Axiom's Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy

By John J. Joex

We know the fates now of more than half of the Science Fiction and Fantasy television shows airing.  Those in the renewed column are as follows:  Smallville, Supernatural, and Vampire Diaries at the CW, Fringe at FOX, and with Stargate: Universe and Sanctuary at Syfy.  I have not official heard word on Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but trust me that it will be back.  And Lost ends this season (though beware of spin-offs).  In the cancelled column so far are Dollhouse (FOX), Eastwick (ABC), and Past Life (FOX).  That leaves nine shows still waiting to hear whether they will live on for another season.  I will touch on each of these briefly starting from those most likely to be renewed and moving to those in big trouble.

Chuck (NBC):  This series lives on the bubble and seems to thrive there.  Its numbers aren’t great (they never have been), but it has the advantage of airing on the fourth place network.  I’d say this one is almost certain to get a nod for a fourth season.  Cancellation Alert: Low

Human Target (FOX):  It hasn’t made a huge splash in the ratings, but it’s done okay.  It’s also a very Prime Time friendly show with lots of action and adventure and little in the way of story arcs.  I see FOX holding onto this one for a second season.  Cancellation Alert: Low

Caprica (Syfy):  This one has really underperformed in the ratings and some consider it to be in trouble.  But Syfy has said they will stand by it and I can’t see them just abandoning the franchise.  The series has also received a lot of good buzz from the critics.  I believe that’s enough to earn it a second season, but it will have to improve its numbers if it wants to stick around longer than that.  Cancellation Alert: Moderate

Ghost Whisperer and Medium (CBS):  The former has been a Friday night mainstay for the eye network that has consistently performed well on a typically low viewership night.  The latter has finally provided a decent lead-out show for GW that does not experience a drop in the ratings at the 9 PM hour (in fact it has improved on its lead-in several times).  Both typically win their timeslots each week, but Fridays in general have seen an erosion from the numbers CBS enjoyed last year.  On any other network, I would say these two would be safe, but CBS has shown a high level on intolerance toward declining numbers (witness how they axed last year’s Eleventh Hour even though it ended the season in the Top 25).  The network has also proven quite unfriendly to the Science Fiction and Fantasy genre (again, last year’s EH, along with Moonlight and Jericho).  I’d put the odds in the favor of both shows, but you just never know with CBS.  Cancellation Alert: Moderate

Legend of the Seeker (Syndication):  I thought this one was doing okay in its second season ratings-wise (the quality has dropped off a bit, though), but its syndicator Tribune Company has announced they will not pick it up for a third season.  That’s not a definite cancellation, though, as its production company will try to shop it to other syndicators and to the cable networks.  The fans have started a raucous campaign to support it as well (see our Save My Show page for more info).  It’s probably about 50/50 on whether this one will return.  Cancellation Alert: Medium

Heroes (NBC):  Who knows about this one and who really cares anymore?  Its numbers were atrocious this season, but NBC has still suggested it could return.  I say let it rest in peace.  Cancellation Alert: Medium

V (ABC):  From a sheer numbers perspective, you would expect this one to get a second season nod seeing as it averaged a 3.7 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic across its four episode “premiere run” last November.  But then if you look at where it started vs. where it ended (going from a 5.1 rating all the way down to a 3.1), you see its not on very solid ground.  If it can hold onto the numbers it ended with, I believe ABC might keep it around.  If it sees any sort of downward trend, count it gone.  Cancellation Alert: Medium

FlashFoward (ABC):  This is another ABC show that started strong in the ratings then quickly headed south and I think it’s in much more trouble than V.  This one has also seen a lot of behind the scenes shake-ups and has had its episode order cut.  By all appearances, ABC has lost confidence in FlashFoward and will let it go after it wraps up its first season.  Cancellation Alert: Elevated

You can follow the status of all the shows currently airing at our Cancellation Watch page and also look for my weekly Ratings Results column to see how your favorite shows are doing.

Last week the Tribune Company announced that they would not pick up fantasy series Legend of the Seeker for a third season in direct syndication.  This news set fans ablaze and kicked a fan campaign to show support for the show into high gear (it had already been ramping up because of news of the show’s drop in ratings).  However, writer and co-executive producer for the show Mike Sussman has told fans to take it easy and just “chillax” because LotS is not in trouble yet.  Following is the message he posted Friday on his Twitter page:

Everyone, please, chillax. #LegendoftheSeeker has *not* been cancelled. Plans are ongoing for season three. Spread the word.

