The Renew/Cancel Thread

[TVgeek14]

The Renew/Cancel Machine (From TV By The Numbers)

ABC Scripted Shows

Green Zone (Likely To Be Renewed in 2010/2011)
Greys Anatomy - 2.01 - 7th Season
Desperate Housewives - 1.41 - 7th Season
Cougar Town - 1.32 - 2nd Season
Modern Family - 1.26 - 2nd Season
FlashForward - 1.20 - 2nd Season

Orange Zone (Some Danger Of Being Cancelled In May 2010)
Brothers & Sisters - 0.90 - 4 Seasons,Unknown for a 5th
Eastwick - 0.90 - 1 Season,Unknown for a 2nd

Red Zone (Likely To Be Cancelled in May 2010)
The Forgotten - 0.78 - 1 Season
Castle - 0.69 - 2 Seasons

In May, Castle was on the bubble for renewal, now it’s in the crosshairs for cancellation. It was the worst performing scripted show for ABC during premiere week this season. the forgotten is also at significant risk for being canceled by the end of the season based on its first week’s results. And a lot can happen between now and May, but fans of Eastwick and Brothers & Sisters might not want to make any multi-year viewing plans either.

CBS Scripted Shows

Green Zone
NCIS - 1.52 - 8th Season
The Big Bang Theory - 1.49 - 4th Season
Two And A Half Men - 1.43 - 8th Season
NCIS:Los Angeles - 1.40 - 2nd Season
Criminal Minds - 1.40 - 6th Season
CSI:Miami - 1.36 - 9th Season
CSI - 1.30 - 11th Season
CSI:NY - 1.27 - 7th Season
How I Met Your Mother- 1.14 - 6th Season
The Mentalist - 1.14 - 3rd Season
Accidentally On Purpose1.05 - 2nd Season
The Good Wife - 0.98 - 2nd Season
Ghost Whisperer - 0.73 - 6th Season
Medium - 0.67 - 7th Season
Numb3rs - 0.57 - 7th Season

Orange Zone
Gary Unmarried - 0.73 - 2 Seasons,possible 3rd
The New Ads Of Old C - 0.70 - 5 Seasons,possible 6th

Red Zone
Cold Case - 0.67 - 7 Seasons

Cold Case and Without A Trace presumably battled it out for the last drama renewal from CBS last spring. Cold Case was the winner of that fight, but is immediately looking like it’s overstayed its welcome. (WAT
fans stifle your whining, my guess is that the same would’ve happened to that show). No other CBS shows seem in obvious danger yet. New Adventures of Old Christine and Gary Unmarried are low once again, but what’s new? If CBS is determined to weather their terrible ratings to establish another night of comedy they may be fine for another renewal.

CW Scripted Shows

Green Zone
Vampire Diaries - 1.66 - 2nd Season
Supernatural - 1.17 - 6th Season
One Tree Hill - 1.07 - 8th Season
Smallville - 0.98 - 10th Season
90210 - 0.98 - 3rd Season
Gossip Girl - 0.98 - 4th Season

Red Zone
Melrose Place - 0.78 - 1 Season

Already Gone
The Beautiful Life - 0.49 - 1 Season

The Beautiful Life got canceled before I could get out the Renew / Cancel Index, so no chance for an easy prediction there. However, Melrose Place’s chances of making it to 2010-11 seem no more beautiful. Heather Locklear probably shouldn’t get too settled in.

NBC Scripted Shows

Green Zone
The Office - 1.46 - 7th Season
Heroes - 1.05 - 5th Season
Community - 1.01 - 2nd Season
Law & Order:SVU - 0.94 - 12th Season

Orange Zone
Mercy - 0.86 - 1 Season,Possible 2nd

Red Zone
Parks & Recreation - 0.68 - 2 Seasons
Law & Order - 0.45 - 20 Seasons

You’ll not find a bigger fan of the Law & Order franchise than me, but now that the show has hit the 20th season milestone, the ratings say its time to be put out to pasture. Some think Parks & Recreation was renewed to keep Amy Poehler happy. With its current ratings, NBC’s likely to cancel the show and find some other way to cheer her up.

