Now that the fall television season is well under way, it's also now time that the networks start deciding which shows they'll keep and which shows get canceled. Most of these decisions, of course, depend on ratings, although sometimes a dedicated fan base can make some difference.
This fall saw a lot of shows returning, as well as many new series hitting the air for the first time. There have also already been a few casualties this season, including ABC's The Whispers, Syfy's Defiance and CBS' Extant.
Other shows, though, are probably already on their way to the chopping block, so here's a look at the shows that are most likely to get canceled during or after this season.
Minority Report (Fox)
Fox's track record with genre television, specifically science fiction, just isn't that good: just ask any fan of Firefly. Minority Report was written off by fans before it ever started, thanks to Fox's involvement, but the series itself is also lackluster, although it should have been a hit right out of the gate.
Based on the Minority Report movie, the series focuses on precogs: those who have the ability to foresee crimes before they happen. That should make for interesting storytelling, but somehow, Fox has turned this interesting concept into something that feels more like a standard police procedural and totally missed the point that this is a science fiction series.
Minority Report's ratings, too, have suffered since its debut, so much that Fox decided to cut back the show's first season from 13 episodes to 10. That's pretty much a sign that the network has already given up on the series and it's doubtful we'll see it return once those 10 episodes are up.
The Player (NBC)
Does anyone know anyone who actually watches NBC's The Player? The answer is quite possibly "no," which explains why it makes the list of shows most likely to get canceled this season. The Player is a drama about a security expert who gets involved with a "cabal" of some wealthy folks who gamble on how likely he is to stop certain crimes. If that sounds a bit over the top and a little too complicated, it seems that viewers agree: its ratings take a nosedive every week.
The show was a flop with critics, too, with Rotten Tomatoes coming in with a score of just 37 percent.
"In short, NBC dealt one too many cards from the deck because The Player is basically absurd with a dollop of stupid on top and a whole bunch of empty tossed in for filler," writes Tim Goodman at The Hollywood Reporter. "Yes, empty can be filler."
The Muppets (ABC)
When ABC first announced that it planned on bringing The Muppets back to television, there was much rejoicing by those who grew up with the series and its movies. However, now that The Muppets are back, people just aren't watching it, which is sad because the series is really funny.
A lot of the problem is that some of the material on the show is adult humor, causing groups like the One Million Moms movement to pressure ABC into canceling the series.
The series is also a lot different from the 1970s The Muppet Show, and some Kermit fans can't seem to get past that. The show is modern now, and done in a mockumentary style, making it less like Sesame Street and more like The Office.
However, The Muppets aren't completely out of the picture yet: the show still trends well on social media, as well as improving its numbers when delayed viewings numbers come out.
Sleepy Hollow (Fox)
When Sleepy Hollow premiered on Fox several years ago, it became the sleeper (pun intended) hit of the season. The show took everything viewers knew about the legend of Sleepy Hollow and turned it on its head. Not only that, but its two leads—Nicole Beharie and Tom Mison—had a great chemistry that just worked, making the show a quick hit.
However, the series seemed to lose its footing in season two, perhaps by having the headless horseman defeated so quickly, and viewers started losing interest. Season two ended up all over the place and by the time the season finale aired, the series had already crashed and burned.
This season, Fox decided to sort of reboot the show, but thought that a "monster of the week" approach would bring in viewers. It's not working, though, and Sleepy Hollow's ratings go down every week. Enjoy what's left of Ichabod Crane and Abby Mills because it's likely that after this season, you won't see them again.
Heroes Reborn (NBC)
NBC's revival of its series, Heroes, which the network originally canceled way back in 2010, isn't faring well. Long thought a victim of a writer's strike that forced the original series to consolidate its storylines, it seems that Heroes' day has come and gone. Although Heroes Reborn promised a storyline worthy of the show's first season (which most critics and fans loved), it's been uninspiring, resulting in viewers losing interest quickly.
The series also took its time in reintroducing several of its more popular characters until late in the game, including Hiro, who only just appeared on the series recently. Waiting so long to bring Hiro to the new series was probably a bad move, and it's unlikely that his involvement now will help the series with its ratings.
Heroes Reborn isn't bad, but its ratings continue to drop every week, meaning that viewers can only hope that the storyline started back in 2006 finally gets a decent wrap-up.
Heroes Reborn was originally intended as a miniseries in the first place, but it's likely that if the ratings were better, NBC would probably want to pick it up for another season. That's probably not going to happen, though. If the show suffers more, the network could even decide to yank it midseason, possibly leaving it hanging or choosing to air the final epsiodes later.
Scream Queens (Fox)
Here's another Fox series that probably won't make it to another year. Although Ryan Murphy's Glee always did well on the network, his new TV series, Scream Queens, just isn't hitting those numbers that Fox needs to keep it on the air. This could be the most surprising cancellation of all, though, because the series premiere did so well with viewers.
Not only that, but the series brought some pretty big name stars with it, including Emma Roberts, Abigail Breslin, Nick Jonas, Lea Michele, Ariana Grande and Jamie Lee Curtis. But all that star power hasn't saved the series in the ratings.
Since its premiere, the show's ratings have steadily declined. Although Fox seems to love Murphy, they can't ignore the show's low numbers.
However, there's still hope for Scream Queens: social media might save the show. The series consistently leads online conversations on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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