If you had only seen the ratings for live or same-day DVR viewings of Fox’s event series Wayward Pines, you’d assume the idea of giving it a second season would be met with crickets. (Which is how you would also know you weren’t in Wayward Pines.) But, as we all know, Nielson ratings have become about as useful and accurate as a head count at a mummer’s parade, and those numbers don’t tell the whole story. (Meaning, while you’re not in Wayward Pines, the people working for Nielson definitely are.) Deadline reports the show has posted a record percentage gain in viewers, and is now under consideration for a second-season renewal.
The M. Night Shyamalan-produced mystery series saw its premiere’s viewership numbers jump by 90 percent when the Live+3 ratings were taken into account—a record for both a Fox opener and for the entirety of the 2014-15 new series debuts. Additionally, its numbers in that demo have also risen steadily, so while the same-day viewing numbers from week one to week four may look flat, there’s significant growth when the longer DVR watching time is factored in. This could be taken as further evidence of the inaccurate, slipshod, and generally ridiculous nature of the Nielson ratings, but given that “inaccurate, slipshod, and generally ridiculous” is the official slogan of Hollywood (built in 10-foot-high letters just below the “Hollywood” sign, in Comic Sans font), nothing will change.
It won’t be easy to just crank out another season, unfortunately. Given the options on all the main actors lapsed long ago (the series was picked up in 2013), the network would potentially have to create different characters with a new cast, but set in the same world. That sounds very doable, now that we all know the real goings-on in Wayward Pines involve the shocking reveal that [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [MELISSA LEO] [REDACTED].