The 100, TV Shows

RenewKru (May We Meet Again): How To Help Ensure ‘The 100’ Gets a Season Five

(CW/The 100)

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When I started The 100 back in October with the help of Netflix (and  my friend who had been insisting that I watch for months) I never thought I would be here. This show is so disgustingly fantastic and unfortunately, even more disgustingly underrated.  However, the fans that the show has brought in are unwaveringly loyal and I’m grateful to be lucky enough to be a part of it. (Yes, thank you, Nix. You were right.) Though we may only be two episodes into season four, many fans, myself included, are already clamoring for confirmation of a season five.

Here's how YOU can help #The100 get renewed for Season 5! Share on X

A show like The 100 can speak to anyone of any background and offers great representation for almost any walk of life. It offers amazing representation for the LGBT+ community, with a lead who is bisexual (and part of popular “ships” with characters of both sexes, including Flarke, Clexa, and Bellarke–and an honorable mention goes to Niylah, Clarke’s temporary part-time lover early in season three who is also slated to appear in season four), as well as a relationship between two of the strongest men on the show (Miller and Bryan), doing wonders to squash stereotypes.  The representation doesn’t end there. It’s an all-inclusive show, featuring a disabled (and kickass) Latina in Raven, a male lead of color in Bellamy, and someone dealing with mental illness in Jasper, and (as of the latest episode) Kane and Abby are proving that you don’t need to be a teenager or ‘twenty-something’ to bring the romance and heat. We could delve even deeper in to representation — i.e Murphy being forced to trade sex for survival or Emori’s feelings on what society has deemed her flaws — but  the point is: this show is a mirror for almost anyone. Plus, let’s be real: you can never start preparing for the end of the world too early, and a show like The 100 is needed as a shining example of a post-apocalyptic society.  Luckily as I hum “With A Little Help From My Friends,” I’m able to provide some information on how we can all help get that coveted season five.

As of right now, sites such as spottedratings.com have The 100 set as 77% likely to be renewed,  while the TVGrimReaper and The Cancel Bear both have it at a “toss up.” I had a lot of trouble choosing what I deemed as most important since every single step is important and can help factor into chances of renewal. So, in no particular order, let’s begin.

Here’s what you can do to help get The 100 renewed for Season 5.

Watching Live

Watching live means very little nowadays unless you are one of the very few and very lucky Nielsen households. The CW is a very weird little “engine that could” in that they don’t compete against other networks with the same time slot as much as they put their own shows in the same time slot against each other.

So if you are a Nielsen household, should you watch live?

Absolutely. Especially if you are part of that superbly important demo group of 18-49. As of right now, The 100 sits at a steady .04, which for The CW isn’t bad, but there’s definite room for improvement. Plus, if you’re anything like me, why would you want to wait even one second more than necessary to feast your eyeballs on new material of the show?

And say you’re super busy and set it to record on that ever handy DVR that you pay so much for. Great! Try your damnedest to watch within 24 hours of recording and make sure to keep your finger off that fast-forward button. The DVR big brother is watching! (But again this only really counts if you’re part of the secret society known as a Nielsen household.) That’s not to say that your DVR isn’t tracking what you’re watching and making records of that data, because they 100% are.

Bottom line: keep recording and keep watching, Nielsen or not.

“But Heather, what if I can’t watch live? What if I’m out of the country or if (like yourself) my DirectTV is a pain in the ass and is in dispute with The CW?”

Great question, which brings us to:

Streaming

There are so very, very many streaming options. If you’re in the lucky Canadian north, you will get the latest episode on Netflix the day after the episode airs. (And speaking of Netflix, it is so important to continue watching the first three seasons on it. These factors count!)  If you’re from the good ol’ US of A like myself, you can watch the very next day at www.cwtv.com or on the official CW app, which is free. You can also get it on iTunes, Amazon, and if you’re lucky enough to own a PS4, a season pass is available there for you as well.

Websites/Articles/Promotion

Guysssss! Guys! I cannot stress enough how important it is to click on links to articles that promote the show. And I’m not just saying that since now I write for one of those sites. Because I am very limited in this area of expertise, I asked our favorite Hypable author Selina Wilken for some information on just how important website hits are, especially in regards to The 100. (By the way, if you haven’t checked out her preview for 4×03, The Four Horsemen, you absolutely need to here.)

Here’s what Selina explained to me:

“The majority of entertainment news websites unaffiliated with the creators of the content they cover, there is only one major factor that determines the nature of said content: pageviews. Any website whose primary revenue stream is advertising is dependent on pageviews to make enough money to keep the site running and pay its staff. The website would not exist if people weren’t visiting it, and the more people visit it (and the more they click around), the more money it makes = the bigger it grows = the more money it needs to run.”

Encourage more articles about #The100 by clicking on stories, not copy/pasting them! Share on X

Selina continued, explaining how pageviews helped her be able to focus her writing on The 100.

“When I first reached out to my Hypable editor about covering The 100 back in September 2014, he initially turned me down. ‘I’m not sure the ratings are there for it, to be honest,’ he said. ‘It hasn’t been getting much attention around here so I’m afraid it wouldn’t be worth your time!’

