This week on the ABC Renew/Cancel, one of ABC's few fall scripted series says farewell for now, as we take a final look at High Potential until it returns in 2025.
Certain Cancellation:
N/A
Likely Cancellation:
N/A
Leans Cancellation:
Doctor Odyssey (0.29, 0.22-0.40)
Leans Renewal:
N/A
Already Ending:
The Conners
Yet to Premiere:
The Rookie
Shifting Gears
Will Trent
High Potential: ABC has only has two new shows this fall, both dramas. While both of them are currently drawing roughly the same seasonal average, it's clear that High Potential is the one with more potential - pun intended. These two new dramas are also two of only three new shows overall, and the only new dramas this season on ABC. Even though ABC is clearly going to have a limited number of scripted programs on their lineup moving forward, it would be a shock if they canceled both new dramas. High Potential is clearly their best bet to move forward with, and I don't think its renewal would be a pity renewal in any way, even if its first-run ratings are a bit meager. Yes, its retention from Dancing with the Stars is fairly awful (last week's midseason finale held just 35% of its lead-in, which tied Survivor for the highest rating of any show on broadcast last week), but that's a troubling slot for ABC, and it's probably not all that compatible with a reality dancing competition anyway. Its current 0.30 average is perfectly acceptable for a 10 PM show, and is easily the highest average for any 10 PM series on ABC. Ratings have declined the last few weeks, dropping for each of the last five episodes, but it's not yet on a level that I consider concerning enough to impact its renewal. ABC is even giving it a better time slot come midseason, moving the show to 9 PM once it returns from its break. Why am I so confident that the show will be renewed when its linear ratings aren't all that strong? Because despite all of that, it's still a powerhouse on streaming. ABC hasn't publicized much about Doctor Odyssey's multiplatform performance, but they have revealed its premiere ratings. Just from that, we know that High Potential's premiere performed roughly a point and a half better (3.67 vs. 2.21) in the key demo and almost three million more viewers (14 million vs. 11.1 million), despite starting from a lower place. High Potential also beat the premiere of top-rated drama 9-1-1 by eight tenths and a million viewers, and beat. They haven't announced MP+35 ratings for Grey's Anatomy or Abbott Elementary, but High Potential may well have been ABC's highest-rated premiere of the season in multiplatform viewing. Its continued dominance on the Hulu charts, as well as continued appearances on Disney+ (where it's one of very few broadcast shows to ever log appearances on their new top ten chart) suggest it's still a force on streaming even after its premiere. MP+7 data suggested that the show actually grew a bit in week two. All of the data we have suggests that this show is a valuable asset for ABC, and a genuine hit, even if people aren't necessarily staying up until 11 PM on a Tuesday night just to watch it. With streaming ratings playing a bigger part in renewals each year, High Potential's strong performance in that metric sets it up well for a long run. Minor declines in its same-day ratings on ABC don't concern me so long as its streaming performance remains impressive. It's a LIKELY RENEWAL.
Interactive Schedule:
The TV Ratings Guide | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tues | Dancing with the Stars | High Potential | ||||
Wed | The Golden Bachelorette | Abbott Elementary | What Would You Do? | |||
Thurs | 9-1-1 | Doctor Odyssey | Grey's Anatomy | |||
Fri | Shark Tank | 20/20 |
What do you think of my predictions? What are your predictions? Let us know in the comments and vote in the poll of the week!