The Breakdown: NBC Friday in 2015-16 (Grimm, Undateable, Truth Be Told, Dateline)

It's time for a journey through the NBC Friday schedule in 2015-16...

Spotted Ratings, Friday 1/29/16

WHAT MATTERS:

• It was a Friday full of schedule changes, including the back half of Fox's Wednesday/Friday switch. Second Chance collapsed to a 0.7 in its first Friday episode, barely retaining half of its MasterChef Junior finale (1.3) lead-in. The network lost 0.2 points week-to-week with this flip (+0.4 with Hell's Kitchen in the Wednesday 9/8c hour, -0.6 with Chance at 9/8c). But since Kitchen was inflated by a very high-PUT Friday last week, it was probably closer to a wash, Truly speaking.

• The CW also revamped Friday, and may be headed for another overachieving pair of W18-34 draws on the night. The Vampire Diaries (0.5) and The Originals (0.4) each matched their usual Thursday numbers in their first Friday episodes. Given what Legends of Tomorrow and The 100 have been doing on Thursday, this would be a huge win for the overall schedule.

• NBC said goodbye to Undateable, at least for now, with a one-hour finale (0.8) that took an odd drop from 0.9 to 0.7 at the half. That didn't help the return of Grimm (0.8), which had a poor return to the sked in only getting to the low end of its fall numbers. However, Dateline (1.4) made up for it with a well above average number at 10/9c.

• For once, ABC got a really nice number out of the struggling Shark Tank (1.7). But it didn't help the other two hours, which did nothing special with the 100th episode of Last Man Standing (1.2), Dr. Ken (1.1) and 20/20 (1.0).

• And CBS had Undercover Boss (1.3), down a notch from last week's inflated high but still above its previous Friday episodes this season. The crime dramas were in repeats (1.0/1.0), albeit pretty high-rated ones. 

Spotted Ratings, Friday 1/8/16

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: Hawaii Five-0 (1.4) adjusted up and MasterChef Junior (1.4) adjusted down.

• The return of Friday entertainment originals brought another really good night for Fox, where two hours of MasterChef Junior (1.5/1.4) shot up to new season highs, and CBS, where Hawaii Five-0 (1.3) and Blue Bloods (1.4) had new season highs of their own. The CBS drama upswings came despite a just OK start to Undercover Boss' Friday run (1.2) at 8/7c. (Boss was a couple tenths below its Friday premiere last year., while the dramas were very close to even y2y.)

• Meanwhile, ABC's rough start to 2016 mostly continued into Friday. The one exception was Last Man Standing, still very reliable at 1.3. But Dr. Ken (1.1) continues to separate a bit from its Last Man lead-in, and Shark Tank (1.3) had its second very underwhelming result of the week in the return to its regular timeslot. This would've been a new season low for Tank if not for the Tuesday episode. 20/20 (0.9) was also on the low end at 10/9c.

• NBC's Undateable (0.8) and Dateline (1.1) were a touch above average, and an encore of Superstore (0.6) matched most recent Truth Be Told originals at 8:30.

• And the CW was finally back into the original game with the brief return of Reign (0.3). It will air just three Friday episodes before The Vampire Diaries and The Originals take over the night.

Spotted Ratings, Friday 12/11/15

WHAT MATTERS:

• Many of the broadcast Friday offerings wrapped it up for the fall, as ABC had another stout showing from Last Man Standing (1.3) but struggled beyond that with a new low Dr. Ken (1.1), a low-tying Shark Tank (1.4) and 20/20 (0.9).

• CBS was also all original and toward the low end with The Amazing Race (1.0), Hawaii Five-0 (1.0) and Blue Bloods (1.1).

• Fox had a good night as MasterChef Junior (1.2) was on the upswing, back into a tie for the lead in the 8:00 hour. World's Funniest (0.7) was also up a notch.

• NBC stayed all fractional as Undateable (0.7) inched down, Grimm (0.9) inched up and Truth Be Told went out on yet another 0.6.

• The CW had a Hollywood Christmas Parade special (0.3/0.2).

Above based on preliminary adults 18-49 ratings unless otherwise noted. Full table forthcoming!

Spotted Ratings, Friday 12/4/15

WHAT MATTERS:

• Most shows were back into original mode for the first Friday in December, and most were pretty normal. That meant another dominant night for ABC with Last Man Standing (1.3), Dr. Ken (1.2), Shark Tank (1.6) and 20/20 (1.2).

