What TV Shows Will Be Canceled In 2018? ‘Timeless,’ ‘Gotham’ And More In Danger

Every May, TV fans must prepare for the worst. It’s cancellation season, and that means everyone’s favorite shows are on the chopping block. Certain shows are tough to call, though. These are the shows that are on the bubble, meaning they could be renewed or canceled.

“Timeless” (NBC) The time travel show was actually canceled last year, but the network reversed their decision. It might not do the same this year. While there was much hype about the return, the show is only averaging 2.6 million viewers while last season had 4.6 million. The coveted 18-49 demo has also fallen from 1.1 to 0.6. How many miracle renewals could this show get? Time may be running out for “Timeless.”

“Gotham” (Fox) The Batman drama is still kicking after four seasons, but it isn’t at the top of Fox’s ratings anymore. In fact, it’s the second lowest-rated hour-long drama. With only 2.6 million viewers (0.79 in the demo), it has lost nearly a million viewers from last year. That’s way down from the first season when it was pulling in over 6 million pairs of eyeballs.

Still, there are other factors. “Gotham” is from DC Comics, which has fans all over the world. If international audiences still have a big appetite for young Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) and Jim Gordon (Benjamin McKenzie), Fox might take that into consideration when deciding if they should renew the series.

“Brooklyn Nine-Nine” (Fox) It’s such a good show, which has kept it on the air for five seasons despite ratings faltering. They get great reviews and amazing guest stars like Kyra Sedgwick and Sterling K. Brown, but the viewers just aren’t tuning in. It was on the bubble last year when 2.1 million viewers were watching (with 0.86 in the demo). In Season 5, the cop comedy is only pulling in 1.7 million viewers (with 0.7 in the demo) despite being in the timeslot right after “The Simpsons.”

“Quantico” (ABC) It’s very early to make this call considering “Quantico” Season 3 only premiered a week ago. However, despite the marketing, a post-Shondaland time slot and star Priyanka Chopra getting extra attention from her friendship with Meghan Markle, the premiere still debuted to low ratings. Only 2.7 million viewers tuned in, which isn’t down much from last year’s 2.8 million. Yet they lost nearly half of the “Station 19” viewers, many of whom were in the coveted 18-49 demo. ABC gave this show another shot last year, which many believe is due to the drama’s international appeal, but if ratings don’t improve, it’s hard to see ABC avoiding canceling it again.

“Life Sentence” (The CW) The dramedy follows a girl who is cured of her terminal cancer, but it looks like she’ll live longer than this series. After underperforming on Wednesdays, it was moved to Fridays. It’s currently averaging less than half a million viewers with 0.15 in the demo, making it the lowest rated show on The CW.

Lucy Hale’s latest TV series isn’t the runaway hit that “Pretty Little Liars” once was, so don’t expect it to last as long as the Freeform show. However, the ratings are not necessarily a death sentence. The CW has been known to look past typical ratings and see if shows are doing well on streaming and via other legal platforms. It could pull through, but it’s unlikely.

“Elementary” (CBS) Many were shocked when it was renewed last year, but another reprieve seems unlikely. The Sherlock Holmes show has one of the lowest demo ratings on CBS (0.6), second only to “Ransom.” The difference between the two shows is that “Elementary” is older, meaning it is more expensive to produce. Fans should prepare to say goodbye to the Johnny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu’s Holmes and Watson.

Audiences will learn the fates of most of their shows later this month as networks host Upfronts to announce renewals and cancellations.

All ratings are from TV Series Finale.