With the fate of the series in the balance, viewers, producers, and talent fight to ensure that Timeless season 2 will happen.
"Timeless is what they call a 'bubble show'," creator and showrunner Eric Kripke said on social media in mid-January, urging Timeless fans to watch the time travel series live. "It may come back next year, it may not." That was months ago, just after the show returned from its winter hiatus to a drop of over 25% in total viewers. The ratings for the remainder of season 1 hovered around 3 million viewers, a lower mark than it would like.
Executive producers Kripke and Shawn Ryan have used the power of social media to rally the fanbase before, but their latest effort takes the form of a targeted Twitter campaign on Tuesday, April 18, 2017 to encourage NBC to #RenewTimeless. This date was not chosen at random, Ryan and the other execs are pitching Timeless season 2 to the network after a successful pitch meeting with Sony.
Pitching Season 2 of #Timeless to @NBC tomorrow. Pre-pitch to @Sony went great. Send good vibes and tweets to @NBC tomorrow. #RenewTimeless
— Shawn Ryan (@ShawnRyanTV) April 17, 2017
The show has garnered plenty of critical acclaim, including here at Den of Geek, but its ratings have kept its viewership the lowest of the big networks on Monday night, second only to the CW's Jane the Virgin. With its primo post-The Voice timeslot seemingly guaranteeing a boost of some kind, this circumstance is far from encouraging and has puzzled some network execs. “We really like it,” NBC Entertainment president Jenifer Salke told Deadline at TCA in January. “I didn’t think it was going to be like This Is Us, but I am a little surprised that it didn’t settle in at a higher number.”
That's not to say fans and Kripke haven't been trying. With a guest spot towards the end of the season from Misha Collins of Kripke's other creation, the juggernaut Supernatural, the show has reached out to other fanbases, making continual appeals to the #spnfamily. This example tweet encourages fans to stream the show on Hulu as well:
#TimeTeam: we still need your help to #RenewTimeless. Stream below or on #Hulu& tell your friends to. @nbc notices! Please RT. #spnfamilyhttps://t.co/E9SET7oeJF— Eric Kripke (@therealKripke) February 21, 2017
"We need to show NBC that people watch this show, and watch it live," Kripke said in his January missive. "While there's no sure thing, if our ratings maintain or improve, our chances for Season 2 greatly grow." Will Timeless season 2 get its chance? Will an amazing season 1 finale seal the deal? It may be a cliche, but with a time travel show it seems appropriate: only time will tell.