This appears to be some good news for fans of the show, though not as good as an official renewal for a third season.  Fan support at this point definitely could not hurt the show’s prospects and may help ABC Studios as they shop it to other venues.  You can get more information on the fan campaign at the Save our Seeker site and also at our Save My Show site.

Well apparently that Johnny Jay guy knows what he is talking about in his Cancellation Watch column as Entertainment Weekly has reported that FOX will renew J.J. Abrams’ Fringe for a third season. The series has struggled all season in the ratings since the network moved it to Thursday nights where it has to compete with powerhouses CSI on CBS and Grey’s Anatomy on ABC and many sources across the internet have listed it as a “bubble” show or endangered for most of the season. John J. Joex, though, has insisted throughout the season that FOX would stick with it, especially seeing how it has improved that network’s numbers on Thursday where it previously had little success. There is no word on whether the show will remain in the Thursday 9 PM EST timeslot next year or whether this was a 13 episode or 22 episode pickup. Still, fans of the show can now put aside their worries that Fringe would not continue beyond its current season.

Once again a James Cameron movie collected multiple Oscars, but this time around not as many as (the incredibly overrated) Titanic and not Best Picture. Avatar lost out to The Hurt Locker in the Best Picture category but did get wins in the Visual Effects, Art Direction, and Cinematography categories. Two other Science Fiction and Fantasy movies took home Oscars last night as well with Star Trek winning the Makeup statue (the first time the franchise has received an award from the Academy) and Up scoring in the Best Animated Film and Best Original Score categories. District 9, which made it to the nominees for Best Picture, got shut out. You can see all of the results from last night’s awards at the Oscar website.  And one night before the Academy Awards, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen took top honors at the Razzies.

Critics may not have been enamored with Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland (including our own Johnny Jay), but audiences definitely flocked to the theaters to see the latest visual adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s classic book. The movie scored an estimated $116 million domestically, coming in way ahead of expectations and delivering the highest grossing March weekend on record. In fact, the movie had the highest opening ever for a film released outside of the typical mega-blockbuster months: May, July, and November. When you tack on the $94 million that movie also made outside of the states, it brings its opening total to $210 million which finally managed to knock Avatar out of the Number 1 spot globally (that movie fell from Number 1 domestically several weeks ago). If Johnny Jay’s assumption is correct that Disney wanted to launch a new name-brand fantasy franchise with this movie, then it has definitely gotten off to the right start. Falling this weekend were Avatar which went from Number 4 to 5 despite its Oscar buzz, and The Crazies which went from Number 3 to 6 though that one has managed to recoup its budget with its domestic take so far.  You can see the full Box Office results from the weekend at Box Office Mojo.

Both ABC and NBC announced their Summer schedules and neither included anything of interest to Science Fiction and Fantasy fans. Both of those networks had offered several entries in the genre during the hot months over the last couple of years like Defying Gravity, Merlin, The Listener, and Fear Itself along with several mini-series and burn-off episodes of cancelled shows like Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone, and Kings. However, none of these shows did much to lure viewers to their televisions during the Summer eveings so apparently both networks decided not to bother this year. For fans of the BBC produced Merlin which NBC aired last Summer, Syfy has picked up that show and will begin airing the first season in April followed immediately by the second season. BBC has also commissioned a third season of the series which will eventually make its way stateside as well.

For more Science Fiction and Fantasy related stories from around the Net, check out our reddit.com page The Sci Fi Scroll (where you can also sign up and submit your own stories).

By John J. Joex

Count me wrong on my forecast for Legend of the Seeker. I figured that one was safe even though there were rumblings about it not getting picked up for a third season. But according to TV by the Numbers, Tribune Company, the show’s syndicator, has elected not to carry it for a third season because of the drop-off in ratings (which I didn’t think was that bad). This does not necessarily mean that the show is gone, though. ABC Studios, who produces the series, could try to work with a different syndicator or shop it to one of the cable networks. So stay tuned for further updates on this, but it looks like the series could be in serious trouble though fans have started up a campaign to show their support for the show.

Heroes still faces an uncertain fate at this point with NBC’s Angela Bromstead saying that it is on a “wait-and-see” basis as to whether that one will return for a fifth season. And she would not comment on whether that would be the show’s final season if it did return. For Chuck fans, Bromstead called that show’s performance in the ratings on Monday nights a “pleasant surprise” but also added that it must “maintain” its numbers if it wants to stay on the schedule next season.

