How ‘Elementary’ season 2 may be saved thanks to the DVR

Who knew that Sherlock Holmes’ best friend and ally would be a modern convenience? Over the past several weeks, we have wondered whether or not “Elementary” has that much of a future on CBS, with one of the biggest reasons why being that its live ratings are simply not that impressive. While they are by no means as bad as “Intelligence,” it still airs at a decent time on Thursday nights, and many other shows have fared better.

However, we now are getting yet another indication that maybe, there is still great value in this show versus the four or five other dramas on the bubble: DVR viewing. In data for the week of December 30 unveiled today by TVbythenumbers, the Jonny Lee Miller series rose 83% in the 18-49 demographic in the seven days that followed the January 2 episode featuring Natalie Dormer’s return as Moriarty. The show originally had a 1.8 rating, and it now has a 3.3. That is the largest increase by percentage of any show that aired that week. (It was a slow week of programming, but it is still and impressive feat.)

Consistently this season, “Elementary” has been one of the biggest gainers in total viewers and the demo in live+7 data, and networks are starting to take this more and more into consideration. Would they love it if all of these people caught the show live? They’d practically give Sherlock Holmes a corner office at CBS Television City. But, there is still a chance that some of these DVR viewers will at least catch a glimpse of a commercial or two, and these viewings do therefore mean something.

We still feel like one or two shows in this group (“Elementary,” “Hawaii Five-0,” “Blue Bloods,” “The Good Wife,” or “The Mentalist”) will be canceled this year, and there is still one roadblock that Sherlock and company faces: The near-guarantee of a two-season renewal. If you give it a season 3, you may as well give it a season 4 since that gets you to syndication numbers. You don’t have to make that same sort of commitment elsewhere, since those shows are all already past that threshold.

Still, we’ll have some more news on the ratings throughout the rest of the spring, and you can also click here to catch some more scoop on the future of the show. Also, sign up now to get clues and other stories about the shows we cover via email.

Photo: CBS