Cancellation Watch: [Updated] Once Upon A Time Gets Renewed, The River is Likely Up the Creek, Awake and A Gifted Man Cancelled

Cancellation Watch: Tracking the weekly ratings and the cancellation prospects of the science fiction and fantasy shows currently airing on broadcast and cable networks.

By John J. Joex

Coming as no surprise, yesterday ABC announced a renewal for freshman fantasy series Once Upon A Time from Lost veterans Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. That series bowed last October to very strong ratings and has managed to hold onto much of its audience throughout its first season run. It has slipped some in the ratings the last few months, but it is regularly the top rated show among the broadcast networks on Sunday nights. I pegged this one as a sure-thing renewal in January after it recovered from a slight slump in in the ratings in December. There’s no word, though, on ABC’s other genre series, The River. That show debuted in February to mediocre ratings and saw a steady decline from there. It’s almost certain that the network will not bring the show back for a second season, though Netflix has expressed an interest in acquiring the property. Perhaps the lack of any announcement on the status of that show at this point stems from the negotiations (assuming they are still ongoing) with the streaming service.

Also announced yesterday is the cancellation of the CBS supernatural series A Gifted Man. That show has been written off as a goner since last Fall because of its poor ratings performance on Friday nights. This announcement, though, finally confirms its suspected fate. Also, NBC announced that Awake would not be returning for a second season, which is also no surprise. That series debuted to mediocre ratings then dropped much lower following that.

Following are the remaining genre shows still awaiting word on their fate along with the current Cancellation Alert status I have assigned to them:

The River (ABC) Cancellation Alert: Elevated

Nikita (CW) Cancellation Alert: High

The Secret Circle (CW) Cancellation Alert: Elevated

Awake (NBC) Cancellation Alert: High

Sanctuary (Syfy) Cancellation Alert: Medium

The status of these shows as well as pickups for next season should all come clear as we head into the upfronts next week when the broadcast networks will finalize their schedules, so stay tuned for breaking news. And you can see the status of all of this season’s genre shows at our Cancellation Watch page.

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