The Breakdown: ABC Wednesday in 2017-18 (The Goldbergs, Modern Family, American Housewife and more!)

It's time for a journey through the ABC Wednesday schedule in 2017-18...

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 5/16/18

FINALS UPDATE: Survivor (1.5) and The Blacklist (0.8) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• NBC gave its 10/9c hour over to another royal wedding special (0.6), and its lead-in dramas The Blacklist (0.7) and Law and Order: SVU (1.0) were both down a tenth. The lack of Chicago PD was much-welcome news for Code Black, which perked up to a season high 0.8 on CBS. Survivor (1.4) had its lowest prelim of the season while SEAL Team (0.9) was even.

• Fox dominated with Empire (1.6) and a four-week high for Star (1.3), and ABC got a couple post-cancellation upticks for Alex, Inc. (0.8) and Designated Survivor (0.6) while the renewed comedies (1.2/1.3/1.1) all matched last week. The CW's Riverdale (0.4) and The Originals (0.3) were also steady.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 5/9/18

FINALS UPDATE: The Blacklist (0.8) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• ABC had a very mixed night, with some recovery for Modern Family (1.3) and American Housewife (1.1) in the 9:00 hour. But Alex, Inc. (0.7) and Designated Survivor (0.5) both plummeted to what they had been doing in late April with much less lead-in support. For Designated, that included its first ever 0.2 in adults 18-34.

• The other networks provided a mix of steadiness and one-tenth drops. NBC's The Blacklist fell to its first 0.7, while Law and Order: SVU (which was renewed while the episode was airing on the East Coast) inched down to 1.1. The Chicago PD finale stayed at 1.2.

• Fox's Empire (1.6) and the CW's The Originals (0.3) also shed a tenth preliminarily, but Star (1.2) and Riverdale (0.4) matched last week. Everything on CBS (1.5/0.9/0.7) was even.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 5/2/18

FINALS UPDATE: Modern Family (1.2) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• ABC's The Goldbergs (1.2), Modern Family (1.3) and American Housewife (0.9) returned to originals after two weeks off, and Goldbergs and Housewife are both eyeing new lows in the prelims. Alex, Inc. (0.8) and Designated Survivor (0.6) both bounced back a bit with more lead-in support.

• It was a healthier return for NBC's Law and Order: SVU (1.2) and Chicago PD (1.2), with SVU amazingly two tenths above the year-ago evening (when it was facing a strong Criminal Minds episode). The Blacklist continued with 0.8's at 8/7c.

• Fox's Empire (1.7) and Star (1.2) along with CBS' Survivor (1.5), SEAL Team (0.9) and Code Black (0.7) were all close to last week, with SEAL inching up from last week's low. On the CW, Riverdale and The Originals each hit 0.4 again.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 4/25/18

FINALS UPDATE: Modern Family (R) (0.8) and Empire (1.7) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Things got darker for the CBS drama lineup with Criminal Minds out of the picture on Wednesday, as SEAL Team (0.8) dropped two tenths to tie its series low while Code Black (0.7) returned to the 10/9c hour after over 14 months off. That tied Code Black's 0.7 low from last season (in November 2016 against Game 7 of the World Series), but everything else last season was a 0.9 or higher.

• And those CBS results came even as NBC's heavy hitters were in repeats (0.6/0.7); only The Blacklist (0.8) at 8/7c was original. ABC also snuck in repeats of its comedy anchors (0.7/0.7) on the eve of sweeps, going original with Alex, Inc. at 8:30 (0.7) and 9:30 (0.6). With an Alex lead-in, Designated Survivor fell to its first 0.5 at 10/9c.

• Fox was down but still dominant with Empire (1.6) and Star (1.2), while the CW's The Originals was able to hold onto last week's nice 0.4 premiere rating.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 4/18/18

FINALS UPDATE: Modern Family (R) (0.8), The Voice (1.5) and Empire (1.8) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• With The Voice (1.4) airing at 8/7c, NBC's Law and Order: SVU (1.4) and Chicago PD (1.2) got a big jolt. (In addition to Voice, they usually bounce back from their first episodes after hiatus anyway.)

