Canceled or Renewed?: Take the Quiz to Find Out Whether Your Favorite Show Will Survive
For shows on the bubble, survival comes down to one thing: Money.
If you’re generating solid revenue for the network, then other concerns can be addressed down the road. But if your ratings are low (honestly, that’s almost every show these days), your creative is weak and executive support is wavering… then you better at least be owned by the network and bringing in nice international or streaming dollars.
“Every show is its own little business,” said one network scheduling executive. “You look at each and its profit or loss at the end of the year.”
Added a rival network exec: “The strategy is, how can we make the most money from all of our assets? [Renewal] discussions these days are very different.”
READ MORE: Ten Ways to Figure Out Which TV Shows Will Be Renewed or Canceled
With so much more data to parse, some networks (especially ABC) have held back from renewing too many shows for next fall just yet. Other decisions are more complicated: NBC has five shows from Dick Wolf on the air, and can’t just cherry-pick some “Chicago” hours to renew now, and leave others dangling with uncertainty.
The networks developed fewer pilots this year, which should seem to be good news for returning shows. But there’s also a caveat there: Fall has become more disruptive, for many reasons (including Thursday Night Football on both CBS and NBC), and the networks have been exhibiting more patience, leaving more shows to launch in the spring.
But that means the networks have also been stuck with too many shows on the bench as the season draws to a close. That’s why they’re likely to pick up fewer new series this May, and perhaps also be a bit more brutal with the bubbles.
(Also, several tentpole shows have already been ordered, including NBC’s “Will & Grace,” Fox’s “The X-Files,” ABC’s “Marvel’s Inhumans” and CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory” spinoff “Young Sheldon.”)
Last year, IndieWire devised a 10-part questionnaire to help determine the likelihood of a show’s renewal or cancellation come crunch time. This year, we’ve put it together in handy quiz form. Take a show, like NBC’s “Blindspot,” CBS’ “The Great Indoors” or ABC’s “Speechless,” answer all 10 questions, and see how it fares.
Now, here’s a roundup of every scripted show that has either been renewed or still awaiting word, by network. Click on the gallery at the top of this story to find out the status (likely to be renewed, on the bubble, not likely to be renewed, or canceled) of each show that hasn’t been picked up yet.
ABC
Renewed: “Grey’s Anatomy,” “How to Get Away with Murder,” “The Middle,” “Scandal”
Not renewed yet: “American Crime,” “American Housewife,” “Black-ish,” “The Catch,” “Conviction,” “Designated Survivor,” “Downward Dog,” “Dr. Ken,” “Fresh off the Boat,” “The Goldbergs,” “Imaginary Mary,” “Last Man Standing,” “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” “Modern Family,” “Notorious,” “Once Upon a Time,” “Quantico,” “The Real O’Neals,” “Secrets and Lies,” “Speechless,” “Still Star-Crossed,” “Time After Time”
READ MORE: Check the Status of ABC’s Not Yet Renewed Shows Here
CBS
Renewed: “The Big Bang Theory,” “Blue Bloods,” “Bull,” “Criminal Minds,” “Hawaii Five-0,” “Kevin Can Wait,” “Life in Pieces,” “MacGyver,” “Madam Secretary,” “Man With a Plan,” “Mom,” “NCIS,” “NCIS: Los Angeles,” “NCIS: New Orleans,” “Scorpion,” “Superior Donuts”
Not renewed yet: “2 Broke Girls,” “Code Black,” “Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders,” “Doubt,” “Elementary,” “The Great Indoors,” “The Odd Couple,” “Pure Genius,” “Ransom,” “Training Day”
READ MORE: Check the Status of CBS’ Not Yet Renewed Shows Here
NBC
Renewed: “The Good Place,” “Shades of Blue,” “Superstore,” “This Is Us”
Not renewed yet: “The Blacklist,” “The Blacklist: Redemption,” “Blindspot,” “The Carmichael Show,” “Chicago Fire,” “Chicago Justice,” “Chicago Med,” “Chicago PD,” “Emerald City,” “Great News,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Marlon,” “Midnight, Texas,” “Powerless,” “Taken,” “Timeless,” “Trial & Error”
READ MORE: Check the Status of NBC’s Not Yet Renewed Shows Here
Fox
Renewed: “Bob’s Burgers,” “Empire,” “Family Guy,” “Lethal Weapon,” “Lucifer,” “The Mick,” “The Simpsons,” “Star”
Not renewed yet: “24: Legacy,” “APB,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “The Exorcist,” “Gotham,” “The Last Man on Earth,” “Making History,” “New Girl,” “Pitch,” “Prison Break,” “Rosewood,” “Scream Queens,” “Shots Fired” “Sleepy Hollow,” “Son of Zorn”
READ MORE: Check the Status of Fox’s Not Yet Renewed Shows Here
The CW
Renewed: “The 100,” “Arrow,” “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow,” “The Flash,” “Jane the Virgin,” “Riverdale,” “Supergirl,” “Supernatural”
Not renewed yet: “Frequency,” “IZombie,” “No Tomorrow” “The Originals”
READ MORE: Check the Status of The CW’s Not Yet Renewed Shows Here
The networks will announce their 2017-2018 plans the week of May 15, as executives travel to New York and present their new fall schedules to advertisers. By then, the fate of almost every show here will be known.
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