Timeless season 2 renewal odds: The latest update

Are the Timeless season 2 renewal odds better or worse than they were a couple of months ago? As it turns out, things remain very much complicated.

According to a report from Deadline, this show is right there with Blindspot as one of the network’s most tenuous renewal decisions. Both shows have okay DVR ratings to help make up for their live+same day struggles, but it’s not enough to necessarily make up for some deficiencies elsewhere.

As for what is currently working in the show’s favor, some of it may actually be … the Smithsonian? As odd as that may seen, the show’s focus on history, and in particular many historical figures who are often unheralded, has led to it getting an extensive amount of praise from many in the history community. The current debate, per the report, seems to be whether to bring it back despite lower ratings, or order a new series and hope that it’s worth the investment that comes with marketing costs for an entirely new show. There’s also talk about an earlier timeslot, which is something that we’ve been saying for months given that we love the idea of getting Timeless on the air on Fridays at 8:00 p.m., a time when families may be around. Sure, you’re losing some viewers because of the slot, but expectations are lower.

As we reported recently, executive producers Shawn Ryan and Eric Kripke are at present getting a story pitch together to try and entice NBC to make a move to bring it back. We want to be optimistic based on that, but we really feel like this is one of the bigger on-the-bubble shows out there and we can see it going either way. We do think that if the network does cancel it, they’re probably looking at more backlash than almost any other network would get for a canceled show this season.

One thing that we do wonder is, in the event the show does end, whether we could see a deal between a network and a streaming service to save it like we saw with CMT and Nashville — but that’s still a ways down the road. Let’s hope that NBC renews it first so that we don’t have to deal with any of the stress.

Of course, we’ll continue to give you a few more details on the Timeless renewal effort once there is a little more to say. (Photo: NBC.)