Although, SNL: Weekend Update is a scripted show, since it’s limited run, I’m not including it.

FOX Scripted Shows

Green Zone
House - 2.17 - 7th Season
Family Guy - 1.68 - 8th Season
The Cleveland Show - 1.59 - 2nd Season
The Simpsons - 1.39 - 22nd Season
American Dad - 1.17 - 6th Season
Glee - 1.00 - 2nd Season
Bones - 0.91 - 6th Season

Orange Zone
Fringe - 0.74 - 2 Seasons,Possible 3rd

Red Zone
Brothers - 0.36 - 1 Season
Dollhouse - 0.32 - 2 Seasons

In the reality distortion field that surrounds Dollhouse do its continuing terrible ratings even matter for its chances of being canceled? At some point they have to, and I don’t think its likely we will see Dollhouse or Brothers on the Fox schedule next season.

NOTE:This is not made by me.All of this goes to TV By The Numbers.Ill post it here every Wednesday so people can see what is going on and the fate of their favourite shows.

[TVgeek14]

The Cancel/Review Index #2

ABC Shows

Green Zone
Grey`s Anatomy - 2.06
Desperate Housewives - 1.56
Private Pratice - 1.48
Cougar Town - 1.32
Modern Family - 1.29
FlashForward - 1.24
Brothers & Sisters(S) - 1.00

Orange Zone
Eastwick - 0.85
The Middle - 0.84

Red Zone
The Forgotten - 0.74
Castle (P) - 0.73
Hank - 0.68

Poor Kelsey Grammer, ever since he stopped being Frasier Crane he can’t catch a break. His latest show, Hank
, premiered as the most likely ABC show to be canceled prior to the end of the 2009-2010 season. Not to worry,#
we’ll always have Cheers!

Castle looks a little better this week, but that’s primarily because other ABC shows did worse, it’s still
in significant danger of being canceled by the end of the season. the forgotten’s second airing ratings fell
sharply and now it’s likely in even more danger than Castle of being canceled. And a lot can happen between
now and May, but fans of Eastwick and The Middle might not want to make any multi-year viewing plans either.
Brothers & Sisters improvement in its second airing has boosted it into the safe zone.

CBS Shows

Green Zone
Big Bang Theory - 1.67
NCIS - 1.60
Two And A Half Men - 1.55
NCIS:Los Angeles - 1.42
CSI:Miami - 1.40
Criminal Minds - 1.37
CSI - 1.37
The Mentalist - 1.23
CSI:NY - 1.22
How I Met Your Mother - 1.20
Accidentally On Purpose-1.07
The Good Wife - 1.05
Ghost Whisperer - 0.67
Medium - 0.67
Numb3rs - 0.57

Orange Zone
Gary Unmarried - 0.75
New Adventures Of OldC- 0.68

Red Zone
Cold Case - 0.72
Three Rivers - 0.63

The premiere ratings for Three Rivers registered a flatline with viewers, and it’s now the most likely CBS
show to be canceled prior to the end of the season. Based on recent CBS history with underperforming dramas,
cancellation prior to November seems quite possible.

Cold Case improved a bit from last week, but is still in significant danger of being canceled before the end
of the season. New Adventures of Old Christine and Gary Unmarried are low once again, but what’s new? If CBS
is determined to weather their terrible ratings to establish another night of comedy they may be fine for
another renewal.

CW Shows

Green Zone
Vampire Diaries - 1.65
Supernatural - 1.20
One Tree Hill - 1.10
Gossip Girl - 1.10
Smallville - 0.95
90210 - 0.95

Red Zone
Melrose Place - 0.80

Cancelled
The Beautiful Life:TBL- 0.49

Now that The Beautiful Life is gone, Melrose Place is the only remaining poor performing scripted show for
the CW that the network seems to want to try and save (like Privileged last season). There were lots of
“Privileged isn’t dead yet!” sorts of headlines in the spring that I warned fans to ignore before it was
finally cancelled. Look for the same with Melrose Place this season as the CW PR team does that voodoo that
they do so well.

