Ratings debate: Should ‘Galavant’ fight its way to a season 2?

Since the May sweeps period is mere weeks away now, we’re back to kick off an annual CarterMatt tradition: Ratings debates! These are articles revolving entirely around whether or not some of your favorite shows could return for another season. We’ll be highlighting a new show every day, stating our thoughts on the subject before having you vote in the poll below.

We’re going to start here with a personal favorite from earlier this year in “Galavant,” since we’ve been waiting for a while to talk about it and feel like we have some added perspective now that it has been many weeks since the finale ended. We’ve been able to see what the ratings are for other ABC shows, and that has helped us to form an opinion more fully formed and not just based on our desire to see ridiculous song-and-dance numbers featuring Timothy Omundson.

Why it should go – Ratings first and foremost. Regardless of whatever excuse you may give the show (and there are many), it did draw lower ratings than any of ABC’s Wednesday-night comedies, and “Fresh Off the Boat” has also performed better on Tuesday night. It’s also a bit of a season 2 gamble, given that the show has been off for so long that you risk significant viewer erosion bringing it back. DVR numbers were good, but they didn’t set any records, either.

Why it should stay – First and foremost here, we’re going with quality. It was adored despite only airing for a handful of weeks, and is so different than anything else ABC has. It’s a modern-day “Robin Hood: Men in Tights,” with a little “Once Upon a Time” magic thrown on top. It lands great guest stars like Ricky Gervais, and regardless of if it is an excuse, we do feel like you do have to consider competition here. During its run, “Galavant” competed against the Golden Globes, and also the AFC Championship Game. Those are huge competitors, and it is hard to gain much of a footprint.

Our ultimate argument here for the show having a successful run would be to get it on Netflix to have viewers blow through it in a few hours to get caught up. given that you have eight episodes of 21-22 minutes each, you ultimately have a first season here that is shorter than most Christopher Nolan movies. It is on Hulu, but for some reason you need Hulu Plus to watch the first three episodes. Hulu Plus is great for catching up on shows as they are airing, but we find that no one really wants to watch advertisements for something that is more than a month old.

Prediction – Right now, we’re 50/50 on this one. The numbers point to a likely cancellation, but we feel like there are enough reasons creatively to give it another shot, even if it is just another eight episodes to air in January 2016. Galavant himself is an underdog, so it only makes sense for this to be an underdog story. After all, what else is ABC going to air in that spot, anyway? This show is at least a trillion times better than repeats.

As we mentioned, vote with your thoughts in the poll below! Also, click here to see some other Ratings Debate pieces, or here to sign up for some other TV updates on all we cover via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: ABC.)