‘Houdini & Doyle’ season 2: Talking renewal odds for Fox series
Tonight, Fox is making a rather interesting choice: Rather than waiting until another point down the road to conclude the first season of “Houdini & Doyle,” they chose instead to end it on the Fourth of July. To us, it is certainly an odd decision, especially since there are expectations for pretty terrible ratings on the night.
Then again, we don’t exactly think Fox has much invested in the future of this series anyway. The ratings for it haven’t been good at all during the season, with it averaging only around a 0.5 in the 18-49 demographic. If this was cable, that rating would probably be enough to put it on the bubble; for broadcast TV, that is almost a guarantee that you are being shown the door.
One of the odd things about this show in particular, though, is that it is a co-production, so in theory we could envision it moving forward even without Fox on board on ITV in the United Kingdom and elsewhere … though we don’t really see that happening. It wasn’t viewed as a huge hit anywhere in the world where it aired, and the reviews for the show have been mixed. It was a fun idea to capitalize on the popularity of this era, especially with “Sherlock” being tremendously popular, but we’d be surprised to see it back in any form.
The good news is that we feel like this season will work fairly well on its own, so there’s no going to be any real need to have another season in order to continue along a story. Hopefully, tonight’s finale will give you everything you need in order to be satisfied.
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Pete A
July 6, 2016 @ 3:57 am
Did people here watch it live, on DVR, on the Fox website or elsewhere?
I watched it live but only found out about it because it was on my DVR.
Michael Goldman
July 6, 2016 @ 12:42 am
I just saw an article in something called The Morning Ledger saying that Houdini and Doyle was CANCELLED in AMERICA. NO SEASON TWO. they’re the only ones to say it, so maybe they could be wrong. Maybe Netflix will pick it up. Only time will tell.
Matt Carter
July 6, 2016 @ 2:33 am
It hasn’t been officially canceled as far as I know, but the assumption’s that it is not looking good.
Pete A
July 6, 2016 @ 3:56 am
TV Guide said “Series Finale” while Fox website says “Season Finale”.
Fox put the finale at MIDNIGHT so they want the final ratings to SUCK. Fox wants to point out the final episode pulled in a 0.0009 rating (due to being at midnight on July 4th).
Michael Goldman
July 6, 2016 @ 4:05 pm
Someone from TV Fanatic wrote me last night and said that FOX told her no decision has been officially made. We’ll see what happens.
Pete A
July 7, 2016 @ 9:13 am
I think it has great potential if they add a bit more Houdini magic and Sherlock homes type cases. They have a great cast and lots of Sherlock Homes stories to work with.
They have Sherlock Homes (Doyle), Scotland Yard and Houdini all covered. It just needs to have a bit more action to get the CW crowd interested.
I grew up reading Sherlock Holmes and watching Houdini specials.
It can be fun and exciting while being historical. Just watch Robert Downey Jr as Sherlock Holmes.
I would not mind it coming back just as it is but then the rating would just keep going down if they do the same thing as Season 1.
Michael Goldman
July 5, 2016 @ 5:11 pm
A 0.52 average per episode is pretty putrid. IS FOX considered on the same level as ABC, CBS and NBC, or on the same level as the CW, WB and cable stations? If it’s on the same level as the WB, CW, etc. then a 0.52 is acceptable and the show should come back. SYFY just renewed 12 Monkeys with a 0.11 average show rating, and that is hideous and vile. If FOX is thought of on the same level as CBS, NBC and ABC, then it has to be cancelled. A 0.52 is unacceptable there.
Pete A
July 5, 2016 @ 7:28 am
Midnight on July 4th. I guess they want to go out with the lowest ratings of any finale in 2016. I am currently watching it but only found out about it because it was on my DVR list. If they were going to show it at midnight, it would only seem right they would reshow it on the following Monday at 9 PM. It was not the greatest series but it had great potential. Fox will show the finale’s season finale as proof the series was a failure. Too bad because I have been faithfully watching EVERY episode and saw it continually improving with each episode.