Lastly, the CW announced that Smallville will indeed return for a tenth season. That series moved to Fridays this season and has allowed the network to make significant ratings gains on that night. The network previously announced that both Vampire Diaries and Supernatural would also return next season.

You can follow the status of all the shows currently airing at our Cancellation Watch page.

By John J. Joex

I already predicted it earlier this week in my Ratings Results and Cancellation Watch columns and now the inevitable has come to pass: FOX’s Past Life is past history. As expected, the network has pulled the show from its schedule following the downward spiral it experienced in the ratings across its first three episodes. FOX has claimed that they will air the remaining episodes at some point in the season, but that may or may not actually happen (they could land on the Summer schedule). And don’t expect much in the way of a “Save Past Life” campaign as it only stayed on the air for two weeks and barely attracted much of an audience during that time. You can check out my most recent thoughts on the cancellation prospects of several other shows currently airing in my column from earlier this week and monitor the status of all this season’s Science Fiction and Fantasy shows at our Cancellation Watch page.

By John J. Joex

I’m starting to see all sorts of speculation about which shows from the current season will get the axe, so I figure it’s time to throw in my three and a half cents as well (and I had a pretty good track record of predictions last season).  I have seen the Hollywood Reporter Endangered Series List, the New York Post’s guesses, and io9.com’s poll of which “bubble” shows fans will campaign for which mysteriously includes Supernatural and Smallville even though the CW just announced a renewal for the former (along with Vampire Diaries) and has said previously that it wants the latter back.  Well those sources and others across the internet have a few good points to make, but here is my assessment of the current state of affairs, starting with the most endangered shows.

First off, as I said in this week’s Ratings Results column, you can say goodbye to FOX’s Past Life.  That one seemed DOA anyway, seeing as FOX had already cut its episode order and decided to shove it into the treacherous Thursday 9 PM EST timeslot that has pummeled Fringe this season.  They did give it a special Tuesday night post-American Idol debut to generate some interest in the show, but it lost nearly 70% of its lead-in audience with an even higher attrition rate by its second half hour.  Then its first appearance in its regular Thursday night timeslot (currently on sublease from Fringe) barely registered.  FOX will almost certainly kick this one to Friday or Saturday real soon if it does not pull it from the schedule altogether, so no sense getting attached to it.

ABC’s FlashForward has been generating a lot of news lately, and not in a good way.  That series is changing show-runners yet again (with David Goyer exiting) and the network has cut its episode order (again) by one.  Now you can look at this a couple of different ways: you could say the show is in a state of disarray or you could say that ABC is doing everything possible to keep the property viable.  Considering that they rushed out a DVD release of the first ten episodes which could revive some interest in second half of the season, I would lean to the latter right now.  However, none of this makes any difference if the show’s ratings do not improve when it returns in March, because they already dropped pretty low last Fall.  The Hollywood Reporter thinks that ABC will keep one of the two between FlashForward and V (which also faces an uncertain future).  There’s been no behind the scenes news on V of late, so I can’t say much about that series, but both shows’ numbers when they resume their seasons will determine their fates, and I’m not foreseeing good returns for either.

You would think that the fate of Heroes would be sealed by this point based on how low its ratings have fallen and the pejorative stance fans have taken toward the show.  But NBC still seems attached to this series.  It still performs well overseas and another season could get it to the magical 100 episode mark which makes it a much more viable syndication property.  The Hollywood Reporter thinks NBC might give it a renewal for a twelve episode “Final Chapter”, and I could see that happening.  If they do, I suggest they can the entire creative staff including Tim Kring because that crew cannot keep up any consistency in quality with the writing.  Basically, on any other network or on any prior year the show would be gone (even NBC would have axed it last year with these numbers).  But the peacock network is in such dire straits right now that they might just hold onto it for another season.

Over on Syfy, Caprica has definitely failed to live up to expectations so far.  That show has delivered soft numbers across its initial airings, and the cable channel has to be disappointed considering the amount of promotion they put into the property.  I can’t believe they would cut and run, though, seeing as they consider this a flagship show and a continuation of the well-regarded Battlestar Galactica franchise.  Though I wonder if some of this might be backlash from fans disappointed with how that show ended (I have a friend who refuses to watch Caprica because he is still angry about the BSG finale).  I’m not ready to raise the Cancellation Alert on this one just yet, but I will keep it on my watch-list.

