‘King of the Nerds’: What are chances of a season 3 renewal?

Tonight, we bid adieu to season 2 of “King of the Nerds” in fine fashion, as we had an epic showdown between four contestants that led to one ruler being crowned, and three more contestants falling by the wayside.

We’re not going to spoil the victor for you here (that is what the article over at this link is for); however, we do want to spend a paragraph or two touching on something that we will touch on even further when we get to our podcast over the weekend: Whether or not the show is going to come back for a third season.

Let us start here with the facts. The show was renewed in 2013 for a season 2 before the season 1 finale aired, and this did not happen this time around. There is still no announcement from TBS about a renewal, and no indication as to when one could come. The ratings are down versus season 1 by a decent margin. The penultimate episode last year drew a 0.8 rating in the 18-49 demographic and almost 1.5 million viewers; meanwhile, the comparable one this year drew just over a million viewers and a 0.5 rating in the demo (which is the most important thing for advertisers). DVR figures do matter, but these figures are not always easy to get a hold of outside of network TV. The same goes for viewings on TBS’ website.

One thing that does work in the show’s favor? That there are repeats of the finale airing on Saturday. If TBS had already made up their mind for sure, why repeat something that you know for sure is dead? It is also a show that has a dedicated fan following and even critical acclaim. It’s fun, celebratory of nerd culture, and creative in ways that many formulaic competition shows are not. If we can have over twenty seasons of “America’s Next Top Model,” we should be able to get three seasons of this.

There are two factors that we believe did hurt “King of the Nerds” this time around: Airing against the Olympics (which are a perpetual beast), and also simply airing once again on a network that does not typically cater much to reality competitions. While it may be strategically placed after “The Big Bang Theory” (and even featured Mayim Bialik as a guest judge), TBS is more of a network you think of for sitcoms. Also, save for the adventures of Sheldon Cooper (which caters to a pretty mainstream audience at this point), it’s not really a particularly nerdy channel. Many modern-day nerds don’t exactly practice traditional TV viewing, especially on a network that does not often come up in conversation.

So for now, the best thing you can do is simply have your voice heard, encourage your friends and family to watch / DVR the repeats on Saturdays, and then cross your fingers. Few other reality shows actually turn nerds into the hero on a weekly basis; losing this one would to many of us feel like a “game over” screen.

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Photo: TBS