• The most discouraging result on the networks came from NBC's Grimm (0.8), which inched down to another new low and continues to struggle leading out of comedies Undateable (0.8) and Truth Be Told (0.6). 

• Competing 8/7c reality series The Amazing Race (1.1) and MasterChef Junior (1.0) each had small rallies from last week's Black Friday originals, keeping Race ahead and Junior well shy of its promising early-season results. CBS also offered up another repeat night from its drama block with Hawaii Five-0 (0.8) and Blue Bloods (0.8).

• The show has been summer/Friday filler for so long that it is easy to forget how big America's Next Top Model was in the CW's early years. But it wrapped up its 22-cycle run with very little fanfare, only posting its typical 0.3. Reign was also back at 0.3 after taking last week off.

Spotted Ratings, Friday 11/20/15

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: No adjustments!

• ABC built on its usual Friday dominance as Shark Tank (1.7) continued to see some late-fall redemption. It added another tenth this week, putting it three tenths ahead of its lows against the baseball playoffs. The comedy combo of Last Man Standing (1.2) and Dr. Ken (1.2) outright won at 8/7c, while 20/20 (1.4) had another good showing to take 10/9c.

• CBS was a bit softer than usual with The Amazing Race (1.0) and Blue Bloods (1.1), but Hawaii Five-0 (1.1) was normal in the middle.

• NBC's Undateable (0.8) was back to live originals this week, inching up from its recent level, but that was of no help to Truth Be Told (0.6) and Grimm (0.9). Dateline (1.2) had an uncommonly high rating at 10/9c which I'm sure someone will be able to explain.

• On Fox, MasterChef Junior (1.1) inched down for the second straight week (but still ahead of the entire Fox Tuesday/Thursday lineups), and World's Funniest stayed at 0.7.

• And CW's Reign (0.3) was back to normal after last week's high.

Spotted Ratings, Friday 11/6/15

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: Though many shows were close in the prelims, only one finals adjustment came to pass: Blue Bloods was up to a season high-tying 1.3.

• There's a lot of family-themed programming clashing in the 8/7c hour on Fridays. But at least for now, perhaps with the help of some extra post-DST viewership, there seems to be room for all of it. MasterChef Junior (1.3) made a very solid return to Friday, winning the 8/7c hour and opening with a raw number that it hit several times when it was last on the night two years ago. And it was down just 19% from the Friday series premiere two years ago. It's very much worth noting that this rating beat all but three of Fox's eight hours this week to date...
• But it didn't particularly help the return of World's Funniest (0.8), which only matched the last six weeks of its initial Friday 8/7c run last winter.

• On ABC, Last Man Standing (1.2) and Dr. Ken (1.2) were fairly normal again, and Shark Tank (1.6) finally showed at least a little life at 9/8c as it hung its best rating since week two. 20/20 (1.3) was down from last week's Leah Remini interview but still above average.

• NBC's Grimm (1.0) had one of its better week two holds, shedding just one tenth from the premiere, while Dateline (1.0) got a little stronger at 10/9c against a lower 20/20. But comedies Undateable (0.7) and Truth Be Told (0.6) stayed very low, unable to continue NBC's week-long 8/7c upswing.

• And CBS was pretty normal again as The Amazing Race (1.1) inched down, Hawaii Five-0 (1.1) was even and Blue Bloods (1.2) inched up.

• The CW was slightly up week-to-week with the return of Reign (0.3), while America's Next Top Model (0.3) was up from last week's low.

Spotted Ratings, Friday 10/30/15

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: Last Man Standing (1.3) adjusted up. Game 3 of the World Series also went up a tenth to inch past last year's Game 3.
  

• NBC's Grimm opened its fifth season with a 1.1, down three tenths from last year's 1.4 opener. But it was still NBC's runaway bright spot, sandwiched between the comedy hour of Undateable (0.7) / Truth Be Told (0.7, back up to the premiere rating) and the still struggling Dateline (0.8) at 10/9c.

• At least on this night, part of Dateline's woes can be attributed to a rather huge performance from 20/20 (1.7) at 10/9c, featuring an interview with Leah Remini on the Church of Scientology. Earlier in the ABC night, Last Man Standing (1.2) and Dr. Ken (1.2) hung in there again, while Shark Tank (1.4) preliminarily inched back down.