• Against a stronger NBC, CBS' Criminal Minds (1.0/0.9) did fairly typical ratings with its two-hour season finale. It could turn out to be a series finale, but Minds did get at least one more return to the Wednesday 9/8c hour it occupied for 12 years. Survivor (1.6) matched last week.

• Empire (1.7) was nicked a bit against The Voice, but alongside Star (1.3) was still enough for another Wednesday victory on Fox. 

• ABC's Alex, Inc. (0.6) went straight from the Roseanne lead-in on Tuesday to a repeat of The Goldbergs (0.7) on Wednesday, tanking to three tenths behind what it did after an original last week. The only other ABC original Designated Survivor held onto its 0.6 at 10/9c.

• And with Life Sentence exiled to Friday, the CW welcomed The Originals (0.4) to the night to air its final season, where it continued the impressive streak it began on Friday last season. Unless it adjusts down, it will finish ahead of anything Dynasty or Life Sentence have done there all season. Riverdale's musical episode (0.4) inched off of its low from three weeks ago.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 4/11/18

FINALS UPDATE: The Goldbergs (1.3), Survivor (1.6) and Empire (1.9) adjusted up while Harry Potter: A History of Magic (0.2) and Masters of Illusion (R) (0.1) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Fox continued to rule on Wednesday as Empire (1.8) and Star (1.3) promisingly matched last week. Empire was only around -20%ish year-to-year, which is a marked improvement.

• In week three, ABC's Alex, Inc. managed to hold onto its 0.9, despite it being a down night for all the other comedies (1.2/1.4/1.1).

• All the CBS/NBC dramas were back in play with NBC's The Blacklist (0.8), Law and Order: SVU (1.1) and Chicago PD (1.1) all coming in on the low side, something we've seen before when SVU and PD return from multi-week hiatuses. CBS' Criminal Minds (0.9) was also down against the return of PD, though SEAL Team (1.0) actually inched up despite a lower lead-in from Survivor (1.5).

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 4/4/18

FINALS UPDATE: The Goldbergs (1.4), Survivor (1.7) and Empire (1.8) adjusted up while Designated Survivor (0.6) and Life Sentence (0.1) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• ABC's new sitcom Alex, Inc. (0.9) took a two-tenth drop in week two, putting it behind anything Speechless did with an original The Goldbergs lead-in. (Speechless did get to a 0.9 on March 14 when it led off the night.) It was a low-end night for Goldbergs (1.3) as well, though Modern Family (1.5) perked up a bit at 9/8c. American Housewife (1.2) and Designated Survivor (0.7) looked pretty standard.

• Fox stayed on top on Wednesday with Empire (1.7) and Star (1.3) both down 10-15% from last week's spring premieres.

• On CBS, SEAL Team was off for the night and replaced by an NCIS repeat (0.7) at 9/8c. Surrounding it, Survivor (1.6) and Criminal Minds (1.0) both inched down. The Blacklist (0.9) was the only NBC original, and the CW's Life Sentence (0.2) came up from last week despite a repeat lead-in.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 3/28/18

FINALS UPDATE: SEAL Team (0.9) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• ABC's extensive rollout kept on churning with new sitcom Alex, Inc. (1.1) premiering at 8:30 between The Goldbergs (1.4) and Modern Family (1.4). It basically looked like a typical episode of Speechless on premiere night. So it kinda depends on how you feel about how Speechless was doing, but there's certainly not a ton of room to maneuver for Alex. The network also offered an encore of Splitting Up Together (0.8) instead of American Housewife at 9:30, while Designated Survivor hung onto what looks like a shaky 0.7.

• Fox was back to its fall Wednesday lineup of Empire (2.0) and Star (1.5). The former was down by close to 30% from its 2.8 spring 2017 premiere. (It looks better in the table because the year-ago evening was Empire's second episode of the spring.) However, both shows did pick up some from their fall finales (1.9/1.3).

