It's getting down to the wire for "Smallville," "Community" and a slew of other network series stuck in Nielsen purgatory -- with just weeks left to go before final verdicts on their fates are handed down.
For shows "on the bubble," these are the times that try showrunners' souls. Every week of ratings data between now and May, when fall schedules are revealed, brings glimmers of hope or new evidence suggesting damnation is near.
"Being on the bubble is incredibly stressful," says "Chuck" co-creator Josh Schwartz, whose NBC series rallied back from the brink after fans rallied behind it.
"You are living and dying every week. Those moments before the ratings load onto your iPhone your hands are clammy, your vision blurry, your stomach doing flips. And then, since you're on the bubble, inevitably the rating is exactly low enough to guarantee you remain on the bubble, yet not so low as to ensure you are canceled. So that feeling persists for the entire week until the next ratings come in. Rinse and repeat."
This season is perhaps a bit less frustrating than usual for producers and fans of quality TV. A number of hot first- and second-year shows have gotten unusually early renewals: "Glee," "Modern Family," "Parks and Recreation," "Cougar Town," "The Middle," "The Good Wife," "The Cleveland Show" and "NCIS: L.A." are all picked up for fall.
And two other shows with big cult fan bases -- Fox's "Fringe" and, yes, Schwartz's "Chuck" -- are widely considered to be all but slam-dunks for renewal.
That said, there are still plenty of producers popping Tums as series prepare to wrap for the year.
One wild card: Bubble calls are no longer just about ratings.
"It used to be simple -- the ratings suck, we're cancelling it," one network wag told TheWrap. "But now numbers aren't always the primary reason a show is canceled or picked up. There are sales considerations, financial reasons, all sorts of things."
It's still pretty early to make any definitive call on many shows, since networks have yet to premiere a couple of key midseason series that could impact final decisions. In addition, how strong -- or weak -- a network's new development is can make a big difference in the fate of bubble shows.
With that major caveat, here's TheWrap's best network-by-network guess on how some key bubble shows are likely to fare come May -- including the five shows we believe Must. Be. Renewed.
ABC
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"V": After a big start and a great pilot, this sci-fi remake lost a big chunk of its audience when creative issues caused a delay in the airing of the second half of its first season. But ABC needs more male-skewing, action-focused hours, particularly with "Lost" about to end. As long as the numbers aren't a disaster when it returns this spring, ABC ought to give "V" at least one more season to find its groove.
"V": After a big start and a great pilot, this sci-fi remake lost a big chunk of its audience when creative issues caused a delay in the airing of the second half of its first season. But ABC needs more male-skewing, action-focused hours, particularly with "Lost" about to end. As long as the numbers aren't a disaster when it returns this spring, ABC ought to give "V" at least one more season to find its groove.