NBC Shows

Green Zone
The Office - 1.44
Community - 1.04
Heroes - 0.98
Law & Order:SVU - 0.93

Orange Zone
Mercy - 0.81
Trauma - 0.81

Red Zone
Parks & Recreation - 0.70
Law & Order - 0.44

Parks & Recreation started slowly, and disastrously for its future, this season. Maybe putting Community
ahead of it starting this Thursday can pick up its ratings, or maybe it will kill Community too. We’ll know
soon enough. Law & Order may be back with originals on cable next season, but don’t expect to see them first
on NBC.

FOX Shows

Green Zone
House - 2.02
Family Guy - 1.66
The Cleveland Show - 1.50
The Simpsons - 1.40
American Dad - 1.16
Glee - 1.03
Lie To Me - 0.94
Bones - 0.89

Orange Zone
Fringe - 0.74

Red Zone
Brothers - 0.31
Dollhouse - 0.31
Til Death - 0.26

I’m more about the numbers than the rumors, but the numbers still say Dollhouse is a goner by the end of the
season. It’s highly unlikely that ‘Til Death or Brothers survives until next season as well. ‘Til Death’s
producers (Sony) will have the episodes they need for syndication, and presumably won’t need to give the
series away to Fox for nearly free again, and Brothers ratings are just plain awful. Still, because those
are the only two open half hour slots till football is over, Fox is in a tricky situation if they want to
pull just one of them early unless they double up on the other, which wouldn’t seem to increase the ratings
either. Even though I have Fringe in orange, I think the danger it gets canceled is small. It will get a big
boost from American Idol in the spring and is likely to stick around another season. (It seems I was confused
and it will be Glee getting the after Idol slot)

[TVgeek14]

The Cancel/Renew Thread #3

ABC Shows

Green Zone
Grey`s Anatomy - 2.09
Desperate Housewives - 1.64
Private Pratice - 1.41
Modern Family - 1.31
Cougar Town - 1.31
FlashForward - 1.23
Brothers & Sisters - 1.06

Orange Zone
The Middle - 0.81

Red Zone
Eastwick - 0.82
Castle - 0.77
The Forgotten - 0.75
Hank - 0.64

While I don’t think it’s much for Castle fans to cheer about, the forgotten is definitely more likely to be
canceled than their favorite show. Not only has its Index fallen below Castle’s, but its ratings are still
trending down and even if they stabilize now its Index will continue falling as its average gets pulled down.
Any bets on whether Christian Slater will be on a CBS show next season after My Own Worst Enemy on NBC and
now the forgotten?

And while Eastwick’s Index is still above Castle’s, its ratings are trending down sharply, and I’d put its
chances of being canceled at nearly as high as the forgotten’s.

Among ABC’s comedies, Hank is looking even shakier than it was last week, it’s certain to be canceled before
the end of the season. And while The Middle has received an order for a full season from ABC, I’m not sure
I’d make any plans to watch it next season just yet

CBS Shows

Green Zone
The Big Bang Theory - 1.58
NCIS - 1.49
Two And A Half Men - 1.47
CSI:Miami - 1.32
NCIS:Los Angeles - 1.30
Criminal Minds - 1.27
CSI - 1.26
The Mentalist - 1.15
How I Met Your Mother - 1.14
CSI:NY - 1.10
The Good Wife - 0.99
Accidentally On Purpose-0.99
Ghost Whisperer - 0.67
Medium - 0.65

Orange Zone
Gary Unmarried - 0.72
New Adventures Of OC - 0.65
Numb3rs - 0.54

Red Zone
Cold Case - 0.67
Three Rivers - 0.58

As bad as the ratings were for the Three Rivers premiere, its second week was even worse falling to just a
1.7 adults 18-49 rating. With CBS’ recent history of axing its worst performing new drama before the November
sweeps, the show’s demise may be announced at any moment.

Cold Case keeps getting colder and is still in significant danger of being canceled before the end of the
season. New Adventures of Old Christine and Gary Unmarried are stably low, but what’s new? If CBS is
determined to weather their terrible ratings to establish another night of comedy they may be fine for
another renewal.

