The Top 10 TV Ratings Moments of 2019

It's time for my tenth annual look back at the year's top 10 moments in TV ratings! As always, the criteria are pretty subjective, but I go for a blend of 1) relatively isolated incidents that are impressive for their sheer enormity/cultural impact and 2) moments that exemplify much larger trends in TV this year. Please let me know about my most egregious rankings and omissions.

Check back soon for a few additional thoughts about the biggest moments of the entire decade. Happy New Year!

The Breakdown: CBS Thursday in 2018-19 (The Big Bang Theory, Mom, S.W.A.T. and more!)

It's time for a journey through the CBS Thursday schedule in 2018-19...

Spotted Ratings, Thursday 5/16/19

FINALS UPDATE: The Big Bang Theory (3.2) and Paradise Hotel (0.4) adjusted up while For the People (0.4), Young Sheldon (2.1) and The Big Bang Theory Special (1.7) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• On the last Thursday of the season, The Big Bang Theory (3.2) finished its 12-season run with a one-hour finale, leading into Young Sheldon (2.1) at 9/8c and a TBBT retrospective (1.7) at 9:30. With an A18-49+ in the low-to-mid 330's, this will be TBBT's biggest finale and second-biggest episode ever (trailing only the season 11 premiere).

• Big Bang managed to blunt some of the competing finales on other networks; double-dips of Superstore (0.6/0.6) and Brooklyn Nine-Nine (0.5/0.5) were on the downswing, as were ABC's Grey's Anatomy (1.3) and Station 19 (0.8). A finals uptick allowed Paradise Hotel (0.4) to outrate its last episode on Wednesday, though it was still down a tick from the two-hour ep last Thursday.

Spotted Ratings, Thursday 5/9/19

FINALS UPDATE: Grey's Anatomy (1.4) and The Big Bang Theory (2.0) adjusted up while In the Dark (0.1) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Fox resurrected early-aughts reality series Paradise Hotel (0.5) to relatively little interest, a bad sign for a network planning to air quite a bit of it in the second half of May sweeps and the early summer. The original incarnation was not a huge deal either, premiering to a 3.7 (83 Plus) in June 2003, but this is a big step below that.

• NBC saw Superstore (0.8) inch down at 8/7c, but used a second Superstore original to improve the 8:30 slot (0.7) and Brooklyn Nine-Nine (0.6). Law and Order: SVU (0.7) fell at 10/9c.

• ABC's Grey's Anatomy (1.3) inched down, while Station 19 (0.9) was out of crossover mode and back to normal, ushering just-cancelled For the People down to its first 0.4. 

• In its penultimate week, The Big Bang Theory (1.9) was even, and so was everything else on CBS (1.5/1.1/0.8/0.7). CW's In the Dark returned to 0.2 at 9/8c.

Spotted Ratings, Thursday 5/2/19

FINALS UPDATE: The Big Bang Theory (1.9) and Young Sheldon (1.5) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers to come.

Spotted Ratings, Thursday 4/25/19

FINALS UPDATE: The Big Bang Theory (1.8) adjusted up while NFL Draft (1.1) and Mom (1.0) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• The broadcast home for the NFL Draft (1.2) changed to ABC, where it was preliminarily up a tenth year-to-year from last year's Fox rating for round one.

• As usual, the Draft was mostly damaging to the broadcast entertainment options; The Big Bang Theory (1.7) was down from last week, as was Young Sheldon (1.4) in its return from a couple weeks off. But the bigger lead-in helped Mom (1.1) at 9/8c, while Life in Pieces (0.8) matched last week's 9:30 episode. S.W.A.T. was down a notch at 10/9c.

• NBC also saw real carnage, with Superstore (0.7) down two tenths and A.P. Bio (0.4) and Abby's (0.3) both somehow finding even lower lows (sandwiching an even Brooklyn Nine-Nine (0.5)). Law and Order: SVU (0.7) somehow managed to be even at 10/9c.

• It was finale night on Fox, with Gotham (0.5) actually dropping for its series finale. But The Orville (0.7) headed into decision time on a hopeful note, posting its highest rating in the last five episodes. The CW (0.3/0.2) was even.

