FX is on a bit of a renewal spree. Just a couple of weeks after announcing comedy Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll will be back for a second season, the network has signed on for yet another season of Tyrant, the intriguing drama following the son of a middle eastern “tyrant” who across two seasons has been drawn back into his father's world after he passes away, attempting to avert political crisis after crisis. Tyrant will return for Season 3 during the summer of 2016.
There’s a lot more TV competition during the summer than there used to be, but despite this, Tyrant has been a decent ratings performer over at FX. It’s also a smarter thriller in the summertime lineup, competing more with the likes of USA’s Mr. Robot than flashier fodder like Zoo or Scream. THR is reporting the drama average 2.47 million total viewers during its sophomore season—at least when you are counting time shifted viewership, which isn’t too shabby.
Brief spoilers are in this paragraph. Since Season 2 ended on a cliffhanger, it’s not a huge surprise that FX would give the show the opportunity to at least explain that storyline during a third season. In the finale, Barry's older brother Jamal was shot, and was left on the floor dying in what could be described as a Jon Snow moment.
There’s nothing fans hate more than a show ending without a resolution, and luckily that won’t be the way Tyrant is going. Similar to the first season, 10 episodes will be produced for Season 3. Season 2 had 12 episodes, although 13 were ordered initially.
The fact that Tyrant got renewed could potentially be good news for Kurt Sutter’s new FX drama The Bastard Executioner. While that show hasn’t managed to pull in as many former Sons of Anarchy fans as I’m sure FX would have liked, that freshman drama’s numbers don’t look wholly dissimilar to Tyrant, which is fairly expensive to produce. Then again, ratings are less easy predictors with cable programs than with network shows, as cable channels have figured out keen ways to license their shows and make the most out of deals. Plus, they don’t typically need as large of an audience to make money. Still, a cable channel isn’t going to keep a program on the air that is not making money.
The good news? Tyrant, at least, doesn’t have to worry about that for another entire year.
