NBC delivered a brand new high-stakes drama with The Endgame, which spent the first season in 2022 delivering twist after twist about who the characters (and viewers) should really trust. The Season 1 finale airs on May 2, and the setup from last week’s penultimate episode guaranteed a pretty intense conclusion to the 2021-2022 TV season. The big question is: will this just be the Season 1 finale, or the series finale? Let’s look into whether or not the show starring Morena Baccarin and Ryan Michelle Bathé will return for another round.
Is It Renewed?
At the time of writing on the day of the Season 1 finale, The Endgame has not yet been renewed for a second season beyond the initial first round of ten episodes. It’s not unusual for a show to head into its finale without news of a renewal or cancellation, as not all series can be as lucky as Law & Order: SVU and the three One Chicago shows and score multi-season renewals. NBC also isn’t withholding renewals from first season shows, as La Brea is returning for Season 2, and it’s safe to say that the Law & Order revival will be back in the 2022-2023 season as well.
Of course, NBC already cancelled a first-season show back in March when the dramedy Ordinary Joe (which you can revisit streaming with a Peacock subscription) got the axe. It did well enough with critics, but just didn’t draw the audience that it needed to get another season. Is that the case for The Endgame, or is it likely to join La Brea in receiving another season? For that, let’s look at the numbers.
How Are The Ratings?
The Endgame hasn’t been doing terribly in the ratings and total number of viewers, but it also hasn’t been breaking any records. According to Spoiler TV, the first nine episodes of Season 1 ahead of the finale averaged a Live+Same day rating of 0.3 in the key 18-49 age demographic, and an audience of 1.9 million viewers. To compare, the cancelled Ordinary Joe also averaged 0.3 rating, but a larger audience than The Endgame with 2.2 million.
That’s not the whole story, however, as delayed viewing is when The Endgame starts to pick up. In Live+3 day totals that account for three days of viewership, the show averages 0.4 rating and 3.3 million, while Live+7 sees that boost go up to 0.5 and 3.8 million. While Ordinary Joe received the same Live+3 and Live+7 boosts in ratings, Endgame beats the cancelled show in delayed viewers. It’s still well behind La Brea, with Live+3 averages of 0.8 and 6.9 million and Live+7 averages of 0.9 and 7.4 million.
So, what does all of this mean? Well, The Endgame doesn’t have the kind of numbers that make it seem like a sure-thing for Season 2, but its delayed numbers put it on top of Ordinary Joe, so it may not share the same cancellation fate. It’s also worth noting that Endgame was given a midseason premiere slot and ends very early in the finale season that won’t really pick up with the biggest shows until mid-May, so there are a lot of variables to consider.
The Season 1 finale of The Endgame airs on Monday, May 2 at 10 p.m. ET on NBC, and the first season is available streaming both on Peacock and with a Hulu subscription. For some upcoming TV shows to fill the time following the finale, check out our 2022 TV premiere schedule.
