After seven episodes aired, reviews on ‘Valor’ seem to describe the show as overdramatic and typically a bit silly. Since last week, the ratings in the key 18-49 demographic only increased from 0.19 to 0.2, finishing with 1 million viewers. Although these numbers are higher than the previous week’s, the numbers remain relatively low.

Because of these ratings, the CW Network has announced it will not be picking up any additional episodes of ‘Valor’ past the already ordered 13. According to Deadline Hollywood, the network announced a full season order for their other new series ‘Dynasty,’ but has officially opted out of additional ‘Valor’ episodes. As far as another season for the military drama, the CW will analyze the SVOD data for the show and use those statistics to determine weather or not to pick up ‘Valor’ for a second season.

Television review sites like “The Tracking Board” argue that Valor’s silly storylines make it difficult to feel sympathy for the characters. However, other critics feel as though the dramatic plot is the key component that keeps the show on brand with the CW Network, which typically airs SOAP-type dramas such as ‘Jane the Virgin.” And because a military show is distinctly different from the typical programming on this specific network, the dramatic characters and storylines are what connect the show to CW fans. However, maybe the plot has proven to be too silly, and ultimately the ratings have led the network to opt-out of additional episode pickups.

A week after the impressive spike in ratings, ‘Valor’ is back to under a million viewers for the November 13^th episode. After the highest viewership out of all the episodes aired thus far in the season, the most recent episode ranked 0.19 after bringing in .94 million viewers. Not including the past week’s successful episode, ‘Valor’ has continuously seen under a million viewers—not a hopeful number for the sixth week of airing.

Although the CW Network is not expected to rank in the millions of viewers major networks like NBC and ABC can, other shows on the CW prove there is a wider audience than ‘Valor’ is able to retain. For example, ‘The Flash’ has scored over 2 million viewers tuning into the CW for the show. Both ‘Supernatural’ and Riverdale’ continuously bring in over 1.5 million viewers for the network during their scheduled time. And so while the viewership for the CW is typically dramatically lower than those of other major networks, ‘Valor’ is remaining one of the lowest rated series on the network. And while the previous week’s spike seemed hopeful, the return back to under a million threatens the survival of the show.

As far as social media, actress Christina Ochoa has continued to post to her Instagram using the #WednesdayWarrios and #MissionMonday to engage her followers both personally and professionally. She does a great job balancing her social media profiles with photos from her personal life and pictures on set to promote the cast and themes of the military show.

This weeks ratings for Valor are the highest posted since the show’s premiere a month ago. There were 1.2 million viewers tuned in, receiving a rating of .3. The increased viewership is interesting considering the show’s lead in, Supergirl, had a drop in viewership from 3.67 million to 1.86 million that same night. Because there were almost 2 million viewers for ‘Supergirl’, there is a chance Valor’s rating increase is partly due to ‘Supergirl’ fans staying to watch the military drama following it. In other words, there may be less viewers for ‘Supergirl,’ but the amount of those audiences staying to watch ‘Valor’ right after could be increasing.

There have recently been casting calls for local actors in Atlanta to be extras on the show’s upcoming episodes. These postings indicate the show’s continued filming, and dispute the rumors of cancellation. This week’s spike in ratings was imperative for the show’s survival, especially amongst these talks of being cancelled. If the ratings continue to remain above a million and casting calls remain for extras on upcoming episodes, ‘Valor’ has a decent chance of living out the entire season.

According to Variety, November 8^th seemed to be an overall satisfying ratings night for the 9pm time slot. In total, ‘Valor’s’ ratings improved over 40% in the key demo and over 20% in total viewers in comparison to the previous week. At the same time, competing military drama ‘The Brave’ was up in both measures for NBC as well.

As of this past Monday, the CW has aired four episodes of Valor. The viewership and ratings of each individual episode remains lower than those of the shows previously cancelled by the network. It is noteworthy to acknowledge that there was, however, a ratings increase the fourth week. After episode two aired with .99 million viewers and received a .23 rating, the third week dropped significantly to .88 million viewers with a .19 rating. Yet the most recent episode, which aired October 30^th, drew in .95 million viewers and raised the rating to a .20.

Monday night football games tend to have an effect on television programs airing the same nights, but Valor attracts a completely separate demographic. While football targets male viewers, the CW tends to provide programming more geared towards females. More specifically, Valor is meant to be a female-driven military drama that allows for a storyline not necessarily common in female-targeted content. Because sporting events are not a considerable factor for this specific program, it is interesting to see a spike in ratings for the show.

Based on these numbers, websites like TV Guide predict Valor will be cancelled once The CW is ready to bring in the midseason series.

Valor has now aired three episodes, and each week the viewership has continued to decline. After the 20.35% decline between the first and second week, the CW network has now seen an additional 18.06% drop for the third episode for the key demo rating. The ratings came in at .19 for the key 18-49 demographic, with a total of 0.88 million viewers. If the viewership continues to drop to numbers lower than this, ‘Valor’ is at a serious risk of cancellation.

In comparison to the ratings of other network shows airing at the same time, the ‘Valor’s’ potential for success is not looking optimistic. Valor competes for the Monday 9pm time slot with already established fan bases for shows like ‘Dancing with the Stars’ and ‘The Voice.’ ABC’s ‘Dancing with the Stars has continuously brought in viewership of approximately 8 million, while NBC’s ‘The Voice’ averages 9-10 million viewers.

