC put into. It started strong last season, but dropped a lot before the strike. How is that show doing?

By: Bill Gorman

Bill Gorman — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 20:35:55 +0000

Holly beat me to it. I have put a disclaimer into the post now.

By: Holly

Holly — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 20:33:26 +0000

kirby, This list is based on the numbers from the first week of the season. CSI Vegas isn’t on it because it hasn’t premiered yet.

By: val

val — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 20:15:46 +0000

Prison Break will not be canceled before the 22 episodes this season…I`m sure of that. Sure it is the last season but no mid season cancellation. They`ll probably try it back at 8. SCC is going for sure

By: kirby

kirby — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 19:50:21 +0000

WHERE IS CSI LAS VEGAS?

By: Kevin

Kevin — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 17:27:47 +0000

Uhm I think you made a mistake, Terminator: TSCC is on the wrong list. For sure!

By: Bill Gorman

Bill Gorman — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 07:36:57 +0000

30 Rock’s season premiere is October 30. Only shows that have aired in the 2008-9 season are on the list.

As for Grey’s Anatomy, its at the bottom of the list. It’s the *least* likely to be cancelled.

By: John

John — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 05:52:09 +0000

Where’s 30 Rock on your list? Not likely to be cancelled, but neither is Grey’s Anatomy, and that is there. And if My Name is Earl is blocked with 30 Rock and The Office, it should be OK.

By: Bill Gorman

Bill Gorman — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 21:02:26 +0000

Doh! Indeed they are. Indicates how much I watch CBS on Saturdays. If ever.

By: Holly

Holly — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:54:33 +0000

I have a question…Isn’t the “Crimetime Saturday” on CBS reruns of the crime shows, not new non-scripted shows?

By: Bill Gorman

Bill Gorman — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:46:44 +0000

Andrea, weekly. Likely Tuesday PM Pacific time, but I put it in our scheduled list on Wednesday to give myself some slack

By: Andrea

Andrea — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:12:10 +0000

Bob…er I mean Bill , how often with this index be updated?

By: Dan

Dan — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:46:11 +0000

Really, My Name is Earl is in trouble? I don’t think NBC will be cancelling this anytime soon and this is why. Earl is an important stable in NBCs Comedy night done right block and in terms of comedies they would only have The Office, which does perform better, 30 Rock which doesnt do that great in the ratings, and Kath & Kim which hasnt premiered yet. I highly doubt Earl is in trouble. However I bet if Old Christine gets axed ABC will pick it up and Terminator will be axed as well but will air all 13 episodes by december.

By: Holly

Holly — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:13:25 +0000

Terminator fan,
Unless you are a Neilsen family, it won’t matter whether you watch it on TV. If you are downloading the show legally or watching it streaming on a legal site like nbc.com or hulu.com, you are measurably supporting the show (even if a lot fewer people watch online). If you are downloading illegally…well, you’re giving them a reason to keep paying the legal department.

By: Robert Seidman

Robert Seidman — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:01:20 +0000

Chuck had not yet aired for the most recent week we have full final numbers for, so check back next week.

By: Brandon

Brandon — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 18:51:43 +0000

Where does Chuck fit in all of this?

By: Terminator fan

Terminator fan — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:33:12 +0000

ugh this is unfortunate, Terminator: SCC is a pretty good show. Maybe I should start watching the network broadcast instead of downloading it after the fact…

By: Dave B

Dave B — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:09:45 +0000

I’m really upset with the Old Christine facts. The fact of the matter is that CBS took a huge gamble making it lead off a new comedy block against such strong competition. I hope CBS will realize that and let the show run for a full season first before making their final decision. I mean, they shouldn’t fall in love with Worst Week yet… whatever follows Two and a Half Men is going to get the good ratings… take Worst Week away from it and it would probably only pull 6 million or less also.

I just hope they give Old Christine the time of day. It is a fantastic show that is completely under appreciated.

As for Til Death… I watch it and enjoy it, but I’m not surprised. The ratings are pretty dismal!

By: Holly

Holly — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:00:22 +0000

Thanks for the list!

By: Davin Peterson

Davin Peterson — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 22:22:18 +0000

I agree with ‘Til Death. It’s a little surprising that FOX had renewed it for a third season when they canceled other comedies after one year such as Back To You

By: Andrea2

Andrea2 — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 21:21:36 +0000

” CBS would have a Christine vs. Worst Week decisions when it comes to Mondays at 9:30p”

and they have Rules of Engagement to fit somewhere too

By: Bill Gorman

Bill Gorman — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 20:43:07 +0000

Mike, although in many ways this Index is all about jumping the gun, nothing is certain with data this early in the season.

However, last season, except in a few instances, life and death for TV shows was correlated very strongly with their 18-49 performance relative to their network’s 18-49 performance.

http://tvbythenumbers.com/2008/08/27/the-renewcancel-index-our-predictor-of-show-futures/4800

By: Mike G.

Mike G. — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 20:34:16 +0000

So, what about a show that does very well with overall viewers, but has a low demo? I’m thinking about Without a Trace specifically. That seems a long shot to be canceled.

By: Johnthemon

Johnthemon — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:36:07 +0000

This is a really clever and accurate way to measure this stuff.

I’m surprised “My Name is Earl” is doing so poorly.

By: Bill Gorman

Bill Gorman — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:55:44 +0000

Andrea, I wanted to highlight the shows most likely to be cancelled rather than the shows most likely *not* to be cancelled, but I’m still experimenting and we’ll see how things proceed.

By: Robert Seidman

Robert Seidman — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:53:49 +0000

We haven’t proved successful at load-balancing our site’s traffic, but we are better at load-balancing the workload. I’m taking the overnight posts this week because I will be taking off for a week starting Sunday while I move residences.

As for sorting, I vote for keeping it how he has it here. I believe the most likely shows to be cancelled should be at the top. Of course when it comes to this list, only Bill’s vote matters!

By: Andrea

Andrea — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:47:42 +0000

Hi Bill, was wondering where you were…

Why did you reverse the index? It’s easier to read with the higher demo shows at the top.