For anybody who loves high-octane, action-packed TV drama that seems incapable of ramping things down a notch, Fox probably deserves a round of applause. The network has already decided make a renewal call for the emergency-oozing 9-1-1, which will be returning for Season 3 in the fall. As well, Fox put in a Season 3 renewal order for the medical drama The Resident.
The Renewals
There's legitimately no mystery to be found as far as Fox's decision to renew 9-1-1 is concerned. Starring Angela Bassett, Peter Krause and Jennifer Love Hewitt (among others), 9-1-1 is currently Fox's #1 drama of the season, and it's one that largely has both critics and audiences on its side. Unless something big changes, 9-1-1 will probably be debuting that third season in September.
At this point, it's unclear if Fox will be changing anything up with this Season 3 renewal, as far as how many episodes fans will get to see. Season 1 was just ten episodes, but the network boosted the Season 2 count up to 18. Given it isn't the cheapest drama to produce, what with the various forms of stunt work used, I wouldn't expect Season 3 to go beyond 18.
Meanwhile, The Resident is another sophomore drama winner for Fox. It might not have quite the stats that 9-1-1 does, but The Resident has a dedicated fanbase, and they'll be ready to see the medical drama returning to Fox (presumably) in the fall.
Like 9-1-1, The Resident started off as a midseason addition with a smaller episode order (14). When it was ordered for Season 2, however, Fox decided to give Matt Czuchry, Emily VanCamp and the rest more to do by ordering up 22 episodes. That'll likely be around what we'll see in Season 3.
The Ratings
As many TV viewers know, network renewals so often come down to viewership stats and demo ratings, which have the power to knock the smartest shows off the air, while keeping the dumbest shows running for years. 9-1-1 has given Fox all the right details to secure a third year of building fires, harrowing rescues and nail-biting chases.
Created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear, 9-1-1 enjoys impressive Live+Same Day totals, with an average of 6.22 million viewers tuning in for each episode, with a 1.5 demographic rating with adults aged 18-49. According to Fox, the drama averages a total of 15.4 million viewers when delayed viewing across all platforms is accounted for. Thanks to that rating, it currently ranks in the current season's Top 10 entertainment programs with adults 18-49 across broadcast and cable.
The Resident, which was developed by Amy Holden Jones, Hayley Schore and Roshan Sethi, is also doing quite well for Fox, averaging around 5.04 million viewers in Live+Same Day stats. (Its most recent installment was viewed by 5.15 million.) As Fox puts it, the medical drama is seen by an average of 11 million viewers when all platforms and delayed views are measured.
In fact, The Resident has steadily built upon its freshman season viewership average of 4.5 million viewers to become one of the rare primetime offerings that's actually gaining eyeballs. It's reported that when combined, 9-1-1 and The Resident have brought a +24% growth to Fox's Monday night primetime numbers. It would have been ridiculous for Fox to try and cancel either of them at this point.
Interestingly, these are the first renewals that Fox has announced since Disney's takeover of 20th Century Fox was made official last week. Both dramas are owned by 20th Century Fox, too. They join the network's already renewed fare, such as The Simpsons, Family Guy, and Bob's Burgers.
All new episodes of both 9-1-1 and The Resident are airing on Fox on Monday, March 25, starting at 8:00 p.m. Both shows have more episodes to hook fans in over the coming weeks until all the big TV finales start dropping like rain.
