Ratings debate: Are ‘Almost Human’s’ season 2 dreams almost a reality?

Even before Fox premiered “Almost Human,” this was a show that we had expectations for thanks to the “Fringe” connections behind the scenes, the futuristic premise, and also the cast.

Unfortunately, for a while it was looking like the show wasn’t going to have a chance to take on more cases. The ratings were never fantastic on Monday nights, and while the quality improved throughout season 1 (especially the second half, when the show started to really find its footing), it’s hard to bring in new viewers to a show they are not familiar with or stopped watching after an episode or two.

So in order to try and piece together what the future could hold, we’re profiling “Almost Human” as the latest entry in our Ratings Debate series!

The case for renewal – The biggest thing helping this show right now is that most of Fox’s other dramas are tanking. “Glee” does terribly at this point, and if you are going to renew it, “Bones,” and “The Following” despite them getting lower ratings at this point that “Almost Human” did, why cancel it? Save for “Sleepy Hollow,” there is not really a scripted Fox show save for the animated ones that consistently fares better.

Also, remember the scheduling issue that Fox has, with the need to add three hours in the fall to accommodate the cancellation of “The X Factor.” You cannot bank on every new series to succeed, so a 13-episode renewal really makes some sense, especially since this show at least has potential to repeat well.

The case for cancellation – Maybe Fox feels really good about the shows that they have already, or they want to steer away from expensive science fiction. Also, we suppose you could make the argument that “Almost Human” would be getting ratings that are just as bad now as “Bones” or “The Following” if it was still on the air, since April is a tough month for ratings.

Verdict – While it may not be renewed right now, we feel warm about the show’s season 2 chances. With all these 13-episode series that Fox is picking up, it’s always good to have a utility player that you can plug in if a new show bombs, and something that keeps science fiction on the network. The other good thing about this show was that its ratings were really pretty steady for its last half of the season, so you sort of know already that it wasn’t continuing to drop at the time that it ended.