Well, Space Force has done it. Despite negative critical reviews, the show has built up an audience and managed to hold on to the #1 spot in the US for the entire week since its debut.
Space Force has planted its flag in the top ten and stayed there, fending off a Jeffrey Epstein documentary, a new season of Fuller House and last week’s champion, Sweet Magnolias.
This week, it has to face off against the likes of a new season of 13 Reasons Why and new episodes of Queer Eye, either one could unseat it, or it could remain where it is. Regardless, the end result is pretty clear, that Netflix will indeed give Space Force another season.
Netflix does not particularly care about reviews, they only care about the number of people watching the show. And while Space Force is likely more expensive than most comedies between its occasional reliance on CGI and the no-doubt big salary of Steve Carell, it seems like something they’ll invest in for at least another season, if not more than one.
Most Popular In: Games
While Netflix still never gives out actual “ratings” unless a show or movie has broken records for them, the top 10 list they’ve introduced has been a reliable source of predicting which new shows will get additional seasons. If a show remains in the top 10 for a while, it’s probably getting one. If it debuts outside of it and never makes it in, it’s in a lot more danger.
Space Force, holding on to #1 for an entire week, is not something that happens often. I believe the longest I’ve seen any show at #1 on Netflix was Tiger King, which was there for close to two weeks, but it’s harder to greenlight a second season of a documentary that’s already mostly wrapped up its real-life storyline. Space Force, on the other hand, will be easy to renew and the possibilities for further storylines are endless.
Netflix is famously reluctant to renew all that many shows past two or three seasons, as later seasons of shows are unlikely to drive subscriptions the way new shows are. But every once in a while they find themselves with megahits like Stranger Things or The Witcher which are allowed to continue on as long as they want. I don’t know if Space Force is quite in that tier yet, as we haven’t heard any “bragging” numbers, but we’ll see.
I hope that improvements can be made in the second season in order for the show to improve like The Office and Parks and Rec did in their second seasons. I still need to finish the first one, as I suppose I probably should if this is a series that’s going to be around Netflix for a while, which it appears is the case.
Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels Herokiller and Herokiller 2, and read my first series, The Earthborn Trilogy, which is also on audiobook.