• Fox had its final big baseball Friday as Game 3 of the World Series averaged a preliminary 3.1 from 8:00 to 11:00. If it adjusts up at all, it will beat last year's Game 3 (3.1 on 10/24/14).

• CBS was on the high end of normal with The Amazing Race (1.2) and Hawaii Five-0 (1.1) but on the low end with Blue Bloods (1.1). 

• And the CW sat out Reign to show another Crazy Ex-Girlfriend repeat (0.2) leading into America's Next Top Model (0.2), which needs another upward adjustment to avoid a new season low.

Spotted Ratings, Friday 10/23/15

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: The Amazing Race (1.2) went up, as did America's Next Top Model (0.3) to avoid a new season low.

• NBC's Friday comedy experiment took a turn for the worse as Undateable (0.7) plunged two tenths to a new low and Truth Be Told (0.6) was down a tenth in week two.

• On ABC, Last Man Standing (1.2) and Dr. Ken (1.2) stayed solid but were each down a tenth, while Shark Tank (1.5) rebounded a bit. 20/20 (1.2) did fairly well again.

• After the crime dramas converged last week, CBS saw Blue Bloods (1.2) rise a tenth to pull back ahead of Hawaii Five-0 (1.0), down a tenth. The Amazing Race (1.1) had another respectable night.

• And the CW had a third straight downtick night as Reign fell to its first 0.2 in week three, and America's Next Top Model (0.2) dropped for the second straight episode, hitting 0.2 for the first time since a random August 2013 airing.

Spotted Ratings, Friday 10/16/15

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: Shark Tank (1.4) and Hawaii Five-0 (1.1) adjusted up. The ALCS game had a 1.7 final rating.

• NBC continued its slow roll-out of Friday scripted programming with the premiere of 8:30 comedy Truth Be Told at 2.6 million viewers and a lowly 0.7 demo rating. It's possible it could've been even worse, but the show probably got a bit of an assist as Undateable (0.9) ticked up from its rough premiere last week. But it's still abundantly clear that TBT is going nowhere with this kind of start. Dateline (0.9) continued to struggle with the comedy lead-ins.

• For ABC, it's still very much a good news/bad news night, as Last Man Standing (1.3) and Dr. Ken (1.3) were rock-solid once again, and even 20/20 (1.2) was above average on this night, but the air continues to come out of centerpiece Shark Tank (1.3) at a rather alarming rate. This may be a show that's heavily affected by the baseball playoffs, but it's looking more and more unlikely that it can recover to its former self.

• The CBS dramas Hawaii Five-0 (1.0) and Blue Bloods (1.1) also went down a bit in week four, while The Amazing Race (1.1) was even. 

• On the CW, Reign held to 0.3 for another week. And Crazy Ex-Girlfriend actually matched the Monday premiere's 0.3 with a pilot encore at 9/8c; more than anything, this probably just displays the quirks that are possible with numbers this low.

• And after a season of phoning it in on Friday, Fox finally got in the competitive mix with Game 1 of the American League Championship Series, which averaged roughly a 1.6 demo in the prelims.

SpotVault - Undateable (NBC) - 2015-16 Ratings

Undateable

Fridays, 8/7c, NBC

Spotted Ratings, Friday 10/9/15

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: Blue Bloods (1.3) adjusted up.

• There's just one multi-camera comedy currently airing on the other six nights of the week combined, but this Friday somehow produced a head-to-head showdown between multi-cam hours. In that race, incumbent ABC was the clear and resounding winner, as Last Man Standing (1.3) ticked up for the second straight week since the premiere and Dr. Ken (1.3) had a pretty good week two hold.
• On the other side, the season-long live experiment brought no real attention to the one-hour premiere of NBC's Undateable (0.8), which was quickly back down to its summer 2014 numbers on premiere night (and a disheartening 0.4 points behind even its lowest post-Voice rating from last spring).

• The rest of the big four landscape saw the week three funk continue, with Shark Tank (1.5) and 20/20 (1.0) each down on ABC and The Amazing Race (1.1) and Blue Bloods (1.2) inching downward as well for CBS (though Hawaii Five-0 (1.1) was steady). NBC's Dateline (0.9) also had a below-average showing. 

• On the CW, Reign opened its fall Friday run with 0.3, in line with what it did throughout last spring on Thursday, and America's Next Top Model ticked down to 0.3 for the first time this season.

