During the regular 2020-21 television season, due to the pandemic, the FOX network launched just five new scripted TV series and cancelled two of them. The previous year, the network had introduced eight new scripted shows. How many TV shows will be cancelled or renewed during the 2021-22 season? Stay tuned.
How do the execs decide what to cancel or keep? They look at a lot of different factors but the ratings play a very large role. The higher the ratings, the better the chances a show has of surviving. These 2021-22 season charts will be updated daily, as new ratings data becomes available.
FOX shows this season (so far): 9-1-1, 9-1-1: Lone Star, Alter Ego, The Big Leap, Bob’s Burgers, Call Me Kat, The Cleaning Lady, Family Guy, The Great North, I Can See Your Voice, Joe Millionaire: For Richer or Poorer, The Masked Singer, Next Level Chef, Our Kind of People, Pivoting, The Real Dirty Dancing, The Resident, and The Simpsons.
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Some notes about these charts:
These figures are updated automatically as new ratings are released. The averages are based on the final national numbers (live plus same-day viewing), unless marked with an asterisk (*). For technical reasons, I have to resort them manually. While these numbers don’t include further delayed or streaming viewing, they are a very good indicator of how a show is performing, especially when compared to others on the same channel. There can be other economic factors involved in a show’s fate, but typically the higher-rated series are renewed and the lower-rated ones are cancelled.
Keep in mind that the demo numbers are typically what’s most important to advertisers. Therefore, that’s how the networks measure success. Advertisers pay more for ad time on a show that has a higher demo rating. Older viewers also matter but younger viewers watch less traditional TV and are therefore harder to reach. Delayed viewing matters more and more these days (if commercials are watched) but live viewing is still advertisers’ ideal.
Demo numbers are typically reported using the 10ths decimal place (2.4, for example). In the averages, I’m using an extra decimal for easier ranking. The networks take into account when shows air on Fridays and Saturdays, nights when TV viewership is lower.
What do you think? Which 2021-22 shows are you rooting for? Which one isn’t as successful as you thought it would be? Are you hoping any TV series will get cancelled to make room for something else?