Update (June 26th): After struggling to find an audience, Vagrant Queen has been cancelled by Syfy after one season.
In an attempt to boost the show’s ratings, Syfy moved Vagrant Queen from its original 10 p.m. Friday schedule to Thursdays at 11 p.m., where the network has achieved success with late-night programming like The Great Debate, animation block TZGZ, and repeats of Futurama. Though its ratings saw an 11 percent gain week to week with the move, the show still ended its 10-episode freshman run as Syfy’s lowest-rated series among total viewers and in the demo since 2019.
Vagrant Queen season 1 only averaged 417,000 total viewers and a mere 131,000 in the advertiser-coveted adults 18-49 demo when factoring in seven days of delayed viewing.
Original Story (April 22nd): Syfy’s new space opera series Vagrant Queen is now on the verge of being cancelled after the network booted it from prime time.
The show’s fourth episode, which was supposed to air last Friday, April 17th, at 10 p.m. ET, was preempted. And based on the series’ new schedule, that episode is now set to air on Thursday, April 23rd, but at a later time slot of 11 p.m. The rest of the Season 1 episodes have also been scheduled on subsequent Thursdays at 11 p.m., likely for a burn-off run.
The last time Syfy kicked out a series from prime time was back in 2016 when it booted the sci-fi series Hunters from its Monday 10 p.m. ET time slot to midnight after suffering from low ratings. Hunters was ultimately cancelled at the end of its freshman run ― a fate that Vagrant Queen may also fall into if it fails to attract more viewers in the following weeks.
The first three episodes of Vagrant Queen only drew an average of 0.07 rating in the 18-49 demo and 298,000 viewers, with its figures dropping every week. The show’s low ratings and small viewership isn’t really surprising as its first three episodes aired on Friday nights without the benefit of a decent lead-in. Vagrant Queen didn’t also receive much promotion from the network, which doesn’t have an ownership stake in the show.
Despite its low ratings, Vagrant Queen may still be renewed for a second season if it has international financing and/or syndication deals. Otherwise, it seems almost certain that Syfy will pull the plug on the series by the end of its first season.
Based on the Vault comic book series by Magdalene Visaggio and Jason Smith, Vagrant Queen follows the story of Elida (Adriyan Rae), a former queen turned scavenger who’s been on the run since her throne was stolen as a child. One day, Elida’s charming old friend, Isaac (Tim Rozon), turns up with the news that her mother Xevelyn (Bonnie Henna) is still alive. With the help of a skilled mechanic and pilot named Amae (Alex McGregor), Elida and Isaac stage a rescue that takes her back into the perilous heart of her former kingdom and up against a deadly foe from her childhood ― the ruthless and power-hungry Commander Lazaro (Paul du Toit).