• NBC's dramas sat out in favor of a two-hour The Voice recap (1.3) and a low-rated Andrew Lloyd Webber special (0.6). That was really welcome news for Criminal Minds (1.1), which boomed to its best rating since early in the fall, but facing Voice didn't move the needle for Survivor (1.7) or SEAL Team (1.0).

• And the CW had a brutal night as Riverdale fell to 0.3 and Life Sentence didn't even have to wait for an adjustment to post its first 0.1.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 3/21/18

FINALS UPDATE: The Goldbergs (1.6), Modern Family (1.7) and Survivor (1.8) adjusted up while Speechless (1.2) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• ABC had a second straight big comedy night as all the Wednesday regulars returned to originals, with The Goldbergs (1.5), Speechless (1.3), Modern Family (1.6) and American Housewife (1.3) likely all pulling their best ratings since January. At 10/9c, Designated Survivor (0.7) hung onto last week's uptick.

• Fox's 9-1-1 (1.7) got an uptick to finish season one, and it tied Survivor (1.7) for the Wednesday lead. Its lead-in The X-Files (0.9) bounced back from last week's low.

• With a repeat of SVU (0.8) at 8/7c, NBC's Law and Order: SVU (1.4) and Chicago PD (1.3) also had their best ratings since January. And on CBS, SEAL Team (1.0) inched back into the ones, between steady Survivor and Criminal Minds (0.9).

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 3/14/18

FINALS UPDATE: The X-Files (0.7) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• It was an unwelcome start to DST for Speechless, which fell to a new low 0.9 for two episodes in the 8/7c, without help from its usual lead-in The Goldbergs and lead-out Modern Family. American Housewife (1.0) was down a tenth with a repeat Modern lead-in (1.0), while Designated Survivor was up to 0.7 for the first time since its return from hiatus.

• The 8:00 hour was also down on NBC with The Blacklist (0.9) and Fox with The X-Files (0.8). However, Law and Order: SVU (1.3) picked up a notch for NBC with less CBS competition, and 9-1-1 (1.6) may have a shot at doing so after finals with a 1.7 in the 9:30 half-hour.

• On CBS, the already dominant Survivor had the best hold among the 8/7c shows, posting yet another 1.7 to top the night. After an NCIS repeat at 9/8c (0.6), Criminal Minds (0.9) was even.

• And the CW's Riverdale is once again eyeing its first 0.4 of the season and will need finals help to avoid it. But this week, newbie Life Sentence did not need to wait for finals to post its 0.2.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 3/7/18

FINALS UPDATE: The Goldbergs (1.5) and Riverdale (0.5) adjusted up while Chicago PD (1.2) and Life Sentence (0.2) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• The CW's new dramedy Life Sentence averaged a 0.3 demo on premiere night, leading out of a 0.4 from Riverdale. Since it comes from the far stronger WB studio, it's probably going to have to hold up extremely well from here.

• It was a slightly up night for most of the big four, including all of ABC's comedies (1.4/1.2/1.4/1.1), though Designated Survivor could not bounce back from its first 0.6. 

• On CBS, SEAL Team (0.9) inched back up in its return to 9/8c, while its lead-in Survivor (1.7) matched last week's strong premiere. Criminal Minds (0.9) was on the downswing at 10/9c, in its first airing in over a month.

• All of the dramas on Fox (0.9/1.6) and NBC (1.0/1.2/1.3) were also up a tenth. 

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 2/28/18

FINALS UPDATE: Speechless (1.1) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• CBS had the top program on the first post-Olympic Wednesday as the two-hour return of Survivor (1.7) actually matched last spring's premiere and was just a tenth behind the fall premiere. But SEAL Team fell to a new low 0.8 in its first ever airing at 10/9c.