Another one on the watch list is FOX’s Human Target.  Honestly, I would have thought this series would be a sure thing for renewal.  It’s a light-hearted, action-adventure show with a strong cast that relies on stand-alone episodes that do not demand too much brain matter.  How could this miss with Prime Time audiences?  Not certain on the answer there, but the series has not taken the Nielsens by storm thus far.  It hasn’t totally tanked either, but I’m sure FOX expected better numbers.  We will see how this one progresses over the next few weeks and revisit its status then.

Oddly, fans of the syndicated Legend of the Seeker have started up a campaign to keep that show alive.  I’m not quite certain why, because the numbers I have seen for it this season at TV by the Numbers suggest that it’s tracking similar to its first season and that it’s doing just fine.  One of the show’s producers is the one who reached out to fans, though, so maybe he knows something we don’t.  I will keep an eye on this one as well.

CBS’s Friday night staple The Ghost Whisperer has suffered some in the ratings this year, and it’s not impossible that the network could consider making a change on that night.  The other Friday night staple, procedural series Numbers, is already in trouble so maybe the eye network will decide shake things up a bit.  Still, The Ghost Whisperer usually wins its timeslot and does relatively well on a typically low-viewership night, so I think it’s okay.  And that show’s lead-out, Medium, has finally stabilized the 9 PM hour for CBS, so I think that one will stick around as long a GW stays on the schedule.

There’s been a lot of talk about Fringe as a show on the bubble, but I still say it’s safe.  Its numbers really improved in January and FOX likes the gains it has made with that one and House on Thursday nights.  Of course now they put it back on hiatus until April while Past Life flounders in its timeslot, but I expect Fringe to hold onto its numbers when it returns.  And I’m pretty sure Chuck is safe as well.  That show has delivered decent numbers so far, so it should get the thumbs up for another season unless it takes a dramatic downward turn when it returns after the Olympics.  But that seems unlikely.

Stay tuned for further developments, but in the meantime you can keep up with the status of all your favorite shows at our Cancellation Watch page and follow how they are tracking in the Nielsens with our weekly Ratings Results column.

Previous: Mid-Season Predictions on Which Shows will get Cancelled

By John J. Joex

Over the last two days I looked at the cancellation prospects of the Science Fiction and Fantasy shows currently still on the air, now I will take a look at the two shows that have already fallen to the network terminator this season.

Eastwick: The failure of this dramedy, about three modern day women with supernatural powers, seems fairly straightforward to me. It just was not strong enough in its early episodes to grab onto an audience. The chemistry of the cast did not gel during the first few episodes, the humor fell flat more often than not, and the lead foil—actually the central focus of the show—lacked the charisma needed for such a sinister charmer of a character. The show did improve as it progressed and started to show promise, but by then it was too late. Of course ABC didn’t do the Eastwick any favors seeing as it barely did anything to let people know about the series. I’m thinking that if they had punched up the humor some more (think of what Joss Whedon could have done with this one) and paired it with Desperate Housewives—whose audience this would have appealed to—the show might have prospered. Of course it failed to do much with its not-too-shabby lead-in from Cougar Town, so who can say? Still, and not to knock the acting chops of Paul Gross, but I think that Desperate Housewives’ Richard Burgi (who Gross resembles and who was recently killed off on DH) was born to play the Darryl Van Horne character. All that is a moot point now, and despite a fan campaign to keep Eastwick on the air, the show has been pulled from the schedule (with two episodes left unaired) and will have to settle with being the answer to the future Trivial Pursuit question: “What was the third failed attempt to make a television series from John Updike’s novel The Witches of Eastwick?”

Dollhouse: Why did the latest show from genre whiz-kid Joss Whedon fail? Because it was not a good fit for network Prime Time television. This showed basked in moral ambiguity, something which rarely plays well with your typical broadcast television viewer. Who are the good guys and who are the bad guys? Heck, with only two episodes of the show left, I still can’t answer that question. This makes for engaging viewing in my opinion, but most viewers prefer an easier to digest hour of television. This show would have fared much better on a cable network or one of the pay channels like HBO or Showtime. There, Whedon could have explored more of the adult themes that he wanted to work into the show and that FOX shied away from. Of course FOX’s tinkering with the show did not help either. They forced a lot of changes early on and tried to push Dollhouse in a different direction. If you go back and watch the original pilot included on the Season 1 DVD set, you get a better understanding of where Whedon wanted to go with the show, and that could have worked on the right network. FOX, though, was not the right network. You have to give them some credit for standing by the show and renewing it for a second season despite the low ratings it pulled during its first year. But then they did not do it any favors with their casting it to Friday nights, and they probably could have give it more of a promotional push. In any case, it outlasted Whedon’s Firefly (also a FOX casualty) as far as number of episodes but it will likely fade from our memories more quickly than that beloved show (evidenced by the lack of a fan campaign to keep Dollhouse on the air).

