Salvation season 3 renewal odds: What are the real chances at CBS?

As we approach the finale airing on CBS Monday night, what are the actual odds of a Salvation season 3 renewal? Is it something that we really should anticipate?

For now, let’s start things off by saying this: We hope that there’s at least enough of a satisfying conclusion tonight that everyone is okay if there is no season 3. We do understand that this is the sort of show that really likes to get its money’s worth with cliffhangers, but the writers had to be at least somewhat aware going into season 2 that there may not be a season 3. The ratings for season 1 were not great, and that meant that the odds of them getting another renewal after season 2 were not exactly amazing, either.

After looking at the season 2 ratings, they are probably worse than CBS even expected. This summer, Salvation has averaged in total a 0.3 rating in the 18-49 demographic — down more than 30% in live viewership from season 1. While there may be more viewers out there catching up via DVR, live viewing is still one of the chief money-makers and this paints a rather-grim picture for the future. The series did post its best ratings since the start of the season last week (a 0.4 rating and 2.74 million viewers), but that may still not be enough.

If there is a reason to be hopeful, it is that Salvation has a streaming deal in place and like many other summer shows, it has set up a number of different revenue channels so that the live ratings don’t matter as much as they tend to for some fall / spring series. (They are still important, mind you.) CBS also has shown a willingness to bring back some shows despite low ratings, provided that they are not taking a timeslot away from something else — Ransom seems to be coming back for a season 3.

So while we’re not altogether optimistic about a Salvation season 3, there is still a small sliver of hope based on the way in which CBS does business these days — especially with summer shows.

Do you want to see a Salvation season 3 renewal happen over at CBS? Be sure to share right now in the attached comments!