TV midseason report card: From 'Evil' to 'Stumptown,' which new shows are sticking around?

Is your favorite broadcast TV show going to make it to next year?

Most new shows are already on winter break, which is a good time to assess how they've performed. But so far the picture isn't pretty: No new series appears among the top 25 shows, according to Nielsen.

Freshmen series are given initial 13-episode commitments, and success is rewarded by more episodes (usually nine), enough to fill a typical 22-episode season. But what sets apart the successes from the failures? It's still mainly about ratings, says Stacey Schulman, the chief marketing officer at ad firm Katz Media Group, who describes the few series that have been cut as simply lower-rated performers.

Only one show has been canceled outright: NBC's "Sunnyside," pulled after just four episodes, although seven more streamed on NBC's digital platforms.

But while ratings are still important, they may not hold the same power over a show's fate as in past seasons.

"I think ratings will always play a factor in a series getting canceled, but there are other issues the networks might consider as well," Schulman says. Those include deals for later runs on cable or streaming services, which have become even more prevalent this year. And the availability of midseason replacements factors into networks' patience, Schulman says.

So which shows are still holding on and which are done? Here's a look at the new series so far.

CBS comedy success with 'Unicorn,' 'Bob' and 'Carol'

For the first time since 2007– yes, 2007 – CBS started the season without "The Big Bang Theory." But could the network find anything to fill that comedy space? So far, the network has seen some early successes, but nothing approaching a "Big Bang" juggernaut.

CBS ordered a full season of "The Unicorn," starring Walton Goggins as a widower getting back into the dating scene. In fact, the show is the best performing new comedy among all the networks so far this season, with 7.2 million viewers within seven days. That's still less than half of the 18 million total for "Big Bang" in its final season, which ended last May.

CBS also picked up a full season of "Carol's Second Act" with "Everybody Loves Raymond" alum Patricia Heaton heading up a cast that also includes Kyle MacLachlan ("Twin Peaks"). Another CBS comedy alum, Billy Gardell ("Mike and Molly"), also earned a full-season pick up for "Bob Hearts Abishola."

In addition to the ratings highs for these shows, Schulman says scheduling may have contributed to CBS' renewals.

"They are working fairly well as a block, and why mess with that," she says.

Boomtown for dramas 'Stumptown,' 'All Rise'

Several dramas have earned enough support from their networks for full-season pickups.

CBS legal drama "All Rise" leads all new shows among total viewers with an average 7.7 million per week in the first week of airing.

Close behind is ABC's "Stumptown," starring Cobie Smulders ("How I Met Your Mother"). . "The characters genuinely like one another, and many times that makes for a more pleasurable watch than tense police dramas," USA TODAY's Kelly Lawler says.

CBS' "Evil," which will complete a planned 13-episode season, has already been renewed for a second season.

Fox picked up a full season of "Prodigal Son.". Starring Michael Sheen ("Good Omens") and Tom Payne ("The Walking Dead"), the series is the highest-rated new show among 18-to-49-year-old viewers, helped by its Monday slot behind Fox's hit "9-1-1."

And CW, which gets more of its audience from digital platforms than other networks, has given full-season commitments to superhero series "Batwoman" and "Nancy Drew."

Canceled shows

Unfortunately, not every series is going to make it past its initial run. Most new network series don't survive to a second season.

In years past, networks would simply cancel a show and pull it off the air. But with the success of shorter seasons for some series, which run only around 13 episodes instead of a typical 20-plus episode season, networks try to pass off their canceled shows as "limited-run series," making it more of a soft break-up.

NBC decided not to order any episodes past the initial 10-episode run for "Bluff City Law" despite the supposed star power of Jimmy Smits, who had previous success on the network with "The West Wing" and "L.A. Law."

Fox's "Almost Family" also will end a brief run after a lackluster showing. The series, about a fertility doctor (Timothy Hutton) who secretly inseminated his patients with his own sperm, was a failure out of the gate with both viewers and critics.

Still on the bubble? ABC's serialized "Emergence" was always planned to run 13 episodes, but a second season is uncertain.The series returns from its holiday break Jan. 7 to air the final four episodes. So what's next for the drama about a cop investigating a girl who mysteriously survived a plane crash? That answer is just as mysterious -- for now. And NBC has yet to throw in the towel on "Perfect Harmony," a comedy about a church choir starring Bradley Whitford, which will end its run early to make room for new series.

Fall scorecard: Where they stand

Full episode order for Season 1: "All Rise" (CBS), "Batwoman" (CW), "Bob Hearts Abishola" (CBS), "Carol's Second Act" (CBS), "Mixed-ish" (ABC), "Nancy Drew" (CW), "Prodigal Son" (Fox), "Stumptown" (ABC), "The Unicorn" (CBS)

Renewed for second season: "Bless the Harts" (Fox), "Evil" (CBS)

Canceled: "Almost Family" (Fox), "Bluff City Law" (NBC), "Sunnyside" (NBC)

Ending soon, second season uncertain: "Emergence" (ABC), "Perfect Harmony" (NBC)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Are 'Evil,' 'Stumptown' and 'Emergence' keepers? Our status report