Spotted Ratings, Thursday 4/18/19

FINALS UPDATE: Grey's Anatomy (1.3) and The Big Bang Theory (1.9) adjusted up while Station 19 (0.8) and Supernatural (0.3) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers to come. CBS veteran Life in Pieces returned with new episodes at 8:30 and 9:30.

Spotted Ratings, Thursday 4/4/19

FINALS UPDATE: The Big Bang Theory (2.0) and Young Sheldon (1.5) adjusted up while For the People (0.5) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers to come. New drama In the Dark debuted on the CW.

Spotted Ratings, Thursday 3/7/19

FINALS UPDATE: Station 19 (0.9) and For the People (0.5) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers to come. Superstore and Station 19 returned from months-long hiatuses, while For the People and A.P. Bio had their second season premieres.

Spotted Ratings, Thursday 2/21/19

FINALS UPDATE: S.W.A.T. (0.9) and The Orville (0.8) adjusted up while Young Sheldon (1.7) and Charmed (R) (0.1) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers to come.

Spotted Ratings, Thursday 2/7/19

FINALS UPDATE: Grey's Anatomy (1.6) adjusted up while The Titan Games (0.9) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers to come.

Spotted Ratings, Thursday 1/31/19

FINALS UPDATE: Young Sheldon (1.8) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Will and Grace (0.8) returned to NBC, now in the 9:30 timeslot and matching lead-in Brooklyn Nine-Nine (0.8). It skewed older than its lead-in, actually growing in total viewers, and was also up in the demo vs. its last few fall airings. However, Nine-Nine and its own lead-in The Titan Games (1.1) continued trickling downward, while Law and Order: SVU (0.9) was even at 10/9c after a week off.
  

• It was an up night for CBS comedies The Big Bang Theory (2.4), Young Sheldon (1.9), Mom (1.3) and Fam (1.0), while S.W.A.T. (0.9) remained on the high end.

• ABC also got an uptick with Grey's Anatomy (1.7), while A Million Little Things made it three weeks in a row at 1.1 and How to Get Away with Murder was stuck at 0.6.

• Fox's Gotham (0.7) grew as well, while The Orville (0.7) along with the CW dramas (0.4/0.3) matched last week.

Spotted Ratings, Thursday 1/17/19

FINALS UPDATE: Mom (1.2) and Fam (0.9) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• A new timeslot provided some solid initial results for A Million Little Things (1.1), as the ABC drama went to Thursday 9/8c and tied its series premiere rating. That's a major boost over its usual 0.7's on Wednesday, and it hadn't done better than a 0.8 since week two. It's also better than what ABC usually got from fall occupant Station 19 (though Station did better on crossover nights). It was surrounded by Grey's Anatomy (1.9, up a notch from its fall finale) and How to Get Away with Murder (0.7, down a tick).

• NBC Thursday took a noticeable hit with The Titan Games (1.3) and Brooklyn Nine-Nine (0.9) both down by three tenths from last week. The Good Place (0.8) was down one tenth, and Law and Order: SVU (0.9) actually managed an uptick at 10/9c.

• On CBS, week two of Fam (1.0) was down a typical two tenths, and the other three comedies (2.3/1.7/1.3) were all down at least a tenth as well.

• Fox's dramas (0.7/0.7) were even, while the CW's Supernatural (0.4) kicked off 2019 by tying its fall finale.

Spotted Ratings, Thursday 1/10/19

FINALS UPDATE: Mom (1.4) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• After five years on Fox, Brooklyn Nine-Nine (1.2) made the move to NBC, airing at 9/8c after week two of The Titan Games (1.6). It was a nice week two hold for Titan, and Brooklyn had its highest raw ratings in over two calendar years (since New Year's Day 2017). It's a Plus level the show almost never saw on Fox without big NFL help (though it's actually rather close to the series premiere, which had a 138 in September 2013).

• The Good Place (0.9) went to 9:30, where it was head-to-head with new CBS comedy Fam (1.2). The CBS newbie actually managed to outrate the Murphy Brown premiere (1.1) from the fall, though it also had more help from a season high edition of Mom (1.4). Earlier in the evening, the winter bounces came a week late for the Sheldon-verse, as The Big Bang Theory (2.4) and Young Sheldon (1.9) each piled another couple tenths on top of their winter premiere ratings from last week.