While I don’t think Numb3rs is in extreme danger, it’s opened enough of a gap between its ratings and those
of Medium and Ghost Whisperer to be in some danger. Last season Numb3rs was renewed with a gap between its
Index and that of Ghost Whisperer of 0.10. At that gap or less, I figure the show is safe, above that gap
there’s a risk it gets canceled.


NBC Shows

Green Zone
The Office - 1.56
Heroes - 0.95
Law & Order:SVU - 0.94

Orange Zone
Community - 0.93
Parks & Recreation - 0.73

Red Zone
Mercy - 0.77
Trauma - 0.72
Law & Order - 0.48

Get your fill of lovely San Francisco outdoor shots in Trauma while they last. My guess is they won’t be
around much longer. Certainly not next season.

Mercy is in only marginally better shape than Trauma. Maybe the difference between lasting the entire season
and getting pulled early. Maybe not.

Because its average has its airings after The Office baked into it, Community looks in better shape than it
is. We’ll have to see how it settles in its 8pm timeslot. I’ve changed Parks & Recreation to orange as well
(from red). With the general carnage that is NBC’s schedule they’re going to have to either replace almost
every scripeted show (which may happen in the take out the Ben Silverman garbage efforts) or they’ll have to
hold their noses and bring back some way below average shows. Prime candidates for desperate moves like that
are half hour sitcoms.

FOX Shows

Green Zone
House - 2.06
Family Guy - 1.71
The Cleveland Show - 1.52
The Simpsons - 1.43
American Dad - 1.23
Glee - 1.11
Lie To Me - 1.03
Bones - 0.97

Orange Zone
Fringe - 0.77

Red Zone
Dollhouse - 0.33
Brothers - 0.31
Til Death - 0.28

The announcement yesterday by Fox that they will produce and air all 13 episodes of Dollhouse that were
ordered for this season sounds to me like the death knell for the show. As Robert cogently advises, don’t
buy the % DVR increase hype.

I think it’s probable that yesterday’s announcement will be followed in the next week or so by an
announcement that Fox is removing Dollhouse from its Friday schedule for at least the November sweeps period,
perhaps without an indication on when it will return. Fans will see the last 10 episodes sometime, but who
knows when.

It’s highly unlikely that ‘Til Death or Brothers survives until next season as well. ‘Til Death’s producers
(Sony) will have the episodes they need for syndication, and presumably won’t have an incentive to give the
series away to Fox for nearly free again, and Brothers ratings are just plain awful. Still, because those
are the only two open half hour slots till football is over, Fox is in a tricky situation if they want to
pull just one of them early unless they double up on the other, which wouldn’t seem to increase the ratings
either.

Even though I have Fringe in orange, I think it is still quite likely, but not certain, to be renewed.

CW Shows

Green Zone
Vampire Diaries - 1.67
Supernatural - 1.20
One Tree Hill - 1.10
Gossip Girl - 1.10
90210 - 1.03
Smallville - 0.93

Orange Zone
Melrose Place - 0.83

Cancelled
The Beautiful Life - 0.49

This is going to be a tough season for Melrose Place fans. Its ratings look almost good enough to hope for
renewal for the 2010-11 season. Because of that, fans are likely to be conned by “entertainment” writers
(you know who they are) into a “There’s hope for Melrose Place!” frenzy. Don’t fall for it.

Remember Privileged from last season, and it’s associated fan hope hoo-ha in May? It was canceled with an
Index of 0.89**. Keep that in mind as you read the TV writers that are baiting the desperate fans.

*I have frozen The Beautiful Life’s Index at its value the week of cancellation.