The implication was that Hypable, like all websites whose primary source of income is advertising revenue, should not waste its resources (the writers’ time) covering media that don’t get attention = pageviews.. Obstinate as I am, I decided to politely ignore his advice, and began writing articles about it anyway. Two months and several successful articles later, I reached out to him about adding a category for The 100 content on the site (so it’s indexed as a ‘fandom’ rather than just ‘TV news’), and he acquiesced, noting – perhaps a little grudgingly – ‘That show’s definitely been doing well on the site, btw.’

I guarantee you that if my initial articles about The 100 had not been doing well (got a sufficient number of pageviews), I would not have been able to convince him to add a category for it, and I would not have been able to ‘promote’ myself to Hypable’s resident The 100 content writer.” – Selina Wilken

Selina then explained to me why screencaps and tweets alone aren’t enough. You have to actually click on articles about The 100 to make a difference:

“But let’s say my articles had done really well on Twitter and Tumblr; I said nice things that fans liked, and they screencapped the entire article to share with fellow fans – but no one actually clicked on to Hypable, because why should they? They already had my words. If that had been the case, my editor would not have realized that my The 100 content was ‘doing well,’ because it would not have directly translated to what he cares about – and which he HAS to care about, because he’s running a business – pageviews.” – Selina Wilken

Selina added:

“Hypable is a somewhat unique example because I do, in fact, have a lot more freedom than I would have if I wrote for a bigger website. If Hypable’s The 100 content hardly got any hits (which is luckily not the case), I would still be able to keep writing about it because I WANTED to, I just wouldn’t be able to write as much because I’d be expected to focus on other content that actually got clicked on.”

She summed up why pageviews are so very important:

“Pageviews dictate content, just like any market is dictated by how consumers spend their money. If you like H&M clothes, it’s not enough to tweet pictures of it, you have to actually buy it to help ensure its success. If you like an artist’s work, they appreciate that you tell them that, but they won’t be able to keep making art if you don’t also buy some of it. If you like a movie but don’t pay to see it at the cinema, your appreciation for it doesn’t count at the box office. And, similarly, if you like a website’s content but never actually click on to said website, the owners of that website won’t have any incentive to make more of the type of content you like.” – Selina Wilken

There are several websites that write for The 100. Hypable, SpoilerTV, EW, Eonline (where both Kane and Abby and Clarke and Lexa are nominated for Couple of the Year, so go vote! Voting=promotion), and now that I’m here to fangirl all over the place, right here at PostApocalypticMedia, to just name a few. It’s not just clicking on the sites that matter, either.  Leaving feedback — keep it classy, folks — is also important to creating buzz around the show. More hits means more articles, means more press for the show, and so on and so on and so on.

How You Can Use Twitter to Get ‘The 100’ Into the Nielsen Top 5

And now that we were, let’s talk about Nielsen ratings:

(Nielsen Ratings)
the 100 nielsen ratings
(Nielsen Ratings)

It’s no coincidence that The 100 has been in The Nielsen Top Five the last two weeks in a row. It truly speaks to the dedication of the fanbase that we have landed there in correlation with episodes 4×01 and 4×02.

Nielsen monitors the activity of Twitter and Facebook, looking for use of the official hashtag (#the100), responses to official accounts of the show, (including responses to actors), ship names, and character names. To be counted towards Nielsen’s Top Five, you do have to be from the U.S., which is insanely annoying considering the large international fanbase the show has. Unfortunately, most people can’t do anything about their physical location, but you can make sure that ‘location’ button on Twitter is turned on. Nielsen begins their tracking three hours before the show airs, show time, and three hours after. I cannot stress enough how important it is to use the hashtag. Use. The. Hashtag. Use itttttt.

Check out these tips for getting #The100 in Nielsen's Top 5! Share on X

Trending Time

It’s trending time! The lovelies behind @InfoBellarke have put together a trend to help promote the show using #the100appreciationday to show TPTB some love and support for this upcoming season and beyond. Here’s where I reveal myself to be the complete and utter Bellarke trash I am and tell you to look for a more ship centric trend to be announced later in the week,  as 4×03 is rumored to be a Bellamy and Clarke heavy episode. Hellllllllo, Nielsen Top Five. (Use the hashtag. Yes, I annoy even myself saying it so much. But also #sorrynotsorry?)

If you’re one of the many fans who watch the show for the characters and not for any particular ship, you can follow @renewKru who is slowly but surely coming up with trend attempts, campaigns, and other fun ideas for fans to show the showrunners some love.

Most importantly: Keep watching the show. Keep watching, keep talking about it, keep loving these characters as much as you do. Our passion and creativity is what it going to help us in the end. And season four? So, not the end.

And not to throw it back to Hypable again, but, Bob Morley wants a season five.

‘The 100’ star Bob Morley previews Bellamy’s journey to leadership in season 4… and beyond? (exclusive)

Do it for Bob, guys.

You can catch The 100 on Wednesday at 9/8c on The CW.

Like what you read? Heather will be writing more about The 100 regularly for Post Apocalyptic Media. Join our email list to stay updated by clicking here and be sure to follow us on Twitter. And while you’re waiting for the next article, stream some episodes of The 100 here.

 

 

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    Heather is a twenty-something wine drinker and coffee lover who tweets too much and sleeps too little. She resides near the beaches in Mississippi where she annoys her family and friends with her obsessions of fictional people. She has a full time job with a health package and everything but she always finds time to over-invest in TV Shows and is thrilled that she now gets to share these obsessions with the world.

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