While the total volume of scripted commissions has fallen from the peaks seen in 2022, the pace of US scripted series being ordered and subsequently premiered have been outpacing the number of series cancellations over the past few months.
April, June and August 2025 saw the exact number of new US titles premiere as those that had been cancelled, with each month also consistently premiering an average of six additional scripted series returning for a new season.
Meanwhile May and July saw a vast difference between premieres and cancellations, with May’s 14 new series premieres accounting for double the amount of cancellations in that same month. May also saw a slew of new series orders, with 20 new scripted series commissioned, building up a healthy pipeline for the months and years to come. SVOD was responsible for 14 of these 20 these commissions in May, with Netflix ordering the most titles with five. The remaining six include three from FOX, and a single series each from ABC, CBS and USA.
The titles are predominantly dramas, with only five comedies and one animated comedy, the Peacock commission adaptation from the ‘Ted’ franchise that started as movies before receiving a live action series on the SVOD service.
The total number of new projects may not be near the peaks seen in 2022, but the last few months of activity do not suggest a content deficit forming as the rate of new show premieres to cancellations remains at worst even, while new series orders continue to occur and other series return for subsequent seasons.
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