Summer Broadcast Renew/Cancel Week 15: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Is Keeping ABC Rich This Summer

Summer is beginning to wind down, and with just a few weeks until the 2025-26 TV season kicks off, I'm beginning to finalize my predictions for the summer TV season! Keep reading to see my final thoughts on one show that recently wrapped up its debut season, plus an upgrade for another series!

Certain to be Canceled:
The Fixer (Fox) (0.07, 0.05-0.08)
The Great North (Fox) (0.13, 0.11-0.16)
Raid the Cage (CBS) (0.18, 0.16-0.22)

Likely to be Canceled:
The Snake (Fox) (0.12, 0.10-0.14)
Songs and Stories with Kelly Clarkson (NBC) (0.14, 0.13-0.15)
Survival Mode (NBC) (0.14, 0.12-0.16)
Yes, Chef! (NBC) (0.14, 0.11-0.19)

Leans Cancellation:
Big Brother: Unlocked (CBS) (0.18, 0.17-0.18)
Press Your Luck (ABC) (0.27, 0.22-0.33)

Leans Renewal:
Bachelor in Paradise (ABC) (0.26, 0.20-0.31)
Destination X (NBC) (0.23, 0.17-0.30)
LEGO Masters Jr. (Fox) (0.17, 0.16-0.18)
Match Game (ABC) (0.28, 0.22-0.37)

Likely to be Renewed:
The 1% Club (Fox) (0.19, 0.17-0.21)
Gordon Ramsay's Secret Service (Fox) (0.20, 0.17-0.25)
The Quiz with Balls (Fox) (0.19, 0.16-0.23)

Certain to be Renewed:
America's Got Talent (NBC) (0.37, 0.27-0.48)
Big Brother (CBS) (0.62, 0.53-0.84)
Celebrity Family Feud (ABC) (0.35, 0.29-0.42)
MasterChef (Fox) (0.22, 0.17-0.28)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (ABC) (0.35, 0.28-0.38)

Fate Determined:
American Ninja Warrior (NBC) (Renewed)

Bob's Burgers (Fox) (Renewed)

Family Guy (Fox) (Renewed)

Grimsburg (Fox) (Renewed)

LEGO Masters (Fox) (Renewed)

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Jimmy Kimmel's revival of the iconic ABC game show has had its ups and downs but that multi-year hiatus certainly seems to have done it some good. Its return last season averaged just 25% less than the second season which aired four years prior, and in the regular season. This season has been even more impressive averaging a single hundredth ahead of last season and actually rising in this later part of the season. Its 0.38 rating last week tied a season high and it's one of its better ratings since it returned last year, and is a half-tenth above the sixth episode from last season. That's despite airing against a 0.8 from Big Brother and a 0.3 from America's Got Talent. Millionaire rated a full tenth ahead of the AGT results show, and put ABC in second place in the hour. While AGT is certainly not the force it once was, and Big Brother has its own unique audience that really only tunes in for it, this is still about as strong of competition as a summer show can get, and Millionaire is thriving. Its average is ever-so-slightly ahead of Celebrity Family Feud, and with only two episodes left to air, it's safe to assume that it's not going to tank enough in those two episodes to look any worse than Match Game or Bachelor in Paradise. It's a summer hit ABC can rely on, and it not returning next season would be a major shock. Thanks to its strong performance in the back-half of the season (which is when it began to decline a bit last year), it's upgraded to a CERTAIN RENEWAL.

The Snake: One of Fox's four new reality shows this summer, The Snake ended its run last week in typical fashion, matching its season average with a 0.12 in the key demo. While this show has been a total ratings bust, it's been a pretty steady one, with every rating ranging from 0.10 to 0.14. For that reason, I haven't discussed it since I initially downgraded it to its current LIKELY CANCELLATION prediction in ate June. With it wrapping up its first, and likely only, season, this is a good time to revisit it and give my final thoughts on it for the season. One of the only things it has going for it is that, as I said, it's been pretty stable. Fox knows what they're getting with it, and they've renewed shows performing at this level in the past. If they really want to bring it back, they will, as it's not more questionable than several other series and probably won't sink much lower than this. Its retention of The 1% Club is awful, but even that series isn't even rating a full tenth ahead of it, so it's not like it's lighting the world on fire itself, despite looking fairly safe for a renewal. Fox's unpredictability is why I've been struggling with whether or not to upgrade it to a safer "leans cancellation" prediction, which would put it more firmly on the bubble. However, it is still easily Fox's lowest-rated summer game show, and their second-lowest-rated show of the season, only ahead of business reality series The Fixer. Fox left several of their typical summer staples off the air this year despite plans to bring them back, and will need slots to air them in, and also typically debut at least one new summer series. It'll be hard for them to work Beat Shazam, Don't Forget the Lyrics and a new show back into an already-filled lineup without canceling something besides a Friday show that only ran four weeks. It seems logical that the worst performer of the bunch, that being The Snake, will not be back next season. Fox's scheduling is often unpredictable, so they could renew The Snake and move it into the regular season, or move one of their other summer shows to the regular season if they wanted to keep all of their shows. However, I see little that would encourage Fox to go out on a limb to save this show and it will end its run as a likely cancellation.

What do you think of my predictions? What are your predictions? Let me know in the comments!