• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, July 10, 2024

A sudden awareness that summer shark season is upon us leads indirectly to the subject of Syfy channel, which was once a major player in the arena of hot-weather shark shows.

The TV Blog has lamented the end of Syfy’s “Sharknado” series of made-for-TV movies a number of times since the sixth and final installment in this beloved series came and went in summer 2018.

The point of those TV Blogs contrived in the dog days of summer was that summer shark season without “Sharknado” just wasn’t the same.

The movies were a fun twist on sharkmania that coincided with the two other long-running shark-a-thons on TV every summer -- National Geographic’s “SharkFest” and Discovery’s “Shark Week.”

This year’s “SharkFest” began June 30. “Shark Week” began this past Sunday.

The “Sharknado” series ended when Syfy began moving away from the campy movies that were once the backbone of the NBCU-owned cable channel.

The titles were often the best features of these movies -- titles such as “Dinocroc Vs. Supergator,” “Mansquito,” “Piranhaconda” and “Christmas Icetastrophe,” to name a few.

The TV Blog always welcomed the arrival of a new “Sharknado” movie every summer, but also came to appreciate the content output generally on Syfy.

That’s why, when I logged on to the proprietary web site on Tuesday that NBCU maintains for journalists on the TV beat, I was surprised by the paucity of shows seen on the Syfy landing page.

And I wondered: Has Syfy been placed on some sort of back burner by the parent company? And if so, does this mean Syfy is in the process of being mothballed?

It occurred to me also that I have not seen a new show from Syfy in heaven-knows-when.

The Syfy landing page lists just five shows, four of them first-run originals and the fifth an import from Canada, “SurrealEstate.” The four originals are “The Ark,” “Chucky” (pictured above), “Reginald the Vampire” and “Resident Alien.”

“Resident Alien” has had three seasons on Syfy, but is moving to co-owned USA Network for its fourth. 

“Chucky” recently completed its third season. The show is shared by Syfy and USA. “The Ark” starts its second season on Syfy next Wednesday (July 17). “Reginald the Vampire” ends its second season this Wednesday (July 10).

As recently as January 2022, I wrote that Syfy was “TV’s most consistent network.” Recent raves back then included reviews for “Resident Alien,” “Chucky,” “Astrid & Lilly Save the World,” “Day of the Dead” and “Devil May Care,” the last three of which are no longer around.

Later in 2022, I gave thumbs up to “Reginald the Vampire” too, although “The Ark” did not fare as well around here.

All things considered, Syfy had a pretty good batting average in the TV Blog. And if NBCU cuts the cord with Syfy, I will mourn its passing.