It is too soon to determine Valor’s future, however the ratings for the first three episodes do not indicate a huge breakout hit the CW President hoped the military drama would prove to be. While the network was attempting to diversify programming with an off-brand series, number of viewers illustrates a disconnect. Although the major networks like ABC and NBC are known to reign in more viewers than the CW, there is a major gap in the difference between these ratings. While ‘The Voice’ and ‘Dancing with the Stars’ have an established fan base, ‘Valor’s’ viewership of under a million does put the show at risk for cancellation.

After ‘Valor’s’ second episode, the ratings dropped 20.35% from the series’ October 9^th premiere. While the first episode brought in 1.198 million viewers, just under a million people tuned into the October 16^th episode. That viewership decline caused an overall ratings drop from .29 to .23 in the 18-49 demographic.

The show sets itself apart from the other military dramas this fall by promoting the series with a female driven plot. Christina Ochoa—the lead female actress playing Nora—is the key component of the cast to draw in typical CW viewers. The network is known for SOAP-type dramas, and Christina Ochoa is the actress to attract the female viewers who want a woman to resonate with. Because the military plot is said to be off-brand for the CW, casting Christina was a critical decision to retain loyal viewers who want a relatable female character.

Christina does a great job of incorporating her role on the series into her personal social accounts. She began a #WarriorWednesday hashtag, where she highlights her own heroes and people she admires. By including veterans she has met while filming, she is not only promoting her show but also sharing positive messages with her followers. In addition, she uses a hashtag #MissionMonday for her Monday posts before the show airs. Her combination of personal photos and those in costume for ‘Valor’ are a great way to promote the show while allowing viewers to feel connected to her personally.

After Valor’s season premiere this past Monday, the fear of the military drama falling too off-brand rang true. The Variety television review found the show to be an overall awkward fit, which could explain why it “failed to lift the CW from last place among the broadcast networks in the Monday overnight ratings, according to Nielson data.” Although Valor does compete with Dancing with the Stars, Kevin Can Wait, The Voice, and The Gifted, none of those shows share a military plot that could take away CW viewers.

The total rating and viewers for Valor’s season premiere was lower than shows like “Frequency” and “No Tomorrow,” which the CW cancelled. And so with a 0.3 rating and 1.2 million viewers, Valor has a good chance of being cancelled as well. Although the actors may give good performances, critics seem to believe the storylines and characters themselves aren’t strong enough to continually draw audiences. The show is drama packed, with cheating scandals, lies, and military conspiracies. Yet critics seem to believe, despite these components, the plot isn’t intriguing enough for viewers to care about the show’s progression.

As the season premiere of Valor approaches next week, media sites are analyzing the show’s potential for success. Adweek took a look at each broadcast network’s fall season premieres, and concluded their search with the CW’s new programming. Although Adweek acknowledged that the strong female lead in Valor would connect to the CW network’s millennial female demographic, the website doesn’t have much faith in the show itself.

Critics, like those at Adweek, believe Valor’s plot is not strong enough to compete with the other military shows premiering this season on NBC and CBS. While the actors have been noted as potentially successful, their characters don’t seem to be believable army enlisters. Critics argue that while the actors could be successful in other roles, the particular casting choices for this show were poor.

Despite critics suggesting this military drama to be off brand and unbelievable, they are anticipating higher ratings for Dynasty, the reboot of and 80’s primetime SOAP. The female driven drama is expected to serve an audience’s guilty-pleasure, and could be a strong follow for Valor. Hopefully if viewers enjoy the soapy female-targeted Dynasty, they will tune in earlier to watch the female driven military drama.

In preparation for the upcoming series premiere of Valor, the CW Network has incorporated social media to engage viewers in the promotional process. The homepage for the show offers links to the Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts all regularly updated with trailers and photos of the cast. The posts also include numerous videos of the actors at premieres and festivals. The Instagram account was started in May, and has only begun to be used frequently within the past few weeks as the October 9^th premiere approaches. One of the main actors, Matt Barr, did a takeover of the account, posting several updates at the iHeart festival throughout the past weekend. Although this promotes a key character of the show, Valor prides itself on standing apart from other military dramas by being female driven. Because of this, the account should incorporate male characters but prioritize advertising the female cast. Christina Ochoa, who plays the lead Nora, should be featured more often with more personal content. It is this character the target demographic will resonate with, and getting to know her better before the premiere would help CW fans connect to a character they’d want to watch a show to follow.

In preparation of Valor’s upcoming series premiere, media outlets like E! News has expressed doubts over the success of a military drama on the CW. Although the network is airing Valor in an attempt to branch out from typical programs, critics suggest the CW should stick to the superhero or SOAP-like dramas. E! News television reviewers make it a point to commend the female-driven plot, but remain confused by the complex military conspiracy at the center of the storyline.

While the CW incorporated components of their typical shows such as drug addictions and cheating, critics found the show to still fall too far off brand. Despite the confusion over why the show would be picked up by the CW, television reviewers have in fact applauded the cast performance. While one critic suggested Christina Ochoa, the female lead, is “a star in the making,” another claimed the actors’ solid performances are enough to bring her back for a second episode. And so although the complex and off-brand plot may initially turn off certain viewers, the cast may be strong enough to bring success.