WHAT MATTERS:
- FINALS UPDATE: The Mindy Project (1.0), About a Boy (0.9), Supernatural (0.8), Marry Me (0.8) and the Parks repeat (0.7) adjusted down.
- On ABC, Agent Carter (1.3) steadied in week four, but it had help from an original episode of Shark Tank (1.9) at 8/7c. Forever (0.9) dropped to a new series low at 10/9c.
- The return of CBS' regular original lineup produced slightly lower ratings than the shows saw in their early January airings. NCIS (2.6) and NCIS: New Orleans (2.2) still dominated their respective hours, but the drop to Person of Interest (1.4) was noticeable, and it also fell behind Chicago Fire for the lead at 10/9c.
- Parks and Recreation (1.2) inched down again at 8/7c, and NBC squeezed in the one Parks repeat (0.8) necessary to get through the 13 episodes in 7 weeks. Despite the weak 8:30 lead-in, Marry Me (0.9), About a Boy (1.0) and Chicago Fire (1.6) were up a touch.
- On the CW, Supernatural (0.9) bounced back from last week's off night, but The Flash (1.3) remained at last week's low point.
- Fox saw MasterChef Junior (1.6) inch down against added competition from Shark Tank but was otherwise steady.
WHAT MATTERS:
- FINALS UPDATE: The week-to-week drop for NCIS: New Orleans (2.3) was tempered a bit in finals, while Person of Interest (1.7) also went up to finish even week-to-week.
- NBC found another positive result in one of its between-The Voice timeslots, as the final season premiere of Parks and Recreation (1.5) was up vs. last season's premiere and tied last season's high point. However, Parks was of no help to the rest of the night; Marry Me (0.7) somehow dropped again, About a Boy (0.9) was up a tenth, and Chicago Fire (1.5) dropped two tenths.
- On ABC, week two of Agent Carter (1.5) dropped 21%, tying the low point of Agents of SHIELD. It's not a great result considering the show had help from an original Shark Tank lead-in (1.8), and now it will have to survive a State of the Union preemption next week.
- CBS saw a somewhat sizable drop from NCIS: New Orleans (2.2) despite NCIS (2.8) matching last week's good result, while Fox had minor drops for week two of MasterChef Junior (1.7) and New Girl (1.4).
WHAT MATTERS:
- The two-hour premiere of Marvel's Agent Carter scored a middling 2.0 rating at 8:00 and a 1.8 at 9:00. This was an improvement on what ABC usually gets out of Agents of SHIELD, but not a particularly significant one, and it will need to hold up pretty well to be a SHIELD-sized player for the rest of the season. Unfortunately, the fact that this couldn't even beat Sunday's Galavant premiere would seem to suggest that SHIELD has created a certain limitation on what the Marvel brand can do on TV. And the change in lead-in didn't do anything for Forever (1.1).
- Like on Monday, CBS and Fox thrived against lessened competition from NBC. NCIS (2.8) and NCIS: New Orleans (2.5) each hit their highest ratings since the opening week of the season, while Person of Interest (1.7) was also on the high end. Fox's MasterChef Junior (1.8) tied its premiere from the late fall, while New Girl (1.5) was also a bit above average, but The Mindy Project (1.0) was very weak.
- As for NBC, Marry Me (0.8) completely tanked in its first episode without The Voice support, only tying its lead-in from a Parks and Recreation repeat (0.8), and About a Boy joined them at a new low 0.8. Given those ratings, it's something of a miracle that Chicago Fire (1.7) managed to pull into a tie for first at 10/9c.
WHAT MATTERS:
- FINALS UPDATE: The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show adjusted up to 3.4, putting it even year-to-year. It also edged out the series finale of FX's Sons of Anarchy (3.3) for top series of the night. Sons joined recent finales like Breaking Bad and How I Met Your Mother in ending on a new series high, just barely beating the 3.2 from this season's premiere. Elsewhere, The Voice (2.3) adjusted up to avoid a new low, while Supernatural (1.0) and The Mindy Project (1.1) both went down.
