Hey all,
It's time. After a week of nominations, in which we had nearly 700 submissions, we're ready to begin the ninth annual Series Competition. We've narrowed it down to the top 64 shows as voted by you. 32 of these shows are current (have aired/will air episodes after July 31st 2018); the other 32 are finished shows (no new episodes after July 31st 2018). The draw has been made, and was done so with the following regulations:
1) The top 8 current shows (displayed in the draw in bold) were split up so that the earliest they could meet is the Quarter Finals.
2) The top 8 finished shows (displayed in the draw in bold italics) were split up so that the earliest they could meet is also the Quarter Finals.
3) The earliest one of the top 8 current shows can face one of the top 8 finished shows is in Round Three.
4) The other 48 shows were randomly selected a position in the draw.
The full draw can be seen below, once again using the bracket designed for us by Rendy.
Click here to view the draw in a new window
As always, there are some fascinating ties in prospect. Tomorrow, top ended seed Timeless faces Friends — a show not devoid of fans itself — and despite the time travel drama's domination in the nominations, it's not easy to call. Holder Person of Interest could very well be eliminated in the first round to Agents of SHIELD. Buffy against Supergirl is probably the pick of the first round. Game of Thrones and The Defenders going head to head could prove interesting, too. And there's a battle of the Sherlocks to be had later in the first round.
Anyway, without further ado, let's begin the competition...
We do have some simple rules for those of you new to this competition (or that need a brief refresher). Please adhere to them:
1) Two shows will go into battle in a poll, where after exactly 24 hours, the leading show will win the battle and will progress into the next round. Each poll will open at 12pm ET on a given day.
2) Vote for your favourite and spread the word with your friends & fans.
3) One vote per person per poll.
4) Comment on what you voted for on in the comments below.
5) Have fun. This is a friendly & competitive competition. Please do not start attacking other fans or fangroups in the comments, because this really isn't what this competition is about.
Since winning the competition in 2013, Supernatural's performance has been getting worse year on year. Last year, it failed to make the quarter-finals for the first time in the competition's history, ultimately finishing tenth. What was once the powerhouse of television shows on SpoilerTV is no longer. But that's not to say it should be written off; far from it. Only four current shows received more nominations than it, and — in all fairness — never once finishing outside the top ten is pretty remarkable. Hoping to pull off something special today is Shameless, the Showtime series making its debut in the competition. It seems a cruel way to start out, so it will be interesting to see how it fares.
The Walking Dead has become much maligned in recent times, which doesn't really help its cause here given that only once, in 2016, has it ever escaped the first round. Last year's 60th placed finish was almost certainly reflective of a year in which fans across the board appeared to tire of its antics. Will this year be different? Against Fringe, the 2011 runner-up, it's difficult to say yes. It remains well-loved on the site, and has reached the third round for the past two years. By contrast, The Walking Dead has only made it past the first round once in seven attempts. Still, form is there to be broken.
Don't forget to Facebook, Tweet, and share the poll with your friends! The more people that you get to vote, the better chance your favourites will win!
Remember to check back tomorrow for Timeless vs. Friends and Stranger Things vs. The Office!
