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FRESHMAN SCORECARD: December 2016

Here is the December Freshman Scorecard! Premiering in December are sneak previews of Star on FOX and The Wall on NBC. Premiering in January is Big Fan on ABC, The Mick and My Kitchen Rules on FOX, Ransom and Hunted on CBS, Emerald City on NBC, and Riverdale on CW.

Past December Scorecards:










ABC'S COMEDY FACTORY SUCCESSES
Speechless, American Housewife
The two new comedies look as strong as they did a month ago. They fit perfectly into the ABC family comedy lineup and they both seem very likely to see a season two.

THE DRAMA RENEWAL
Designated Survivor
Right now, Designated Survivor is easily ABC's top new drama and that gives it a very good chance to return. Unless all their midseason shows pop, and that seems quite unlikely, this still strikes me as having nearly as good a chance as the comedies despite lower ratings lately.

NO CHANCE
Conviction, Notorious
These are airing out the string. Notorious had its episode order cut while Conviction was capped at 13 episodes. Neither one will be seen much, if at all, into 2017. Both are not unofficially cancelled but realistically, they are.







THE PERFECT CBS MATCHES
Bull, Kevin Can Wait

CBS is having an OK fall for their newbies. While neither Bull or Kevin Can Wait are doing gangbusters or inspiring much enthusiasm, they have been solid performers with Kevin holding up as an anchor and Bull fitting nicely out of NCIS. They seem likely to be around for several years.

ON THE BUBBLE
MacGyver, Man with a Plan
These two are looking decent but not as strong as Bull or Kevin Can Wait. I think I like MacGyver's chance more than Man's but right now, I would lean towards both getting renewed.

NOT LOOKING GOOD
The Great Indoors
Its ratings are going down each week. While Thanksgiving's 1.1 demo might be forgiven, it was well below a Big Bang Theory repeat that was the lead-in and even below the new Mom that followed/ I think there's a good chance this gets moved to The Odd Couple's slot so Superior Donughts can get the good lead-in slot and if that happens, Great Indoors is as good as done.

NO CHANCE
Pure Genius
It had its order capped at 13 episodes and it's one of the lowest rated CBS dramas. Move along, please.














THE SUREST BET
This is Us
The single surest bet for a second season renewal. It's a matter of when, not if.

STILL IN A GOOD PLACE
The Good Place
It will come back in January for a couple episodes and barring a complete collapse, it seems to have done enough to get a second season.

CHANCES GOING SOUTH
Timeless
After some up and down weeks, this show definitely seems headed in the wrong direction. I guess things could change if it holds up surprisingly well after The Voice is finished but I think NBC has enough in their library that they'll be able to part with this.










A VERY STRONG BET
Lethal Weapon
Considering the state of FOX and this show's solid performance, I would give this show probably the best chance for a renewal this side of This is Us.

VERY SLIM CHANCES
Son of Zorn, Pitch, The Exorcist
None of the other FOX shows seem to have much of a chance even with FOX's rough overall performance. None of them are getting episode extensions and that is pretty telling since the fall has been so bad for FOX.








THE ROUGH CW FALL
No Tomorrow, Frequency
Speaking of bad falls, its been really horrible for thew new CW shows. The CW likes to renew everything as evidenced by last year but these shows are both not getting episode extensions and seem unlikely to get a renewal.

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