- CBS ruled Tuesday with the always reliably stout Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (2.8) and The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show (3.3) sandwiching a repeat of NCIS (1.7). Both these specials were just barely down from last year (3.0/3.4 respectively) when CBS aired them on separate nights (putting Rudolph a couple weeks earlier and Secret following original episodes of the NCIS twins).
- The superhero shows preliminarily inched down from last week, but The Flash (1.5) was still above its usual level before the Arrow cross-over (and Supernatural (1.1) had a particularly strong night). ABC's fall finales of Agents of SHIELD (1.7) and Forever (1.1) also declined by 0.1 with less lead-in support at 8/7c from Santa Claus is Comin' to Town (1.1), but these shows were still ahead of some previous episodes (when they had more drama competition).
- NBC's struggles continued with another new low for The Voice (2.2) leading to more declines from Marry Me (1.2) and About a Boy (0.9) and a modest Angelina Jolie news special at 10/9c (1.0). Fox's New Girl (1.5) and The Mindy Project (1.2) each picked up a tenth.
WHAT MATTERS:
- FINALS UPDATE: The Flash (1.6) adjusted up, now up 0.2 week-to-week and hitting its best rating since week two. Chicago Fire (1.7) adjusted up to round out a full night of week-to-week upticks for NBC, while Marry Me (1.3) dropped 0.1 in finals.
- ABC got some of its best numbers of the season in the Tuesday 8/7c hour with new holiday special Toy Story That Time Forgot (1.9) leading into classic special A Charlie Brown Christmas (2.1). This was well behind the new Halloween-themed Toy Story special in 2013 (3.1), but Charlie Brown was up two tenths year-to-year. That added lead-in support plus perhaps some audience fleeing CBS repeats produced a positive night for the ABC dramas; Agents of SHIELD (1.8) had its best rating since the season premiere and Forever (1.2) snagged its best rating since late October.
- A good night for superheroes continued on the CW as the first half of a crossover between The Flash and Arrow saw a small uptick for The Flash (1.5). Often it's the second show that benefits more in these situations, so we'll see what happens with Arrow, though last night's story on Flash was largely self-contained.
- With CBS and ABC way down from last week (when CBS had originals and ABC a DWTS finale), there were also some minor upticks on the other original networks. The Voice (2.6), Marry Me (1.4) and About a Boy (1.1) all bounced back from last week's truly egregious numbers, but Chicago Fire (1.6) had no such luck (at least in the demo). MasterChef Junior (1.6) and New Girl (1.4) were up a tenth for Fox.
WHAT MATTERS:
- FINALS UPDATE: Dancing with the Stars (3.0) gained a tenth, putting it up 25% year-to-year. NCIS (2.5) gained a tenth, putting it down just a tenth from last week.
- ABC took over Tuesday primetime with the two-hour season finale of Dancing with the Stars (2.9) leading out of a recap special at 8/7c (1.9). This finale was up a whooping 21% year-to-year. What had been a pretty quiet season of DWTS for the most part really took an amazing turn for the better in the last couple weeks.
- NBC, probably the lineup most vulnerable to ABC's strengthening, had another very soft night. The Voice (2.3) took another noticeable drop at 8/7c, tying a rating for a recap special just three weeks ago. Comedies Marry Me (1.1) and About a Boy (1.0) got particularly ugly, dropping 0.4 and 0.3 respectively, and Chicago Fire (1.6) gave back a half point after its big rating last week.
- The other three networks were very close to even with last week; only NCIS (2.4) changed by more than a tenth (it was down 0.2), and only Person of Interest (1.7) was up (by 0.1). The Flash hit its fourth straight 1.4, while Supernatural (0.9) and New Girl (1.3) each lost a tenth.
WHAT MATTERS:
- FINALS UPDATE: Chicago Fire (2.1) adjusted up in finals to finish down just a tenth week-to-week (and ahead of a year-ago episode that had a Voice lead-in). The Flash (1.4) ended up even for the second straight week, The Voice (2.7) got back a tenth as well, and Marry Me (1.5) lost one.
