Of The 43 New Network Shows That Debuted Last Season, Guess How Many Were Renewed?

As the new fall television season gets under way, it’s a good time to remind you all not to get too attached. Yes, 11.7 million people tuned in to the debut of NBC’s Revolution last night — the highest debut for a drama on any network in three years — but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be around come net season. After all, the last network drama to premiere with more than 11.7 million viewers was ABC’S V. The last NBC drama to premiere with higher numbers? Bionic Woman. Where are they now?

Exactly.

Of the 43 scripted programs that debuted last year on NBC, ABC, Fox and CBS (I’m not counting the CW, because who cares?), only 14 were renewed for a second season. That’s a really bad business model.

Of course, there’s always the chance that we get lucky with a show like NBC’s Awake, which was canceled, but it was a splendid one-season television series. Then again, many of the dramas that were renewed — Smash, Revenge — stopped being any fun to watch 10 episodes into the series.

You will have better luck with comedies. There’s a better percentage chance they will be renewed, and if they’re not, at least there’s less investment in characters, story lines, and your time.

So, once more, before we move ahead, let’s take a look back. Here were the 43 shows that debuted last season. The shows in bold are the ones that are returning.

ABC

1. Charlie’s Angels
2. Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23
3. GCB
4. Last Man Standing
5. Man Up!
6. Missing
7. Once Upon a Time
8. Pan Am
9. Revenge
10. The River
11. Scandal
12. Suburgatory
13. Work It
14. You Deserve It

CBS
15. 2 Broke Girls
16. A Gifted Man
17. How to Be a Gentleman
18. NYC 22
19. Person of Interest
20. Rob
21. Unforgettable

Fox
22. Alcatraz
23. Allen Gregory
24. The Finder
25. I Hate My Teenage Daughter
26. Napoleon Dynamite
27. New Girl
28. Q’Viva! The Chosen
29. Terra Nova
30. Touch

NBC
31. Are You There, Chelsea?
32. Awake
33. Bent
34. Best Friends Forever
35. The Firm
36. Free Agents
37. Grimm
38. The Playboy Club
39. Prime Suspect
40. Smash
41. Up All Night
42. Whitney
43. Who’s Still Standing?

×