TV ratings: The Equalizer up, Quantum Leap struggles (Sept. 19 to Oct. 2)
We’re doing the TV ratings a little differently this year. We’ll look at the live ratings each week, playing catch up from the start of fall TV right now.
We used to look at the live TV ratings on a daily basis. This year, we’re doing things a little differently. To help compare the various shows on the network, we’re looking at them weekly. This will usually be from the Monday to the Sunday of each week, with the reports done on a Monday or Tuesday.
This week, we’re playing catch up. Fall TV started on Monday, Sept. 19, and we’re heading back to that date to take a look at how shows have fared. What’s in the firing line already, and what can we see coming back?
There are a few shows that we’re not concerned with as they’re wrapping up with final seasons or they’ve already been renewed. They are New Amsterdam, The Simpsons, the three FBI, and The Equalizer. We’ll mention them now and then, but they’re not the biggest concerns for live TV ratings. This is also only for scripted TV shows.
ABC live TV ratings
ABC kicked things off on Wednesday, Sept. 21, bringing back its comedy block. Big Sky moved to Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The later timeslots are a struggle (and it’s possibly why NBC is looking at scrapping them), so it wasn’t surprising to see Big Sky immediately struggle to get the ratings up. It is still the lowest rated show on the network.
The Conners and Home Economics are performing well so far. Both have ticked up in the live ratings, with The Conners the best show on the network so far and up 4% in the demo and 14% in the audience compared to the previous season. Home Economics currently sits in fifth place, but it is up 3% in the demo and 3% in the audience compared to last season.
The Goldbergs saw a 25% drop in both the demo and audience so far. The Rookie is also struggling with a 15% drop in the demo. The Rookie: Feds has a tricky timeslot and pulled in a 0.32 demo rating. It is in last place in the audience with 2.025 million. We’ll have to see if streaming numbers help this one.
We’re still waiting for The Good Doctor, Station 19, Grey’s Anatomy, and new series Alaska Daily. They all premiere this week.
CBS live TV ratings
While we’re not that concerned about The Equalizer, we do have to give it a big shoutout. It’s at the top of the CBS shows, pulling in a 0.66 demo and 7 million viewers. The numbers are up 8% and almost 3% respectively compared to the previous season, and that’s after just one episode.
Ghosts performed well, ticking up 11% in the audience in its new tieslot. It was down 3% in the demo, but it’s still in third place out of all shows. Yes, it is ahead of Young Sheldon, which saw a 22% drop in the demo. The Big Bang Theory prequel still holds the top spot out of the comedies in the audience on the network.
NCIS saw a worrying drop. It is now down 26% in the demo and 14% in the audience compared to last season. Likewise, its spin-off Hawaii was down 30% in the demo and 10% in the audience. The demos put the shows close to the bottom. The audiences are still on the stronger side. Well, the OG series is.
CSI: Vegas dropped 32% in the demo and 13% in the audience. I was surprised to see this series renewed last year, so I’m assuming streaming keeps it going strong.
East New York debuted relatively well. The 0.46 demo put it in eighth place out of all scripted shows. The audience is at 5.2 million, which is okay for the network. So Help Me Tood struggled a little, pulling in just a 0.37 demo, putting it in 11th place. It’s audience is at 4.8 million, which also puts it in 11th place.
We’re still waiting for Fire Country, SWAT, Blue Bloods, and NCIS: Los Angeles to return.
FOX live TV ratings
FOX kicked everything off with 911 coming back for its sixth season on Monday, Sept. 19. It isn’t that surprising to see it at the top of the list of shows. It holds the top spot in the audience overall and is the second strongest show in the demo—it’s the strongest demo out of all dramas. The Simpsons took the top spot in the demo with a 53% increase from last season.
911 was down compared to last season, though. After two episodes, it dropped 15% in the demo and 8% in the audience. There’s nothing to worry about for now, though.
Animation Domination have all ticked up. We can thank the football for that. It’s hard to get consistency in them until after the Super Bowl each year.
Monarch is performing well as the second strongest demo on the network. It’s audience is okay but not great.
The Cleaning Lady dropped 24% in the demo and 26% in the audience. This isn’t surprising as we’re going into the second season. It is a concern, though. The Resident is the biggest concern. It now sits in eighth place out of 10 shows on the network in the demo.
Call Me Cat lost the biggest audience and demo dropping 33% and 42% respectively. This is a show to keep an eye on, as this is already a worrying sign. However, it did change night. We have to remember that a lot has changed for FOX with losing Thursday Night Football.
NBC live TV ratings
Finally, we’re onto NBC. (The CW hasn’t premiered its fall shows yet). All three One Chicago shows are unsurprisingly at the top of the list. Chicago Fire still reigns supreme, even with the 13% dip in the demo. PD is the lowest of the three, which is concerning considering NBC is talking about dropping that 10 p.m. timeslot.
The three Law & Order shows then follow, with SVU unsurprisingly at the top. However, it’s worth noting that Organized Crime and the revival ticked upwards in both the demos and audiences. This is likely linked to the three-way crossover as the premiere episodes. We’ll see how the three shows continue to perform in the coming weeks, but we’re pretty certain their safe.
La Brea return with an almost 20% dip in both the demo and audience. The dips themselves aren’t much to worry about, but the show is in seventh out of nine shows in both of these metrics.
Quantum Leap is the most concerning right now. That Monday night timeslot is difficult, and it’s showing for the revival of a fan-favorite series. It pulled in just a 0.39 demo and 2.9 million viewers, putting it in eighth place. That’s effectively last place since New Amsterdam is ending.
We’re still waiting for Lopez vs. Lopez to premiere on the network.
What do you take from the live TV ratings for fall TV so far? Which shows are you most concerned about? Share in the comments below.
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