Best Case/Worst Case: Undateable, Reign, America's Funniest Home Videos

Best Case/Worst Case lays out possible scenarios for broadcast primetime TV seasons yet to premiere. Here's what's premiering tonight (and also on Sunday)!

Spotted Ratings, Tuesday 5/12/15

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: NCIS (2.0) will have to wait for 2015-16 to drop below a rounded 2.0 for the first time. American Idol (1.3) and The Flash (1.5) also went up a tenth, while iZombie (0.6) was down.

• ABC's two-hour Agents of SHIELD (1.3) closed season two in surprisingly ugly fashion, dropping to a new series low that was at least two tenths behind what the show has consistently done since returning from hiatus. The Marvel vs. DC crowd will be quick to point out that SHIELD lost outright to The Flash (1.4), which had yet another amazing late-season rating.

• Fox had a special performance hour of American Idol (1.2) at 9/8c leading out of Hell's Kitchen (1.2). Idol went almost 30% behind last year's 1.7 Tuesday performance finale (which was a week later).

• For the second straight night, The Voice (2.1) had a minor rebound for NBC, while the one-hour finale of Undateable (1.3) tied last week's live episode and Chicago Fire (1.5) inched down.

• And CBS closed up shop on Tuesday for the summer with NCIS (1.9) hoping for a finals uptick to avoid its first trip into the ones. NCIS: New Orleans (1.7) narrowly rose, while CBS unloaded another original CSI: Cyber (1.2) at 10/9c.

Spotted Ratings, Tuesday 5/5/15

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: The Voice (2.0) adjusted up while iZombie (0.6) was down a tenth.

• Even with a fast-hemorrhaging lead-in from The Voice (1.9), a one-hour live episode of NBC's Undateable (1.3) noticeably improved the 9/8c hour week-to-week, up two tenths at 9:00 (1.4) vs. last week's 1.2 Undateable and up four tenths at 9:30 (1.2) vs. last week's One Big Happy. Chicago Fire stayed at its usual 1.6.

• On CBS, though NCIS (2.0) was even at 8/7c, things completely fell apart from there with NCIS: New Orleans (1.6) tying its series low and Person of Interest (1.1) somehow having a complete meltdown on finale night. That was two tenths behind PoI's previous low!

• On ABC, Agents of SHIELD posted another relatively normal 1.5 the week after the new Avengers movie, though this one may grade a little better since Dancing with the Stars (1.4) was lower at 8/7c. Forever (1.1) went out with a high-end rating by second half of the season standards.

• Fox's Hell's Kitchen (1.2) and finale of New Girl (1.1) each ticked up.

• The CW had another stellar late-season showing from The Flash (1.4) and another 0.7 from iZombie.

Spotted Ratings, Tuesday 4/28/15

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: Agents of SHIELD, NCIS, NCIS: New Orleans, The Voice and Chicago Fire all adjusted up. One Big Happy went down to 0.8, a new low by three tenths that feels like a true final nail in the coffin.

• ABC began a run of special Dancing with the Stars Tuesday telecasts with a special celebrating the show's 10th anniversary (1.7). Though it significantly improved on ABC's usual ratings in the hour, it was probably even less compatible than previous occupants with Agents of SHIELD (1.4), which could only produce a low-end result. An ABC News special (1.4) did well at 10/9c.

• Perhaps ABC's biggest benefit from DWTS was how badly it hurt the competitors. CBS' NCIS (1.9) will hit its third consecutive new low unless it adjusts up, while NCIS: New Orleans' (1.8) retention looked better by comparison in a considerably less competitive hour. It also took a major chunk out of NBC's The Voice (2.1), leading to more new lows for the lead-out comedies Undateable (1.2) and the likely series finale of One Big Happy (0.9). NBC jumped back up at 10/9c for Chicago Fire (1.5), which kicked off yet another Dick Wolf crossover event.

• On Fox, Hell's Kitchen (1.1) is eyeing another new low in the prelims, while New Girl (1.0) remained mired at the very low level it's been seeing since Weird Loners (0.6) showed up.

• Barring preemptions, the CW would be the night's winner with a very high-end rating from The Flash (1.5) and a slight rebound from iZombie (0.7).

Spotted Ratings, Tuesday 4/21/15

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: The Voice, Agents of SHIELD, Undateable, Hell's Kitchen and The Flash gained a tenth. iZombie (0.6) lost a tenth to hit a new low.

