The CW’s Reign has never been the highest ratings-bringer on the network. However, now in its third season, Reign is continuing to post new lows. In its tough Friday timeslot this week, the drama only did a .2 rating in the 18-49 demographic, and only a paltry 923,000 total viewers tuned in. It looks like even a sad plot like France’s impending death might not be enough to turn this sinking ship around.
If you’ve ever paid attention to The CW’s ratings, the network doesn’t require its shows to pull in numbers that are quite as high as the big networks—NBC, ABC, etc.—in order to survive. Last week, The Flash, for instance, only pulled in around three and a half million viewers and a 1.4 rating, and those numbers are enough to put the drama in the highest ratings bracket over at The CW. However, to give you an example of how bad a .2 rating is, a lower-rated (but nonetheless critically acclaimed) show like Jane The Virgin is still doing a .4 rating. So, Reign is well below that mark and closer to Beauty and the Beast. In fact, TV Line is reporting the numbers are the lowest the drama has ever brought in.
Still, if you are one of those 923,000 people still tuning in for new episodes of Reign each week, there may be bright spot on the horizon still. The CW loves renewing shows for a fourth season in order to get a show’s episode count up enough that they work for syndication, and while the ability to watch shows after they air on regular TV has also become common on streaming sites, a fourth season is still an attractive option for the network. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Reign get a fourth season order. I also wouldn’t be surprised if the show was treated similar to Beauty and the Beast and shipped off to summertime to finish out its run.
If you don’t know what Reign is at this point, the period drama was a breath of fresh air when it first aired, mixing historical characters and accuracies with hip period costumes and a young, fresh soundtrack. If you like your period dramas to be as accurate as possible, Reign is certainly not the show for you. However, if you want a YA take on Mary, Queen of Scots or are interested in fashion, it’s been a pretty appealing, albeit soapy show.
It’s still pretty early in the season for The CW to be making any decisions regarding original programming. But we’ll keep our eyes on the numbers and let you know when the network comes to any conclusions regarding Season 4. Reign isn’t the only network TV show that has the potential to get cancelled this season. NBC’s The Player also got bad news this week; we’ve also comprised a big list of TV shows whose numbers have not been great thus far.
The CW's Reign currently airs on Friday nights at 8 p.m. EST.
