TV Heartbeat! Vikings Finale! J.K. Rowling’s Casual Vacancy! Daredevil Renewed! Health Check Update!

Whew! After three weeks’ worth of fantastic TV returning to the airwaves (Outlander, Game of Thrones and Orphan Black), this week is all about farewells.

Viking wraps up season #3 with another attempt to take the city of Paris. This has been a roller coaster season so I can’t wait to see where it ends up! The show is clearly renewed for another season because this show can’t end until someone from the Nylund family settles in Minnesota.

Critical favorites The Americans and Broadchurch also top off their seasons as does the launch series on the PlayStation Network, Powers.

Amid all these endings, there is one noteworthy, new bow this week – a mini-series from Harry Potter scribe J.K. Rowling! Based on her first book after finishing the Harry Potter series, Casual Vacancy is a story meant for adults; the story is about the undercurrents that get stirred up in a small town when a parish council member dies. No wizards or wands anywhere – well, other than Michael Gambon is in the cast.

Sweeps is starting up – you can always tell when there are new episodes of your favorite shows.  You can also tell because its time for another Law & Order: SVU, Chicago Fire and Chicago PD crossover! This time, SVU‘s Sgt. Benson heads to Chicago to help an investigation where an apartment fire is linked to a rape and attempted murder case on Chicago Fire on Tuesday. Then the Wednesday shows get reverse timeslots since Chicago PD picks up the story of the investigation which then leads back to New York on SVU. How complicated will this get next year if/when proposed new show Chicago Med enters the fray?

Tonight: The Americans season finale (FX), Broadchurch season finale (BBC America)
Thursday: Viking season finale (History)
Sunday: HAPPYish debut (Showtime), Daytime Emmy Awards (POP)
Tuesday: Law & Order: SVU/Chicago Fire/Chicago PD crossover part 1 (NBC), Powers season finale (PlayStation Network)
Wednesday: Law & Order: SVU/Chicago Fire/Chicago PD crossover part 2 (NBC), Casual Vacancy debut (HBO), Ripper Street season premiere (BBC America)

Health check

Daredevil will continue to patrol Hell’s Kitchen! Netflix just announced a second season of the new Marvel series for 2016. The twist? There’s a change in management with new showrunners in place. Steven DeKnight and Drew Goddard are out. (DeKnight has a film commitment). Instead, Douglas Petrie and Marco Ramirez will be the new showrunners.

Orphan Black returned to consistent numbers for its premiere episode on BBC America. Once the additional views from AMC, IFC, Sundance and WeTV get added in, these numbers should jump nicely. I’m glad Orphan Black was available to more people, but starting with the first episode of the third season is a rough place to jump into this show.

In a month, the networks will announce their lineups for the next fall/winter season. Bubble shows and a few long-running shows anxiously await word on the new crop of pilots and contract negotiations to figure out where their fate will take them. Here’s a quick look at where things stand:

Money talks

• A return for Bones and Criminal Minds depends on contract negotiations.
• ABC just announced that Nathan Fillion has signed a deal so Castle will be back even though they are changing showrunners. No word yet on Stana’s contract…

Got a Return Ticket

• Fresh Off the Boat – Ratings wobble up and down, but they have been on the uptick so there’s a good chance this will return.
• Good Wife and The Mindy Project – Critical darlings, they are coming back even though they aren’t exactly ratings juggernauts
• iZombie and CSI:Cyber both have solid audiences so these are coming back for next season.

Hope for a Miracle

• AD: The Bible Continues – This one started strong and the flock started disappearing. An expensive undertaking, odds this won’t be resurrected for next year.
• Agent Carter – This show has a chance to return (okay ratings), but its future is muddled by the proposed new Agents of SHIELD spinoff (featuring Mockingbird and Lance Hunter).  ABC will move forward with one of these spinoff shows, but not both (unless they want year-round SHIELD shows). ABC is also developing a few more Marvel shows including one that’s rumored to feature the new Ms. Marvel (also an Inhuman) Kamala Khan so there’s still lots of Marvel for ABC on the way.
• Constantine – Officially the PR reps keep saying its not cancelled – yet.  Fans need to hope they can come back from waiting hell with a transformation into Hellblazer on Syfy in order to live. Odds aren’t good, but there’s hope, right?
• Forever – While I enjoy this light-hearted procedural that’s had ABC’s strongest Tuesday ratings in a while, it hasn’t caught fire with audiences so it probably won’t be back.
• Mysteries of Laura – This may eek through if the network PR department doesn’t want to admit the top ratings network cancelled all its new shows this year.
• Secrets & Lies – After some ups and downs, its audience is stabling pretty well so this has a shot to come back next year.

Say Goodbye

As always, some shows just won’t make it to next year. Say happy trails to About A Boy, American Crime, American Odyssey, Backstrom, Battle Creek, Cristela, CSI, The Following, Galavant, Hart of Dixie, Marry Me, The Messengers, One Big Happy, Repeat After Me, Resurrection, Revenge, Stalker, State of Affairs, Undateable and Weird Loaners. RIP!

Will your favorite show make the cut? Will any of the shows beat the odds and make it back? We’ll find out next month!

Stay tuned!

Comment below or email me at Erica@MikeTheFanboy.com
For more adventures, follow me on twitter: @Cambear