TV News

The Hollywood Reporter recently put out an article that predicted chances of renewal for almost all of network television's endangered shows. And while some of this news was absolute music to my ears, some of it was rather sad.

Of course, the positives outweighed the negatives by a huge margin. As you could probably have guessed, I was most anxious to see how they ranked Fringe on its survival chances. As it turns out, it was on the top end of the list, with a 90% chance of a third season. "Boy, this show took a beating on Thursdays this fall," the Reporter stated, "yet along with Bones has given Fox a foothold on TV’s most competitive night and recently shown improvement." They gave Fringe a 90% chance of survival, meaning that they feel it's an almost certainty that we'll see Olivia, Peter, and Walter back for a third year. I'm elated, obviously.

Other great news came for Chuck fans: "This time, fans might not have to gobble Subway sandwiches to get the show a renewal.  has recently been NBC’s highest-rated show on Monday nights." Let's hope THR isn't overestimating NBC Chuck too much when they gave the show a 75% chance of renewal for a fourth season.

Heroes, surprisingly, was given 60%: "The expensive NBC series has always performed well overseas, but the network needs “Heroes” to pull decent numbers in its own backyard too. This season, “Heroes” continued its decline and is now at a level — around a 2.0 adults 18-49 rating — that would warrant cancellation under most circumstances. The deciding factor here is NBC’s internal balance sheet for the production. Don’t be surprised if NBC announces a 12-hour “final chapter” for next fall." Oh, please, please, please, no. Don't put us through more, NBC!

ABC, however, is on the fence about its attempts to replace departing drama LOST. There's a 40% chance that FlashForward gets one more year, while a higher 60% for V. "Expect ABC to keep one of these," THR stated, but which one do you think should survive? Personally, for all its unsteadiness, I've enjoyed FlashForward more than I've enjoyed V. What about you?

FOX's 24, which has long been rumored to be approaching an end, garnered a 40%. Why? "Fox’s action-drama continues to perform well, with its eighth season generating numbers in the low-to-mid 3s. Yet 24 is pricey to produce and has little syndication value. Producer Twentieth is exploring the option of spinning off 24 into a theatrical movie, signaling that this might be the Bauer’s final, real-time day-long adventure. Another long-shot option would be shopping 24 to another network." Could you picture Bauer on anywhere but FOX? I certainly couldn't.

FOX's newer, younger action show (and possibly 24 replacement) Human Target, got a stronger-but-not-much-stronger 55%. "Fox’s male-targeted action drama stumbled out of the gate and its ratings were falling precariously until this week. Remember, this is the network that gave a second chance toDollhouse, so if the Mark Valley series can stabilize there’s a fair chance Fox will give Target another shot."

Some other shows that did well were NBC's Community (90%), CBS's Medium(65%) and Cold Case (50%), The CW's Life Unexpected (55%), and the WB's Smallville and Supernatural (85%).

On the flipside of that coin, some shows aren't looking so good, like ABC's Scrubs and Better Off Ted, which were doing so poorly in the ratings they were quickly packaged together to finish out their seasons as quickly as possible. They both have a 5% chance of returning, so don't bet on another year for them. Another show with 5% is the CW's Melrose Place, quite easily the weakest of its still-alive freshman shows. Compared to The Vampire Diaries, Melrose Place is looking quite pale. NBC's nurse drama Mercy is holding on for dear life with a 25% chance, as is ABC's new lawyer drama The Deep End, which at 5%, doesn't look like it'll be trying any more cases come next year.

See the complete list here. What do you think? Are THR on the right track, or are they barking up the wrong tree? How did your favorite shows fare in this lineup? Sound off below -- let's get a discussion going.