- After getting mowed down by NBC's event last week, CBS bounced all the way back with NCIS (2.6), NCIS: New Orleans (2.3) and Person of Interest (1.6) all growing by three tenths week-to-week. This put each show right back on par with its season average.
- Despite a low rating for The Voice (2.6) at 8/7c, NBC saw Marry Me (1.6) and About a Boy (1.3) bounce back to near the numbers when they last followed a fully original Voice three weeks ago. And Chicago Fire (2.0) had a particularly promising night at 10/9c; this was its highest result of the season leading out of About a Boy, and just two tenths behind the post-Voice ep last week.
- ABC shook it up at 8/7c again and improved on recent comedy hours with a Shark Tank repeat (1.1). This may have helped Agents of SHIELD (1.6) a little bit.
- MasterChef Junior (1.5) finally came back to earth somewhat on Fox; maybe some of its viewers flocked to the Shark Tank repeat? But New Girl (1.4) gained a tenth opposite less competition from NBC.
- And the CW's The Flash (1.3) was down a tenth and Supernatural (1.0) up a tenth.
WHAT MATTERS:
- FINALS UPDATE: Fox's good night (and CBS' strong repeats) went unchanged in finals, but it got even worse for the comedies elsewhere. Selfie is now at twin 0.9's, while About a Boy (0.9) adjusted down by a truly brutal two tenths.
- On a night with a lot of repeats, clip shows and pre-emptions due to election coverage, Fox had the entertainment world almost completely to itself, and it appears they took major advantage. MasterChef Junior (1.8) returned two tenths above last year's Friday premiere and well above what the network has been getting lately from Hell's Kitchen. It'll probably drop once NCIS and The Voice are back; but if it holds close to this in finals (not sure about local pre-emptions), it seems likely to remain a stronger option than Hell's. This lead-in support also vaulted New Girl (1.6) and The Mindy Project (1.3), which had best-since-premiere numbers and beat the competing NBC comedies in the 9/8c hour.
- The comedies on other networks didn't benefit against reduced competition; Marry Me (1.3) and About a Boy (1.1) each dropped again following a The Voice clip show (2.3), while a double-dose of Selfie was down for ABC (1.0 at 8:00, 0.9 at 8:30). ABC then sat out Agents of SHIELD for a weaker Marvel special (1.2). CBS and the CW were in full repeat/election coverage mode.
WHAT MATTERS:
- FINALS UPDATE: CBS got some more help for NCIS (2.6) and Person of Interest (1.7), each now up two tenths from last week. The Flash (1.4) cut its week-to-week drop to 0.1, but Agents of SHIELD (1.7) didn't get its usual finals uptick. On NBC, The Voice (2.9) was up but Marry Me (1.5) lost another precious tenth.
- The World Series got a 3.5, a series high but a simply miserable number for a Game 6 historically speaking. (Recent Game 6's, even one that didn't end the series like in 2011, took well over a point jump from Game 5. This was up 0.2...)
- ABC pre-empted its low-rated comedy hour in favor of special The Great Halloween Fright Fight (1.1), presumably a spin-off of its The Great Christmas Light Fight series. It was an improvement on the usual comedy ratings, especially at 8:30 vs. Manhattan Love Story. And that may have helped Agents of SHIELD (1.7), which bounced back by a tick and may even be up two after finals. Forever (1.1) was down a tenth.
- NBC had a brutal Tuesday as The Voice (2.8) took a half-point drop at 8/7c. That helped further derail Marry Me (1.6), About a Boy (1.2) and even Chicago Fire (1.7), all two tenths behind last week.
- On a second World Series Tuesday, the CW had a third straight two-tenth drop for The Flash (1.3) and a third straight one-tenth drop for Supernatural (0.8). CBS was steady as NCIS (2.5) increased for the first time all season and Person of Interest (1.6) also inched up.
- As for Fox, its 6th game of the World Series was a massive blowout and is thus only barely ahead of the Tuesday rating a week ago in prelims. But Fox at least got the winner they wanted; namely, the team down 3-2 survived, setting up a decisive Game 7 and a likely significant spike tonight.
