On The Bubble 2013: ATV Today’s Predictions

ATV Today casts its eyes on those shows dubbed as being “on the bubble” and predicts which shows we think will be renewed and which will be axed.

Which drama will The CW cancel? Nikita, Beauty and the Beast, Hart of Dixie or The Carrie Diaries? Arrow, Supernatural and The Vampire Diaries are all safe from the axe though just how long the latter two and continue is anyone’s guess. It’s just possible Supernatural will get a final season order while The CW will wait to see how Vampire Diaries spin-off The Originals performs, should it be picked up, before deciding the ultimate fate of Mystic Falls drama but a fifth season is a dead cert at this stage.

Judging by its ratings Nikita should be a dead cert for the axe but we said that at the end of its second season and The CW surprised us by giving it a third season and cancelled The Secret Circle instead! We think Nikita will get a fourth season but with the possibility of it being a final series order; The CW isn’t going to let Nikita continue forever given its pretty poor performance.

Hart of Dixie we think will be cancelled at the conclusion of its second series and this stage we think The Carrie Diaries – as it generates a lot of media buzz – and Beauty and the Beast will be renewed. If The Carrie Diaries ratings continue to drop though its media buzz will not save it. As for 90210 we think a final season order to wrap up loose ends ala Gossip Girl.

While some sites label The Good Wife and The Mentalist as being ‘on the bubble’ we think both are more likely to return than not. The Good Wife has been a ‘bubble’ show several times and has always managed to be renewed by CBS. Given the axe of CSI: Miami last year its quite probable another entry in the franchise will also be axed this year and the likely contender is CSI: New York. The CSI franchise has had its day and CBS needs to clear space to make room for its new commissions.

NBC’s The New Normal, created by Ryan Murphy, has been cited by some as being a “bubble show”. It recently won a People’s Choice Award and that it does feature LGBT characters may save it as broadcasters are increasingly trying to improve their LGBT visibility despite opposition from groups such as One Million Moms.

Fox‘s animated comedy The Cleveland Show is probably going to be axed especially given the production time involved with such a show; if new episodes aren’t ordered soon they won’t be ready for some time which makes it more than likely to be axed. ABC’s comedies Malibu Country and Last Man Standing’s fates depend on which other ABC shows get renewed and which others get axed.