Cancellation Watch: Status updates for the sci fi and fantasy shows on the broadcast networks, cable channels, and streaming services as well as breaking news on the currently airing, returning, and upcoming genre entries.  Status Updates House of the Dragon (HBO, Status: Renewed): For the first full week that the Nielsen charts measured this show’s second season, it improved to Number 2 in the list of acquired shows with an estimated 1.23 billion minutes of viewing. That is the highest viewership the show has seen thus far, surpassing the 1.02 billion mark it achieved in its first season ..read more

Sci Fi TV Highlights: A look at the upcoming schedule of sci fi and fantasy shows as well as recent news and/or trailers of note. Sci Fi TV Premieres This Week: Time Bandits (Apple TV+): The eccentric crew of bandits embark on epic adventures while evil forces threaten their conquests and life as they know it. As the group transports through time and space, the gang stumbles upon fascinating worlds of the distant past while seeking out treasure, depending on Kevin to shed light on each situation. The Time Bandits witness the creation of Stonehenge, see the Trojan Horse in action, escape dinos ..read more

Halo: The Series will not continue at Paramount+ as the show has been cancelled by that streamer after two seasons. The most recent season arrived in February 2024 and it spent five weeks in the Nielsen Streaming Rankings, averaging an estimated 360 million minutes of viewing per week during that time, which is quite good for an original on that streaming service. It has also been fairly well-received by critics, currently holding an 80% Fresh Rating on Rotten Tomatoes. A reason for the cancellation has not been given, but the show is expensive to produce, and the streamer has been going throu ..read more

1995’s American Gothic delivered a quirky and unique horror series, but it was out of place on the CBS schedule and cancelled after one season. [Updated] What Is It? This series takes place in the small town of Trinity South Carolina where the sinister Sheriff Lucas Buck has a mysterious but strong influence over the people he polices and wants to bring the young, mysteriously wise Caleb Temple (recently orphaned due to his father’s suicide), under his control. The newly arrived Dr. Crower takes guardianship of the boy and starts to uncover information about Buck’s connections to the deaths of ..read more

Cancellation Watch: Status updates for the sci fi and fantasy shows on the broadcast networks, cable channels, and streaming services as well as breaking news on the currently airing, returning, and upcoming genre entries.  Status Updates The Boys (Prime Video, Status: Renewed): This superhero satire entered the Nielsen Streaming Rankings for the week of its fourth season premiere. It landed at Number 2 with an estimated 1.2 billion minutes watched across just four days. The show has been renewed for a fifth and final season, and I expect it to continue on with spin-offs for several years ..read more

Syfy is losing another scripted original as the cable network has cancelled its horror dramedy Reginald the Vampire after two seasons. That show was not a strong performer in its first year, averaging only a 0.04 rating based on same-day viewing for the 18-49 demographic, though it did get renewed for a second season. Its numbers dropped even further when it returned for its second year in May 2024, averaging only a 0.02 score in the demo for the weeks where data is available, and the network execs decided not to bring it back for a third year. I did not have that one as a Bubble show because ..read more

Sci Fi TV Highlights: A look at the upcoming schedule of sci fi and fantasy shows as well as recent news and/or trailers of note. Sci Fi TV Premieres This Week: Snowpiercer (AMC): Set more than seven years after the world has become a frozen wasteland, Snowpiercer centers on the remnants of humanity, who inhabit a perpetually-moving train that circles the globe. Class warfare, social injustice and the politics of survival play out in this riveting television adaptation based on the acclaimed movie and graphic novel series of the same name. Premieres Sunday at 9 PM EST. Kite Man: Hell Yeah ..read more

Schedule Rewind: A look back at the Prime Time schedule from seasons past and network decisions impacting sci fi and fantasy shows. The X-Files wrapped up its initial nine year run at the end of the 2001-02 season, and the Big Four broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC) had pretty much shunned sci fi and fantasy by that time.  When that show debuted in 1993, it received praise from critics and viewers and turned into a cult favorite when FOX picked it up for a second season despite low ratings.  The network’s support of the show allowed it to build an audience and eventually tur ..read more

Star Trek: Prodigy was cut short by Paramount+ due to corporate struggles and cost-cutting, but it has received a new life on Netflix, and fans could help to ensure that it voyages into a third season and more. What Is It? Star Trek: Prodigy follows a motley crew of young aliens who find the abandoned Starfleet ship, the USS Protostar, and use it to escape from the Tars Lamora prison colony. With the Emergency Training Holographic Advisor in the form of Captain Janeway, they must learn to work together as they make their way from the Delta Quadrant to the Alpha Quadrant. Aired: Paramount+ (Sea ..read more

Cancellation Watch: Status updates for the sci fi and fantasy shows on the broadcast networks, cable channels, and streaming services as well as breaking news on the currently airing, returning, and upcoming genre entries.  Status Updates The Acolyte (Disney+, Status: Renewal Possible): The latest Star Wars entry from Disney+ entered the Nielsen Streaming Rankings at Number 7 for the week of its premiere. It pulled in an estimated 488 million minutes of viewing which is impressive with just the two episodes available for viewing that week. There have been doubts about whether this one wil ..read more