December 9th Predictions
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| Photo Credit: Fox |
Below are the Week 11 renew/cancel predictions for the Fox network in the 2023-24 television season. The numbers listed in the table mark the Nielsen rating low, average, and high for each respective program in the Adults 18-49 demographic. The "Y2Y (year-to-year) Change" column denotes how much the series has risen or fallen when compared to its average from the previous season. Because of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, there is a limited amount of scripted programming this fall. As a result, reality television will now be included in this column.
Krapopolis: For the third time this season, Krapopolis was given the honor of airing at 8 p.m. on a football-boosted night. The animated comedy surged to a 1.20 rating thanks to its massive lead-in and posted a new series high in the process. Fox can delude themselves as much as they want, but this series is not a hit in the Adults 18-49 demographic. No matter how many times they plug it behind The OT and get a 1.2 out of it, it will go back down to a 0.2 when it does not have such powerful assistance. Though it is common for Fox to place the series premiere of a new show after a big NFL game, it is not normal for one of their shows to get three (soon to be four) different chances to air in the slot normally reserved for The Simpsons. If the network wants to give Krapopolis this time slot, then they should properly commit to it, meaning it should have to tough it out as the 8 p.m. anchor whether there is NFL help or not. Fox obviously won't do that as they want Krap to reap the benefits of airing at 8 without the drawbacks. When the NFL lead-in does not reach the prime time players, they will always return Krap to 8:30 and use The Simpsons as its protective shield. Fox knows this series was a bad investment, so they are doing everything in their power to pump up its average and make it seem like a success. This strategy can only work in the fall when NFL is around. Expect catastrophic declines in February when the football well dries.
The Simpsons: It seems like The Simpsons is not going to have much more direct NFL help this season. Krapopolis already took over the 8 p.m. time slot on two key NFL nights and will also be taking the December 17th boost away from Simpsons. Though a show that has been on the air for over thirty years should not need such help, losing three major boosts will do a number on its ratings average. The 0.59 it managed in the 8:30 slot on December 3rd is certainly better than its delivery on non-boosted nights but not high enough to prop up its average in a significant way. By the time spring arrives, the year-to-year trend will not look pretty for The Simpsons.
Snake Oil: Though The Masked Singer (0.38) dropped to a new series low on December 6th, Snake Oil actually grew by 0.07 to a 0.26 rating. This is clearly the program's best performance in a while, especially since it was down to a 0.19 before this rise. Snake Oil remains a Likely Renewal.
