During the regular part of the 2021-22 television season, FOX launched just five new scripted TV series and cancelled three of them. After selling its studio to Disney, FOX has had to license nearly all of its programs from other studios. As a result, because profit margins are tighter than ever, some of the network’s top-rated shows of last year were almost cancelled. Which shows will survive the 2022-23 season? Stay tuned.
How do the execs decide what to cancel or keep? They look at a lot of economic factors, but the ratings still play a very large role. The higher the ratings, the better the chances a show has of surviving. These 2022-23 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, Accused, Alert: Missing Persons Unit, Animal Control, Beat Shazam, Bob’s Burgers, Call Me Kat, The Cleaning Lady, Crime Scene Kitchen, Don’t Forget the Lyrics!, Family Guy, Fantasy Island, Farmer Wants a Wife, Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars, The Great North, Hell’s Kitchen, Housebroken, LEGO Masters, The Masked Singer, MasterChef, Monarch, Name That Tune, Next Level Chef, The Resident, The Simpsons, Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, Stars on Mars, and Welcome to Flatch.
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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 2022-23 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?
