Still No Word on TNT's 'Leverage' or Syfy's 'Alphas' – Scripted Cable Renew/Cancel Status Through December 8, 2012

No predictions, just statuses. If it’s long past the date below, click here for the latest updates.

Last Updated December 14, 2012

There were no changes this week, unless you count Leverage executive producer Dean Devlin saying that in the event the show isn’t renewed for a sixth season, the Leverage season finale will serve nicely as a series finale. That news prompted commenter “Ray” to ask:

In the rational world of the TV business, as opposed to the irrational world of TV fandom, is there any reason to think that the existence of a “just-in-case” series finale will in any way impact a network’s decision whether to renew? I ask this in complete ignorance and without sarcasm.

That’s a great question and the answer is “no, the existence of a ‘just-in-case’ finale likely has no impact whatsoever on TNT’s decision process.”

I view the PR campaign by the production team (and I’m not saying they spent a lot on it, but they did use an outside PR agency to help spread the word) as a combination of two things:

1. Frustration that no decision has been reached yet
2. A desire to connect with fans of the show with a “hey, we care about you” message

I have no reason to doubt the sincerity of either component. The way it has gone down signals to me that there is some thinking on the production team’s part that maybe it would have been better, at least in hindsight, to just announce have announced season five as the final season so the series could have gone out with a little fanfare. Because in the case that this is the final season, it’s getting no “catch the final season of ‘Leverage’ oomph from TNT. With a renewal still possible, it’s not like Devlin and his team could issue press releases saying “We wish TNT was promoting the season finale as the series finale!” But, you know, in the case that it doesn’t get renewed, in hindsight they will have wished TNT had promoted the season finale as the series finale.

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Most of the shows on the list have statuses – if there isn’t a status that just means there has been no announcement at the time of the most recent update (see date at top of post and/or above the table below).

If you find errors or omissions (excluding unscripted shows, kids shows or shows that have not aired yet) please note them in the comments and I’ll update the table.

Notes:

• Kids shows and Adult Swim shows are not on the list below
• I’ve seen some squawking about shows on the list below that are owned/created by networks/studios outside of the United States. For purposes of this list, which focuses on U.S. cable networks, I’m only focused on where the shows air here in U.S.
• Shows from overseas like Downton Abbey & Sherlock that air on PBS in the U.S. are not in the list below (PBS is not a cable network), though ITV has renewed Downton Abbey for a 4th season in the UK which will ultimately air in the states.
• Despite some current inconsistencies in the table below, I do not intend to track episode orders or return dates specifically in this table at this time. The primary goal of the table is: what’s been renewed, what’s been canceled, and what shows fates haven’t been decided yet.

Last Updated December 14, 2012
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