• On Fox, The Orville (0.7) showed some much-needed life in its second Thursday airing of the season, growing by just over a full tenth from last week in the un-rounded prelims. ABC's Truth and Lies special on Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton (0.7) matched last week's JFK, Jr. special.

Spotted Ratings, Thursday 1/3/19

FINALS UPDATE: No adjustments.

WHAT MATTERS:

• On the opening Thursday of 2019, it was NBC's turn for a high-profile reality launch. While The Titan Games (1.7/1.8) paled somewhat in comparison to what Fox pulled off on Wednesday, it was still a very good start in its own right, only a little less impressive than what Ellen's Game of Games (2.2/2.4) did in the same week a year ago.
• At 10/9c, NBC brought The Blacklist (0.9) back for a one-time stop in a timeslot it used to regularly occupy, before it heads for its regular timeslot on Friday.

• Meanwhile, Fox reunited its fall 2017 Thursday duo of Gotham (0.7) and The Orville (0.6). We already know it's the final season for Gotham, and this surprisingly DOA result makes a similar fate look likely for Orville; a show that regularly built on Gotham two falls ago went a staggering three tenths behind its previous series low.

• CBS held off on originals in the 9/8c hour for a week, but The Big Bang Theory (2.2) and Young Sheldon (1.7) were back at just a tenth above their last originals in December. The good news was S.W.A.T. (0.9) had a pretty great night at 10/9c, with a lead-in from a Young Sheldon repeat (0.9) and no SVU competition to deal with.

• And ABC managed a virtual tie with Fox for third with The Conners repeats (0.7/0.6) and an old-skewing John F. Kennedy Jr. special (0.7).

Spotted Ratings, Thursday 12/6/18

FINALS UPDATE: Thursday Night Football (3.1, +0.9) adjusted up while Mom (1.1) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers to come.

Spotted Ratings, Thursday 11/15/18

FINALS UPDATE: Thursday Night Football (5.0, +1.6) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Fall finale night brought upticks to all three prongs of TGIT: Grey's Anatomy (1.7), Station 19 (1.2) and How to Get Away with Murder (0.8). It was a particularly above-average night for S19, the show's highest rating this season other than the Grey's crossover in early October.

• CBS was even with the Sheldon comedies (2.3/1.8) but up in the last two hours with Mom (1.3), Murphy Brown (0.9) and S.W.A.T. (0.8). NBC dropped where CBS gained, as the net was steady with Superstore (0.9) and The Good Place (0.8) but saw Will and Grace (0.7) and Law and Order: SVU (0.8) fall to new lows.

• And the CW got another 0.3 out of Legacies, as its Supernatural lead-in ticked up to 0.4. Thursday Night Football (3.0/3.7/3.4) had another pretty big night, likely matching or slightly exceeding last week.

Spotted Ratings, Thursday 11/8/18

FINALS UPDATE: Thursday Night Football (4.7, +1.3) adjusted up.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers to come.

Spotted Ratings, Thursday 11/1/18

FINALS UPDATE: Grey's Anatomy (1.6), Mom (1.2), Superstore (0.9), The Good Place (0.8) and Thursday Night Football (3.2, +1.1) adjusted up while I Feel Bad (0.5) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• Numbers to come.

Spotted Ratings, Thursday 10/25/18

FINALS UPDATE: The Big Bang Theory (2.3), Thursday Night Football (3.6, +0.9) and Supernatural (0.4) adjusted up while Will and Grace (0.8) adjusted down.

WHAT MATTERS:

• The CW had its third and final new drama premiere of the fall in The Originals spin-off Legacies (0.3), which matched what seems like a horribly off night from its lead-in Supernatural (0.3). Maybe Supernatural will rebound and help it out in the future, but either way it seems like a much murkier start compared with the other newbies Charmed and All American.

• On ABC, Grey's Anatomy (1.5) was back from a week off and boosted Station 19 (0.9) by a tenth, while How to Get Away with Murder remained at 0.7.

• CBS was up with The Big Bang Theory (2.2) but down in the 9/8c hour with Mom (1.2) and the now shaky Murphy Brown (0.8). NBC was even with its three staple comedies (0.9/0.8/0.9) but saw I Feel Bad return to 0.5 and Law and Order: SVU (0.9) tick down as well.