By John J. Joex

Yesterday I looked at the shows taking their bow in 2010, so today I will look at the prospects of the shows that started off the current season in Fall.  You can keep track of all the shows currently airing at our Cancellation Watch page.

(The links below are to each show’s page at TV.com and you can see the full rundown of the Mid-Season shows at our Preview page.)

Heroes (NBC) – With its ratings slide during the current season (it has averaged only a 2.4 rating in the 18-49 demographic), I had all but written this show off during the first half of the season. But then NBC dubbed the Jay Leno experiment a failure and will now have to program five extra hours next season. And they will not want to go too heavy on new properties so they will want to salvage as much from their current schedule as possible. They have already asked Tim Kring to pitch a storyline for a possible Season 5, so the prospects for Heroes are improving.

Cancellation Alert: Medium

FlashForward (ABC) – This one looked like the ratings darling of the season when it started off in Fall with buzz as the next Lost and with some pretty impressive numbers. But those ratings went south real quick as the show meandered with its storyline and just got boring. The producers claimed early on that they would wrap up many of the show’s storylines at the end of the first season. Good thing, because this one probably won’t last beyond that. Yeah, I know that the ABC execs are saying the show still has a chance for a second season, but I’m not buying it.

Cancellation Alert: Elevated

V (ABC) – This is another new ABC series that started strong in the ratings, then fell off. And it fell faster and harder than FlashForward. Despite Stephen McPherson’s claims, unless V does a quick turnaround when it returns in March (unlikely after such a long hiatus), then its one letter title will stand for Vanished.

Cancellation Alert: Medium

Fringe (FOX) – FOX coddled this one last year with a healthy post-American Idol slot then threw it to the wolves this year and put it up against CSI and Grey’s Anatomy on Thursdays. Still, and I may fall on my sword over this one, I say the show is okay (and FOX still appears to be standing by it). It’s pulling better numbers in that slot than FOX had the last season, and it did well with a special episode that aired Monday night. Plus, Season 2 has received good buzz from critics and fans, and it has the clout from J.J. Abrams’. Many other sources on the web disagree, but I say that it is safe into its third season.

Cancellation Alert: Low

After that, most all of the other Science Fiction and Fantasy shows currently airing are pretty much shoe-ins for renewal. SyFy has already given a nod for another season of both Stargate: Universe and Sanctuary. Vampire Diaries is one of the biggest hits on the CW in a while, so it will definitely be back. And that network has also indicated that it wants both Smallville and Supernatural back next year as well (which means Sam and Dean will have to survive that Apocalypse somehow). Legend of the Seeker has continued to perform well in syndication and it should receive a third season nod. And Star Wars: The Clone Wars will stay on the air as long as George Lucas keeps cranking out episodes. Ghost Whisperer and Medium continue to win their Friday night timeslots, so CBS should keep them going. Ghost Whisperer’s numbers are down though, so it’s not impossible CBS could shake up that night, but I doubt it.

Already receiving the axe earlier in the season were ABC’s Eastwick and FOX’s Dollhouse. Check back tomorrow when I look at what caused those two to get kicked to the curb.

By John J. Joex

Mid-season has begun with several new and returning shows taking their bows along with the Fall shows resuming their seasons. So it’s time to give my latest prognosis on whether these shows will live on for another year. I will start out by looking at the shows that are just now kicking off their seasons, then tomorrow I will take a look at how the Fall shows are holding up. You can keep track of all the shows currently airing at our Cancellation Watch page.

(The links below are to each show’s page at TV.com and you can see the full rundown of the Mid-Season shows at our Preview page.)

