The Question, Thursday 1/31/13: Will NBC Do Even More Harm to Thursday?

Nothing invites historical ratings comparisons and "death of TV" memes quite like NBC Thursday. And tonight, NBC gets back into the medical drama business in the timeslot occupied for a decade and a half by ER. Since ER left Thursday 10/9c, NBC's tried really hard ("next great cop shows" like Southland and Prime Suspect), tried not at all (The Jay Leno Show, Rock Center) and tried just about everything else, including a third comedy hour. Nothing has stuck, and I don't see much reason to believe critically-reviled Do No Harm will buck the trend. Will NBC do even more harm to Thursday? That's The Question for Thursday, January 31, 2013.

Spotted Ratings, Wednesday 1/30/13

WHAT MATTERS:

• NBC Wednesday finally went original against American Idol, and it wasn't pretty. Whitney tied its low (excluding Thanksgiving Eve), Guys with Kids tied its low (INCLUDING Thanksgiving Eve) and once-surging Law and Order: SVU reverted to its typical level for most of the fall. Chicago Fire, the one that didn't face Idol, held up best against ABC/CBS repeats.

• Most of the usual Wednesday leaders sat out the last day before sweeps, so American Idol continued to hold on nicely. (It made it into negative single-digits territory year-to-year, though this was another of the dreaded two-hour vs. one-hour comparisons.) ABC mixed low-rated originals of The Neighbors and Suburgatory in with repeats of their anchor shows, while CBS was repeat in the last two hours but even year-to-year at 8/7c with their annual Super Bowl's Greatest Commercials special. The CW had a somewhat worrying drop from Arrow (0.9).

• Proving my ratings predictions are at their best when I use the "shot in the dark" approach, The Americans (3.22 million viewers and a 1.2) had a solid premiere for FX. They've done better in recent years (Justified (1.5) and American Horror Story (1.6)) but they've also done much, much worse (Lights Out (0.6) and Terriers (0.5)). This is definitely a very workable start.

War of 18-49 Update, Jersey Shore (Fall 2012)

Let's take a look at the fall 2012 season (the sixth and final overall) of Jersey Shore on MTV.

The Question, Wednesday 1/30/13: How Many Americans Will Watch FX's New Drama?

Tonight, FX premieres new drama The Americans, about two KGB spies living in Washington D.C. in the 1980s. The network is back in the new drama game after not premiering a single one in 2012. And the critical acclaim has been considerable so far. How many Americans will watch FX's new drama? That's The Question for Wednesday, January 30, 2013.

Spotted Ratings, Tuesday 1/29/13

WHAT MATTERS:

• The pulling of Ben and Kate helped boost Fox's Tuesday, even if the extra Raising Hope at 8:30 was a bit disappointing itself. (Hope did its usual 1.7 at 8:00.) New Girl and The Mindy Project were both up double digits in the 9:00 hour to their best numbers since October. The size of the boost isn't that shocking in a vacuum, but I'm a little surprised it happened even with Hope doing just four tenths better than Ben and Kate.

• New Girl beat the combined comedy competition at 9/8c, with Go On tying last week's horrible low point. While ABC's Happy Endings double-pump improved 9:30 relative to the usual Apartment 23 numbers, they had bad news at 8:00 with The Taste crashing by nearly 25% in week two.

• Another development of possible interest was the surge of presumed-dead Vegas, free of all its usual broadcast drama competition at 10/9c. We'll see if it can keep it up when ABC/NBC bring their winter dramas into the mix in the coming weeks. NBC's special Dateline edged a rebroadcast of ABC's much-praised Matt Damon hijacking of Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Spotted Ratings, Monday 1/28/13: Follow-Up

WHAT MATTERS:

• It was a big-time showing for Fox Monday as newbie The Following became the first broadcast series this season to grow in week two. It's up a tick from last week's already very solid premiere. And Bones at 8/7c had its second straight multi-tick upswing to a new season high. This is its best number since returning to Monday last April. Surely CBS' comedy lineup going into repeats helped somewhat, but these numbers buck the trend enough that we can still call it a big win for now.

• ABC and NBC didn't really benefit from the repeat CBS, with Deception dropping another tenth despite both competing dramas going into repeats. The CDub dropped a tenth in each successive half-hour (0.6 -> 0.5 -> 0.4 -> 0.3), but The Carrie Diaries swung back up a touch in viewers in week three.

• TNT had the two-hour return of Dallas (0.8), which was more or less at the show's level for most of the season one stretch run. That's got to be considered quite disappointing considering the show's big finale spike at the end of last summer (to 1.3) and the hopes that Larry Hagman's death might pull some people in. We'll see if there's any benefit when the character's death is mourned later in the season.

War of 18-49 Update, Leverage (2012)

Let's take a look at the 2012 season (the fifth and final overall) of Leverage on TNT.

The True Top 25, Week Ending 1/27/13 (2012-13 Week 18)

American Idol had its first week atop the True Top 25, though it likely owes something to another The Big Bang Theory repeat and one of the weakest events of event season (the Pro Bowl finished 4th). Modern Family was the top scripted program by a decent margin, though I will give a shoutout to a season high in True2 from Criminal Minds, which tied its raw numbers high with a bad lead-in and having to face Idol and Modern.

With the other strong newbies sitting out the week, the premiere of The Following was the only representative for that crowd. If this Monday's week two numbers are any indication, it may stay on this list for awhile. Fox's UFC coverage was the only Friday/Saturday show thanks to repeats from the usual Friday candidates.

Spotted Ratings, Sunday 1/27/13

WHAT MATTERS:

• A relatively uncompetitive Sunday was led by NBC's coverage of the Pro Bowl, which ended up 7% below last year's game. As last year with the Pro Bowl, it peaked at the beginning of the game (4.5 at 8:00, 4.3 at 8:30) and then saw people dribble away.

• ABC aired another Hallmark Hall of Fame movie. The Makeover was easily the franchise's weakest entrant in over a year and down 28% from the same night last year (though that one had an original Once Upon a Time leading in).

• Despite what should've been pretty favorable competition, the originals on CBS and Fox were generally below average. The Good Wife and The Cleveland Show were particular ugly spots, each hitting series lows.

Spotted Ratings, Saturday 1/26/13

WHAT MATTERS:

• Fox had a strong Saturday thanks to what's been its best Saturday sports option, UFC. It was even with the last UFC night in early December but down a few ticks from the same night last year. The US Figure Skating Championships were also down from last year.