Get Your Scorecard for the 2010-2011 TV Season

Now that we are at the halfway point for the current television season, the networks have meet with the Television Critics Association, talking about their programming, announcing early renewals and confirming rumored cancellations. They have also introduced new shows that we can expect to roll out over the next few months.

And, as you can surmise from the title of this article, it is time to talk about how all of the TV shows are performing. What shows have succeeded this season and will be around for at least another one? What shows are struggling and are in jeopardy of not continuing? And, what are the shows that won’t be around for much longer if at all?

As is customary, for me at least, I will focus on the dramas on the major networks. But, before I begin, I want to thank the folks over at Entertainment Weekly for much of the information for which the following lists are based.

First, let’s look at the shows that are (or should be) safe:

FOX: Bones, Glee and House

ABC: Castle, Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice

NBC: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

CBS: Blue Bloods, Criminal Minds, CSI, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, Hawaii Five-0, NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, The Defenders, The Good Wife and The Mentalist

The CW: Hellcats, Nikita, Supernatural and The Vampire Diaries

Next, the following are the shows that are either on shaky grounds or “on the bubble”:

ABC: Brothers & Sisters, Detroit 1-8-7 and No Ordinary Family

NBC: Chase, Chuck, Law & Order: Los Angeles, Parenthood and The Event

The CW: 90210, Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill

FOX: Fringe, Human Target and Lie to Me

NOTE: It is too soon to tell the fates of the ABC series V as well as the new NBC series The Cape, though. V just returned for its second season on January 4, but returned to meager numbers while The Cape had its two-hour debut on January 9; and while the overall numbers for the 2-hour premiere weren’t awful they were seen as “soft” to the industry given the massive PR campaign that was undertaken for the series.

Lastly, here are the shows that are either ending this season, have not been given any additional episodes or have been canceled:

The CW: Life Unexpected and Smallville

ABC: My Generation and The Whole Truth

CBS: Medium

FOX: Lone Star and The Good Guys

No matter what anyone (blogger or critic alike) tells you, there is no exact science to the renewal or cancellation of any series by the major or cable networks, regardless of what any ratings results can tell you, fan fervor for a show that there may be or even the support of certain key people at the networks/studios. However, that doesn’t mean that any of those examples as well as other parameters are not used to evaluate each show. The above lists are mainly based on ratings and certain events (i.e. cancellation announcements) that have already transpired.

Before I close, I should also tell the readers about the small handful of new shows that will be debuting on the major networks over the course of the next few weeks, starting with tonight’s premiere of the new NBC series Harry’s Law (10 PM), which stars Kathy Bates. Followed by the debuts of these new shows (dramas only):

Body of Proof on ABC on March 29 – The medical examiner series that stars Dana Delaney and Jeri Ryan.

Chaos on CBS on April 1- The comedic drama that stars Freddy Rodriguez, Eric Close and Kurtwood Smith.

Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior on CBS on February 16 – The spin-off that stars Forest Whitaker and Janeane Garafolo.

The Chicago Code on FOX on February 7 – The police drama that features Delroy Lindo, Jason Clarke and Jennifer Beals.

Mark your calendars for these new shows and hold onto your seats to see how the axe will fall on the dramas from this season.