Expect A Lot More Genre TV Shows Next Season

As you’re probably aware, it’s sweeps month. Usually, around this time of year, we tell you which fantasy and TV shows are going to be flushed down the drain.

Turns out, though, that that isn’t the case. In fact, this sweeps, they might be the only survivors.

Here’s the deal: The Walking Dead is currently only second to football in all of TV. Arrow has lost some of its audience, but the show is displaying a lot of strength and frankly there’s a lot more the CW will cancel before Ollie faces the shaft. Once Upon a Time is solid for ABC. Revolution and Grimm are NBC’s top two scripted dramas. Fringe is already canceled but you can’t have everything. Granted Beauty and The Beast isn’t doing so hot either but that’s barely a genre show anyway.

In other words, pretty much the only scripted programming making any network any reliable money is… fantasy and science fiction. Talk about a switch.

We know S.H.I.E.L.D. is headed to screens on ABC next season, and genre programming is just as tricky as any other type of TV show. But considering the ongoing success of Walking Dead, it’s really only a matter of time before we start seeing a lot more genre TV.

Hey, maybe Paramount can finally tap one of the dozens of creative people begging to bring Star Trek back!