Lost (ABC, Tuesday 9 PM, Returns February 2nd) – Since this is the final season of Lost, it seems like somewhat of a moot point to discuss its cancellation prospects. But depending on how well Season 6 does in the ratings, ABC could decide to carry on the Lost story with a spin-off or in some other form. The ratings for this show have continued to erode from season to season (as is typical of serialized shows), but the final season could draw back a large number of former viewers who want to see how the show wraps up. If the ratings take a significant jump, ABC could start mapping out options for a continuation (and they are already thinking along those lines). I would hope that they would allow the show to finish its run and go out with dignity, but when there’s money to be made . . . well you know how that works. I would say that if the current season continues the trend of ratings erosion we have seen for the last few years, then the alphabet network will let Lost take a rest (for a while at least). But if the ratings get a bump, expect to see some sort of spin-off in the near future.

Cancellation Alert: Not Applicable but watch for spin-offs

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Chuck (NBC, Monday 8 PM, New Episodes Already Airing) – The little-show-that-could has several things going for it including the strong start it got off to this week. The two hour premiere average a 2.9 rating and close to 8 million viewers, both very good for this show. On top of that, it resides on the fourth place network (NBC), and the network brass really like the show and have stood behind despite its low ratings. In addition, critics love it and the show has a good amount of positive buzz on the Internet. Add to that the fact that NBC has five extra Prime Time hours to schedule next year because they are pulling out of their Jay Leno experiment, and this show is almost guaranteed to return for a fourth season.

Cancellation Alert: Low

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Human Target (FOX, Wednesday 9 PM, Premieres January 17th) – FOX seems to really like this show because they are giving it plenty of chances to succeed (if only they had done the same for Dollhouse). First, it gets a post-playoff game debut this coming Sunday night, then it will settle into a comfortable Wednesday 9 PM EST timeslot with American Idol as its lead-in. This show, which looks like a somewhat promising genre entry, should be able to just coast into its second season. Of course, then they might decide to throw it to the wolves and put it in a deathslot like they did with Fringe this season, but that’s next year.

Cancellation Alert: Low (Pre-Debut Estimate)

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Caprica (SyFy, Friday 10 PM, Premieres January 22nd) – It’s been a long time coming, but the Battlestar Galactica prequel series will finally make it to the air. The pilot (available on DVD) got the story off to a promising start, and SyFy does not demand the higher ratings numbers that the broadcast networks want to see. This one should almost certainly sail right into a second season.

Cancellation Alert: Low (Pre-Debut Estimate)

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Past Life (FOX, Thursday 9 PM, Premieres February 11th) – Unlike the four shows above, this one’s future does not seem as bright. First, the concept is a bit of a stretch with paranormal detectives investigating how past lives affect peoples’ current lives. Second, FOX is throwing this one to the wolves right away as it puts the show into the Thursday 9 PM EST timeslot that is currently killing Fringe (that one will go on a two month hiatus while Past Life airs). Add to that the fact that FOX cut the episode order from thirteen to seven and you can pretty much expect to see this one gone by season end.

Cancellation Alert: Elevated (Pre-Debut Estimate)

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Day One (NBC, Premiere TBD) – This one seemed DOA as it went from a 13 episode “series event” to a 4-hour mini-series to a 2-hour movie. But the recent Jay Leno decision may boost its prospects. NBC will air the 2-hour pilot sometime after the Olympics, and if it does well they may give it a quick greenlight to series in order to fill up the void left open at the 10 PM hour. It’s a bit of a stretch, but it’s still possible.

Cancellation Alert: Will it even air?

Next: The cancellation prospects for the returning shows that premiered in Fall

By John J. Joex

Man, take a day off and see what happens! Not only did yesterday bring the news that Dollhouse got cancelled, but also that ABC’s Eastwick was getting banished as well. The supernatural series that airs on Wednesdays at 10 PM EST will not get a renewal beyond its initial thirteen episode order, but the network has promised to air out its remaining installments. The show debuted to passable, but not spectacular, ratings but quickly started a downward slide that sealed the its fate. I see that TV.com broke the story on Tuesday which means that this one beat Dollhouse to the punch by a day and confirms my prediction from a few weeks ago that Eastwick would be the first genre show to go this season, though only just barely.

A campaign to save the show started up a few weeks ago relying on an online petition and Twitter.com to get their message out that people are watching the show. It’s unlikely they will be able to convince ABC to change their minds, though. Eastwick’s numbers have dwindled to below five million total viewers and only around a 1.8 rating in the 18-49 demographic and the show does not have much support among the critics. Pushing Daisies got the axe about this time last year and despite critical praise for the show and a raucous campaign that included sending daisies to the ABC offices (plus several posthumous Emmy Awards), the network did not change its decision. Still there’s always a chance that another network could take a flyer on the show, so for more information on the campaign, go to our Save My Show page.