[TVgeek14]

The Renew/Cancel Thread

ABC Shows

Green Zone
Grey`s Anatomy - 1.93
Desperate Housewives - 1.58
Private Pratice - 1.33
Modern Family - 1.25
Cougar Town - 1.23
FlashForward - 1.15
Brothers & Sisters - 1.03

Orange Zone
The Middle - 0.76

Red Zone
Castle - 0.75
Eastwick - 0.73
The Forgotten - 0.72
Hank - 0.59
Ugly Betty - 0.47

ABC says Eastwick is a quiet success. Perhaps they’ll be quiet when they cancel the show, because it has
zero chance of getting another season. But it does have a crazy fan “Save our Show” campaign!

Ugly Betty is back, and it got terrible ratings for its premiere. Not surprising and unlikely ABC expected
much more. It only returned to get enough episodes for syndication which it will have by the end of this
season. Could ABC keep it longer to produce even more episodes regardless of the ratings? It’s not 100% out
of the question, but it’s a real longshot.

While the forgotten’s ratings have stabilized, they’ve stabilized in the “do not renew” zone and Hank is as
dead as it ever was. And while I still think Castle is unlikely to get another season, it’s once again looks
to be the best of a bad lot of 10pm weekday dramas for ABC. That gives it a small ray of hope.

The Middle has received an order for a full season from ABC, but I wouldn’t make plans to watch it next
season. Its Index will continue to fall even if its ratings stabilize where they are now. The only reason
it’s not red now is that I’ve learned to give half hour comedies a bit more slack until later in the season.

CBS Shows

Green Zone
The Big Bang Theory - 1.45
Two And A Half Men - 1.36
NCIS - 1.35
CSI:Miami - 1.20
NCIS:Los Angeles - 1.15
Criminal Minds - 1.15
CSI - 1.13
The Mentalist - 1.04
How I Met Your Mother - 1.04
CSI:NY - 0.99
Accidentally On Purpose- 0.90
Ghost Whisperer - 0.60
Medium - 0.58
Numb3rs - 0.50

Orange Zone
The Good Wife - 0.88
Gary Unmarried - 0.66
New Adventures Of OC - 0.60

Red Zone
Cold Case - 0.61
Three Rivers - 0.54

There’s not much more to say about Three Rivers. It is certain to be canceled by the end of this season,
the only remotely interesting thing left is when CBS pulls it from the schedule.

Cold Case was pre-empted by a football overrun this week, but because CBS’ average ticked up sharply (thanks
again to football!) its Index sank. “Oh woe is CC, it can’t catch a break” wail the fans!

The Good Wife ratings continue to slip. It’s now at least in some danger of being canceled at the end of the
season, particularly if it continues to slide.

New Adventures of Old Christine and Gary Unmarried are stably pitiful, but what’s new? If CBS is determined
to weather their terrible ratings to establish another night of comedy they may be fine for yet another
season.

Numb3rs ratings are again close enough to those of Medium and Ghost Whisperer to put its future in less
doubt. Last season Numb3rs was renewed with a gap between its Index and that of Ghost Whisperer of 0.10. At
that gap or less, I figure the show is safe, above that gap there’s a risk it gets canceled.

NBC Shows

Green Zone
The Office - 1.49
30 Rock - 1.07
Law & Order:SVU - 0.91
Heroes - 0.90

Orange Zone
Community - 0.85

Red Zone
Mercy - 0.72
Parks & Recreation - 0.71
Trauma - 0.68
Law & Order - 0.49

Mercy and Trauma are both certain to be canceled by the end of the season. Which will go first? Conventional
wisdom is that Trauma’s high cost gets it yanked first, but many things can influence that.

Community’s average continues to decline, both it and Parks & Recreation have to be regarded as cancel-worthy,
but there is a chance amidst all the carnage this season that NBC will have to hold their noses and bring
back some way below average shows. Prime candidates for desperate moves like that are half hour sitcoms.

30 Rock’s premiere was hardly stellar, it did no better post-Office than Community, but it’s in no danger as
long as it stays there.