• Fresh Off the Boat ended season one with its second straight 1.5, a promising finish after getting as low as 1.3 a few weeks ago. The Repeat After Me (1.1) finale and Forever (1.0) ticked up, while Agents of SHIELD (1.5) inched down in prelims (but with a 1.6 -> 1.5 breakdown, should be pretty close to adjusting up).

• Undateable (1.3) had its worst showing yet despite The Voice (2.5) staying at least even. One Big Happy (1.1) was even, while Chicago Fire (1.6) looked good at 10/9c, growing huge on its comedy lead-in for the first time since About a Boy was still around.

• CBS gave an original CSI: Cyber (1.2) a Tuesday whirl. With a repeat NCIS: New Orleans lead-in (1.1), it was two tenths below its post-Criminal Minds low on Wednesday, which is not really surprising. Though it may get some comparisons to a similar CSI tryout in January, the situation was not nearly as favorable; New Orleans was a half-point bigger then, and there were no original drama competitors.

• After big nights last week, a little air came out of CW's The Flash (1.2) and iZombie (0.7), but they still avoided new lows.

• And another post-New Girl repeat (0.6) episode of Weird Loners joined American Odyssey at 0.5, while Hell's Kitchen (1.1) also hit a season low.

Spotted Ratings, Tuesday 4/14/15

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: Fresh Off the Boat, NCIS, Person of Interest, The Voice, Hell's Kitchen and The Flash were all up by 0.1.

• It was a good night to be a comic book show. ABC's Agents of SHIELD (1.6) inched up for the second straight week and now looks quite healthy after sputtering to 1.4 a couple weeks ago. And the CW had a very good number for an Arrow crossover on The Flash (1.3), while iZombie (0.8) validated last week's seemingly crazy 0.7 after a repeat by rising to match the premiere rating. It seems like this is now a legitimate Supernatural-esque performer, which is very good news.

• NBC's 9/8c comedy block returned after a week off, and there seems to be some separation developing between Undateable (1.5) and One Big Happy (1.1). The former's result was particularly decent given the continued erosion of its The Voice lead-in (2.4).

• CBS had a pretty rough night with NCIS (1.9) bound for another new low. NCIS: New Orleans (1.8) and a Person of Interest (1.4) guest-starring Taraji P. Henson only barely recovered even against over a point less of NBC competition.

• And with New Girl (0.5) in repeats, Weird Loners (0.6) shed a tenth in week three.

Spotted Ratings, Tuesday 3/24/15

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: The finale of The Mindy Project (0.9) dodged a new low and ended up on par with the last couple airings after repeats. The Voice (2.8) and The Flash (1.2) were also up. NCIS: New Orleans (1.8) lost a tick, making this the show's outright second-lowest episode.
  

• NBC's Tuesday comedy block looked less promising in week two, as Undateable (1.5) dropped about 20% and One Big Happy (1.2) about 25% to put the hour pretty much on par with typical ratings for The Night Shift after The Voice. However, they had little help from The Voice itself (2.7), which shed 15%ish for the second straight week. NBC also got some info on what The Night Shift (1.0) would be like without a The Voice lead-in by airing an original in the 10/9c hour after One Big Happy. It doesn't seem like a very surprising result in either direction.

• The CW had somewhat better newbie news as iZombie (0.7) was down just a tenth in week two. Its lead-in The Flash (1.1) could very well adjust up (it had a 1.2 in the 8:00 half-hour), but even getting to 1.2 would still mark a new low.

• ABC's 8:00 block didn't fare well after a week off, with Fresh Off the Boat (1.4) down two tenths and Repeat After Me (1.0) also hitting yet another new low. FotB has looked utterly safe, but it would certainly do well to stop the bleeding from this point forward. Agents of SHIELD (1.5) and Forever (0.9) also inched down for ABC.

• CBS saw NCIS: New Orleans (1.9) get back to normal after its disastrous 1.6 against The Voice two weeks ago. Lead-in NCIS (2.2) and lead-out Person of Interest (1.5) were even.

• And Fox's The Mindy Project (0.8) ended its season on a new low, leading out of a repeat New Girl (0.7) for the third straight week.

SpotVault - Undateable (NBC) - 2014-15 Ratings

Undateable

Tuesdays, 9/8c, NBC