• On ABC, it was a particularly weak return for Modern Family (1.3) at 9/8c, which was at a new series low by multiple tenths. The surrounding comedies The Goldbergs (1.3), Speechless (1.0) and American Housewife (1.0) were not much better, all tying their season lows. And 10/9c drama Designated Survivor (0.6) was back from its long winter hiatus at a new series low.

• Fox also took a hit across the Olympics, though 9-1-1 (1.5) remained on top of the scripted world and managed to only tie its low point from week two. However, The X-Files (0.8) fell again to a new low at 8/7c.

• NBC took a relatively modest hit in its return, and Chicago PD (1.2) was steadiest of all the scripted players at 10/9c. The Blacklist (0.9) was down a tenth and Law and Order: SVU (1.1) down two.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 12/13/17

FINALS UPDATE: Speechless (1.2) and Survivor (1.8) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Fall finale night on ABC and Fox brought several upticks, including The Goldbergs (1.6) with its best rating since week two as well as American Housewife (1.3) and Designated Survivor (0.8). Fox's Empire (1.9) and Star (1.3) also gained a tenth apiece. The CW's Riverdale (0.5) and Dynasty (0.2) stayed even.

• With the crime dramas all wrapped for the fall already, CBS ran Survivor (1.7) plus repeats (0.7/0.7) while NBC repeated last week's The Wall special (0.8) and had a Golden Globes 75th Anniversary special (0.8) from 9:00-11:00.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 12/6/17

WHAT MATTERS:

• Some of last week's ugliest droppers were on the rebound this Wednesday, with American Housewife up two tenths to 1.2 (though still on the low end compared with all its other points) and Empire (1.8) picking up a notch for Fox. The ABC comedy anchors The Goldbergs (1.5) and Modern Family (1.7) also edged upward, while Speechless (1.1) and Designated Survivor (0.7) were even.

• On NBC, The Blacklist was MIA again as a repeat of last week's Pentatonix special (0.8) filled in at 8/7c. Lead-out dramas Law and Order: SVU (1.3) and Chicago PD (1.2) came back to earth a bit but were still a little above average.

• The CBS dramas were back, with Criminal Minds (0.9) on the low end but SEAL Team hanging at 1.1. It had an assist from Survivor (1.8), which continued to look strong down the stretch of the season.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 11/29/17

FINALS UPDATE: Empire (1.7) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• CBS and NBC saw a split between regular programming and specials on Wednesday. NBC used its annual Christmas in Rockefeller Center special (1.7) as a lead-in to regular dramas. Law and Order: SVU (1.5) and Chicago PD (1.3) benefited big, with the former setting a new season high and the latter tying its premiere's season high. CBS went with two high-end hours of Survivor (1.8/1.7) leading into a Bruno Mars special (1.1) at 10/9c.

• For the other three networks, it was a return to the normal lineups after taking last week off for Thanksgiving Eve. ABC looked normal enough in the 8:00 hour with The Goldbergs (1.4) and Speechless (1.1), but Modern Family (1.6) was on the low end and American Housewife (1.0) took an inexplicably massive dive at 9:30. Designated Survivor returned to 0.7 at 10/9c.

• It was also a rough return from preemption for Empire (1.6), though Star (1.2) held up at 9/8c. The CW was even with Riverdale (0.5) and Dynasty (0.2).

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 11/15/17

FINALS UPDATE: The Goldbergs (1.5) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• On a night full of upticks for the big four, perhaps the most crucial one came on CBS, as newbie SEAL Team (1.1) shot back up to a healthy number after three straight declines. Surrounding it were Survivor (1.7) and Criminal Minds (1.0), up a tenth apiece. This is the only regular lineup that will stay on air next week for Thanksgiving Eve.

• After last week's CMA Awards preemption, ABC rebounded across the board vs. its numbers against the World Series two weeks ago with The Goldbergs (1.4), Speechless (1.1), Modern Family (the net's only two-tenth gainer at 1.7), American Housewife (1.3) and Designated Survivor (0.8).

