BROOKLYN NINE-NINE saved by NBC, more shows cancelled

NBC have swooped in to save Brooklyn Nine-Nine after it was cancelled by Fox yesterday.

NBC cited the enormous outpouring of affection for the show as a reason for rescuing the show, along with their excellent relationship with the show's creators, Michael Schur and Dan Goor, whom they previously worked on with Parks and Recreation. NBC is also currently producing Schur's newer series The Good Place.

The sixth season order is for 13 episodes, which will allow NBC to assess how well the series is going before ordering further episodes.

Meanwhile, cancellations are coming thick and fast. Last Man on Earth has also been cancelled after four seasons and Wayward Pines after two. The X-Files has also been cancelled, or more accurately to say, Fox have no plans to continue the show's soft renewal after Gillian Anderson indicated she was done with the series. Producer Chris Carter is still planning more X-Files movies, however. The Exorcist has also been cancelled after two seasons and Lucifer after three. The outpouring of anger over the cancellation of the latter has matched Brooklyn Nine-Nine's, with fans hoping for a similar reprieve on another network.

Meanwhile, Batman prequel show/hallucinogenic fever dream Gotham is in the bizarre predicament of having its future decided by what happens to another show, the Lethal Weapon reboot. Fox was forced to fire Lethal Weapon's star after on-set drama and is now scrambling to recast with just days left before a final deadline. If it is unable to do so, it will can Lethal Weapon and renew Gotham, otherwise Gotham will be axed, despite some recent ratings boosts as the show has focused on the Joker as a villain and the teenage Bruce Wayne taking more definitive steps towards donning the cowl.

Also in an unusual state is Agents of SHIELD. ABC tried to kill the show last year, but owners Disney stepped in and overruled them, citing the show's importance to their overall Marvel Cinematic Universe. This still seems to be the case this year, with Disney and Marvel leaning on the season finale to tie in with Avengers: Infinity War and help build intrigue for next year's sequel, as well as Captain Marvel (which will see Agents of SHIELD actor Clark Gregg rejoin the movie cast for the first time since the original Avengers movie). On that basis, it seems unlikely that Disney will kill the show, especially as it could make a great fit for their new streaming service launching in late 2019 (allowing them to take it - and possibly their entire Netflix roster - out of another company's hands). With ABC unhappy about the ratings, however, it might be that we get a compromise, with a half-season order with the show not to return until after Infinity War II hits our screens next spring.

Over at the CW, executives surprised industry observers, their own fans and the creative team by confirming they would not be proceeding with Wayward Sisters, a spin-off from their long-running series Supernatural. After a well-received backdoor pilot earlier this year, the project looked good for a season order and it's a bit of a puzzle why the CW has not proceeded with it.

Meanwhile, the fate of The Expanse remains unclear. Alcon Entertainment own the show outright so can sell it to Amazon, Netflix or another network much more easily, but this is likely to be a more involved process, where we likely won't know the outcome for a few weeks at least.

Over at Netflix directly, the streaming service seems happy with the performance of Lost in Space (despite lukewarm reviews) and on course to renew. The fate of Altered Carbon is much less clear. The cyberpunk epic aired to generally good reviews (after more mixed early previews), but its viewership seemed weak, with the show charting up less than one-third of the streams of Lost in Space in its first week available, despite an apparently higher budget. However, Netflix themselves have to bear some blame for this by sabotaging Altered Carbon's launch with news of their Cloverfield Paradox deal (complete with a major Superbowl ad campaign). With Altered Carbon airing three months ago, it is unusual for Netflix to wait so long before confirming the show's return or cancellation, suggesting it's a tough decision for them.