FOX Shows

Green Zone
House - 1.80
Family Guy - 1.49
The Cleveland Show - 1.33
The Simpsons - 1.29
American Dad - 1.08
Glee - 1.02
Lie To Me - 0.92
Bones - 0.88

Orange Zone
Fringe - 0.70

Red Zone
Dollhouse - 0.30
Brothers - 0.28
Til Death - 0.25

Fox’s Thursday ratings this fall with Bones and Fringe are way up over last fall (when they programmed dreck).
Still, on that brutally competitive night, the ratings for the individual shows aren’t much to write home
about and fans of Fringe are (not unreasonably) a bit worried. Fringe is at least in some danger, but I
still believe Fox had expectations for the night that are close to what they got, and that the show will
return next season.

Dollhouse will air during the November sweeps period, but even Joss Whedon is realistic about the prospects
for the show. Enjoy the remaining 10 episodes.

It’s highly unlikely that ‘Til Death or Brothers survives until next season as well. ‘Til Death’s producers
(Sony) will have the episodes they need for syndication, and presumably won’t have an incentive to give the
series away to Fox for nearly free again, and Brothers ratings are just plain awful. Still, because those
are the only two open half hour slots till football is over, Fox is in a tricky situation if they want to
pull just one of them early unless they double up on the other, which wouldn’t seem to increase the ratings
either.

CW Shows
Vampire Diaries - 1.42
Supernatural - 1.00
One Tree Hill - 0.94
Gossip Girl - 0.94
90210 - 0.88
Smallville - 0.81

Red Zone
Melrose Place - 0.67

Cancelled
The Beautiful Life:TBL-0.49

Will the return of Heather Locklear to Melrose Place save the show? I highly doubt it. But she’s almost
exactly a year younger than I am, and I do appreciate the employment opportunity the CW is providing to a
member of my generation.

I’m confident Melrose Place will be around for all its episodes this season, just like Privileged was. I’m
also confident it will be canceled at the end of this season, just like Privileged was.

Nothing else currently on The CW looks to be in danger of not coming back next season because of its ratings.

[TVgeek14]

Cancel/Renew

ABC Shows

Green Zone
Grey`s Anatomy - 1.90
Desperate Housewives- 1.57
Private Pratice - 1.31
Modern Family - 1.23
Cougar Town - 1.19
FlashForward - 1.13
Brothers & Sisters - 1.05

Orange Zone
Castle - 0.76
The Middle - 0.73

Red Zone
The Forgotten - 0.70
Eastwick - 0.69
Hank - 0.57
Ugly Betty - 0.43

Castle’s received a back 9 order to complete the 2009-2010 season. That was never really in doubt for me,
the ratings weren’t terrible and the Index predicts what will happen by the end of the season. However,
Castle fans prone to fingernail biting might want to invest in sturdy gloves now. I can pretty much
guarantee that the future of the show will not be known until the very last minute in May. It will likely
attract the most frenzy of the ABC bubble shows because of a combination of its ratings and its fans.

ABC says Eastwick is a quiet success. I guess they’ll be quiet when they cancel the show, because it has
zero chance of getting another season. But it does have a crazy fan “Save our Show” campaign!

Ugly Betty only returned to get enough episodes for syndication, which it will have by the end of this
season. It’s ratings are dreadful. Could ABC keep it longer to produce even more episodes regardless of the
ratings? It’s not 100% out of the question, but it’s a real longshot.

While the forgotten’s ratings have stabilized, they’ve stabilized in the “cancel me” zone and Hank is
certain to be canceled as well.

The Middle has received an order for a full season from ABC, but I wouldn’t make plans to watch it next
season. Its Index will continue to fall even if its ratings stabilize where they are now. The only reason
it’s not red now is that I’ve learned to give half hour comedies a bit more slack until later in the season.

CBS Shows

Green Zone
The Big Bang Theory - 1.52
Two And A Half Men - 1.41
NCIS - 1.40
CSI:Miami - 1.22
NCIS:Los Angeles - 1.18
Criminal Minds - 1.18
How I Met Your Mother - 1.07
CSI - 1.06
The Mentalist - 1.03
CSI:NY - 0.99
Accidentally On Purpose - 0.94
The Good Wife - 0.90
Ghost Whisperer - 0.62
Medium - 0.61
Numb3rs - 0.52

Orange Zone
Gary Unmarried - 0.68
New Adventures Of Old C - 0.61

Red Zone
Cold Case - 0.61
Three Rivers - 0.55

The deathwatch for Three Rivers continues. Many predicted CBS would take if off the air before the November
sweeps period (which begins on October 29), but it’s still scheduled to air on at least the next two Sundays
(of course, that can change in an instant). Predicting the date it gets removed from the schedule is the
only parlor game left for us, hoping for more than 13 episodes is folly.