• NBC's Chicago PD (1.2) got a big rebound after last week's stinker, with an assist from a special edition of The Voice (1.4) at 9/8c. The Blacklist remained at 0.9 leading off.

• On Fox, Empire (2.0) was back into the twos for the first time in over a month, but that made a steady Star (1.2) look kinda iffy by comparison.

• The CW did not join in on the positive momentum, as Riverdale remained at 0.5 and Dynasty at 0.2.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 11/1/17

FINALS UPDATE: The Goldbergs (1.3), Speechless (1.0), Survivor (1.6), The Blacklist (0.9) and World Series (8.2) adjusted up while SEAL Team (R) (0.5) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Fox went big with Game 7 of the World Series, averaging a preliminary 7.0 from 8:00 to 11:00. But the outcome was not in huge doubt for most of the game, so it looks like it may not have gotten quite the Game 7 bounce of recent Series past.

• ABC was the only big four opponent that plowed forward with its full regular lineup. The network seemed to get whacked harder in the first half of the night, when it was facing most of the usual entertainment competition; The Goldbergs (1.2), Speechless (0.9) and Modern Family (1.5) all shed two tenths. But American Housewife (1.2) was down just one and Designated Survivor actually matched last week's 0.7.

• On the other two networks, the 8:00 show stayed original while the last two hours got preempted. Survivor (1.5) was down a couple notches, but NBC's The Blacklist managed to match last week's 0.8.

• The CW also went original, with Riverdale managing to hold on to yet another 0.6 while Dynasty stayed at 0.2.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 10/25/17

FINALS UPDATE: World Series (4.2) adjusted up while Designated Survivor (0.7) and The Blacklist (0.8) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• After breezing through Tuesday's game in about two and a half hours, the Dodgers and Astros went roughly four and a half hours in an epic Game 2 of the World Series on Wednesday. So unlike Game 1, last night the World Series was a big part of the mix for primetime on the West Coast. The preliminary 3.9 for Game 2 was actually as high as the final for Game 1, but there may not be as much of an adjustment since there's a lot of West Coast viewing included this time.

• The competitors had a mix of steadiness and one-tenth drops. CBS' SEAL Team was back at a preliminary 1.0 after adjusting up from 1.0 to 1.1 last week, and Survivor (1.7) was also down a notch in the prelims. Criminal Minds stayed at 1.0.

• On ABC, it was frequent adjuster The Goldbergs (1.4) and American Housewife (1.3) on the downtick, while everything else was even. And NBC's The Blacklist (0.9), Law and Order: SVU (1.2) and Chicago PD (1.1) were all steady.

• And the CW's Riverdale got a win as it managed to hang onto 0.6 in week three. But Dynasty could not eke out a third 0.3, and was down to 0.2 for the first time.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 10/18/17

FINALS UPDATE: The Goldbergs (1.5), Survivor (1.8) and SEAL Team (1.1) adjusted up while Criminal Minds (1.0) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Several of the shows that showed promising steadiness in week three followed it up with big dips in week four. That included CBS' newbie SEAL Team (1.0), which fell by two tenths the week after scoring a full season order. It looked like a particularly weak link in the lineup since Survivor (1.7) and Criminal Minds (1.1) were both even. The Fox pair of Empire (1.8) and Star (1.3) was also down two tenths apiece.

• On the CW, Riverdale (0.6) was down two tenths from last week's explosive opening, but that still kept it ahead of every raw number from season one. Dynasty managed to hang onto a preliminary 0.3 in the demo, but a big dip in total viewers (from 1.3 million last week to under a million this time) suggests it might be a much weaker 0.3.

• On ABC, comedy anchors The Goldbergs (1.4) and Modern Family (1.7) both inched down from last week's finals, while Speechless (1.1) and American Housewife (1.4) were even. At 10/9c, Designated Survivor fell to its first 0.8.

• And NBC saw Law and Order: SVU (1.2) even, surrounded by preliminary downticks from The Blacklist (0.9) and Chicago PD (1.1).