WEEK ONE
Rating: 2.3
Lead-in: The Voice (3.4 overall, 3.7 at 8:30)
Competition: Agents of SHIELD (1.7 overall, 1.7 at 9:00),
NCIS: New Orleans (2.2 overall, 2.3 at 9:00),
New Girl (1.2),
Supernatural (1.0 overall, 1.0 at 9:00).
WHAT MATTERS:
- FINALS UPDATE: The World Series had its lowest Game 1 ever in adults 18-49 (3.4) and was down 19% from last year's opener (and two tenths behind the previous low from 2012). The superhero shows got some finals help, as Agents of SHIELD (1.6) avoided a new low and The Flash (1.5) ended up down just two tenths. The finals were not so kind to Marry Me (1.8), now 22% behind the premiere. And its The Voice lead-in (3.3) got a two-tenth boost, making Marry Me look even worse by comparison.
- NBC's comedies Marry Me (1.9) and About a Boy (1.4) were each down nearly 20% in week two. Marry Me probably shouldn't be counted out, as this is still just a touch behind the pace AaB set last spring. But it's not a good development for AaB, which dropped to the low end of what NBC got from Growing Up Fisher. Again, Chicago Fire (1.9) looked like a big winner in all this, even week-to-week despite the drops in the 9/8c hour.
- The CW's The Flash (1.4) took a bigger drop in week three than it did in week two, but apparently it was even in 18-34. So maybe Fox's older-skewing World Series had the same kind of bizarrely large effect that it's always had with Arrow.
- On ABC, the bookend shows that dropped big last week each bounced back by a tenth: Selfie (1.1) and Forever (1.2). However, Agents of SHIELD (1.5) could be headed for another new low at 9/8c. This may be another World Series thing, but it can also at least partly thank a truly horrendous showing from Manhattan Love Story (0.7). The comedies are pre-empted next week anyway, but it's pretty hard to see Manhattan coming back on the other side of that.
- CBS saw the NCIS mothership (2.4) continue its kinda worrying downward trickle but got a promising hold from NCIS: New Orleans (2.4).
- And Fox had Game 1 of the World Series, moving Game 1 to Tuesday after it opened on Wednesday for the last seven years. (Presumably this is a move to help it avoid the NFL as much as possible.) The overnights indicate it was down double digits from last year's opener, not a stunner given the smaller-market matchup. More after finals!
Marry Me
Tuesdays, 9/8c, NBC
WHAT MATTERS:
- FINALS UPDATE: NBC avoided a drop for Marry Me, but About a Boy (1.7) and Chicago Fire (1.9) looked a little worse. The superhero shows remained tied as The Flash (1.7) and Agents of SHIELD (1.7) each added a tenth. That means Flash had an above-average week two hold of an incredible premiere number.
- NBC had a pretty "meh" start to its latest post-The Voice (3.3) comedy effort. Marry Me (2.3) began a couple tenths below About a Boy's first original in the hour in March, and it may adjust down. And the season two premiere of About a Boy (1.8) was just kind of there at 9:30, down a half point from Marry Me but bouncing back a bit from its late-spring episodes after The Voice. It wasn't an awful hour for NBC, especially since The Voice was kinda soft, but it's not a great base to start from since The Voice tends to drop later in the season. The show that looked best in all this was the 10/9c occupant Chicago Fire (2.0), which grew from About a Boy as it did from Growing Up Fisher in the spring.
- Tuesday's big winner was again The Flash (1.6) on the CW, down a perfectly typical 16% in week two. When you're starting from a premiere as huge as last week's, a typical week two drop is a very good thing. And it could adjust up again.
- Nobody in the 9/8c hour seemed to benefit from NBC no longer airing two-hour The Voice episodes. NCIS: New Orleans (2.2) was down a tenth (just like the other two CBS shows), while New Girl (1.2) may have been more affected by having to compete with a comedy. ABC's Tuesday problems intensified as Selfie (1.0) and Forever (1.1) each shed a couple more tenths.
Best Case/Worst Case moves to the Tuesday 9/8c hour, always the longest post of the year due to all the half-hour comedies. ABC's getting out of the comedy logjam this year, but NBC and Fox will still duel.
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