Cold Case wasn’t pre-empted or bumped late by football this season, but against the Yankees ALCS clinching
game fell to its lowest rating of the season. Of course for its excuse generating fans, if it’s not one
thing, it’s another! It can’t just be that not many people want to watch the show. That’s way too simple a
reason.

The Good Wife ratings have stabilized and it’s average is tracking right on the edge between certain renewal
and some danger of being canceled. Right now, it’s looking good.

New Adventures of Old Christine and Gary Unmarried ratings remain horrid, but what’s new? If CBS is
determined to weather their terrible ratings to establish another night of comedy they may be fine for yet
another season.

Numb3rs ratings are again close enough to those of Medium and Ghost Whisperer to put its future in less
doubt. Last season Numb3rs was renewed with a gap between its Index and that of Ghost Whisperer of 0.10. At
that gap or less, I figure the show is safe, above that gap there’s a risk it gets canceled.

CW Shows

Green Zone
Vampire Diaries - 1.28
Supernatural - 0.93
Gossip Girl - 0.93
One Tree Hill - 0.92
90210 - 0.88
Smallville - 0.83

Red Zone
Melrose Place - 0.65

Cancelled
The Beautiful Life - 0.49

Smallville fans wary of the motives of CW Chief Dawn Ostroff should be sleeping easily. With the relatively
good ratings its getting on Friday (relatively better for its network than any other Friday scripted show on
any network), she’s not going to be able to cancel it. Of course, if the producers or stars don’t want to
continue that’s another story.

The Renew / Cancel Index for CW shows is likely to look pretty much as it does now for several months, with
Melrose Place the only show certain to be canceled and all the rest in good shape. That being the case, just
like last season with Privileged I’m certain that there are entertainment bloggers out there that will
raise the (false) hopes of fans (and their pageviews) with ridiculous “There’s Hope For Melrose Place!”
stories.

Who do you think will be first?

*I have frozen The Beautiful Life’s Index at its value the week of cancellation.

NBC Shows

Green Zone
The Office - 1.56
30 Rock - 1.17
Law & Order:SVU - 0.96
Heroes - 0.93

Orange Zone
Community - 0.84
Parks & Recreation - 0.74

Red Zone
Mercy - 0.74
Trauma - 0.69
Law & Order - 0.52

The ratings carnage at NBC is so complete that unless a miracle happens this spring with their new shows
(and their development slate) the network very well may have to have to hold its nose and keep some of its
well below average performers. If that happens, 30 minute sitcoms like Community and Parks & Recreation are
the likely candidates, not a drama like Mercy.

Trauma didn’t receive an order for its “back 9″ episodes, so it’ll last at most 13 episodes and then be
canceled. It may be pulled from the schedule sooner than that.

FOX Shows

Green Zone
House - 1.62
Family Guy - 1.40
The Cleveland Show - 1.25
The Simpsons - 1.21
American Dad - 1.01
Glee - 0.96
Lie To Me - 0.86
Bones - 0.82

Orange Zone
Fringe - 0.65

Red Zone
Dollhouse - 0.27
Brothers - 0.26
Til Death - 0.22

Dollhouse, ‘Til Death and Brothers have been pulled from the Fox schedule for the November sweeps period.
Dollhouse will return with double episodes on Friday’s in December. Brothers will move to Sundays to finish
its run. ‘Til Death returns in a four episode Christmas Eve mini-marathon. Fox stole my idea! (ok, mine was
for Independence Day). They are all out of the way for other shows that presumably can attract more viewers,
and they are all certain to be canceled.

While I think the prospects are still positive for Fringe there is at least some question about its future,
so I will keep it in orange.