“The McCarthys” Weak in Debut

CBS debuted its only new comedy of the fall, and it was not pretty.  The series premiere of The McCarthys kicked off its run with 8.78 million viewers and 1.7 A18-49.  Retention from Two and a Half Men (11.02 million and 2.4 A18-49) was a 80% among total viewers and 71% in the demo.  According to a number of publications, this was the lowest series premiere for a comedy in network history.  Needless to say, Mike and Molly may be coming back sooner than we thought.

The other exciting ratings news from CBS is Mom.  It aired its second season premiere last night, getting a new episode of The Big Bang Theory as a lead in for the first time.   Its season debut brought in 10.56 million viewers and 2.5 A18-49.  It is not a great performance, but it really is not horrible either.  Retention was underwhelming, at 72% in total viewers and 61% in the demo.  It was, however, an improvement over what The Millers had been doing.

It looks like we may soon have our second cancellation of the season.  A new episode of A to Z fell to a new series low of 2.56 million viewers and 0.7 A18-49, down another two tenths from last week.  Given its low number, I cannot see NBC sticking around for much longer.  As for its lead in, Bad Judge, things were not much better: 3.96 million viewers and 0.9 A18-49.  Those numbers are pretty ugly too, but I don’t see NBC moving it just yet.

ABC took a slight hit with How to Get Away with Murder.  Following Scandal, the freshman drama averaged 8.52 million viewers and 2.7 A18-49, down three tenth from last weeks episode.  Still, despite the three tenth loss, a 2.7 demo is very impressive for a 10 o’clock drama.  Retention from the aforementioned Scandal was 93% among total viewers and 87% in the demo.

The only other new show on the night was Gracepoint.  It held with its number from last week, notching 3.34 million viewers and 0.8 A18-49.  Not much else to say.

“Black-ish” Up vs. World Series

Despite a strong showing from Game 7 of the World Series, ABC’s Black-ish was able to grow from last week.  The latest episode scored 7.67 million viewers and 2.7 A18-49, up three tenths from last weeks episode.  What makes the growth even more impressive is the fact its lead in, Modern Family, was up only a tenth week-to-week.   Retention from Modern Family was 77% in both total viewers and the demo.  All in all, a very good showing for Black-ish.

After three straight weeks of 1.7 demos, Stalker fell to a series low 7.36 million viewers and 1.6 A18-49, down a tenth from last week.  The show tied Nasvhille for first in the hour, something CBS probably didn’t expect when they ordered a full season (update: in finals, Nashville fell a tenth in finals, and Stalker rose, so the difference was two tenths; 1.6 vs. 1.4 demo).  Retention from Criminal Minds was an okay 70% in both total viewers and the demo.

The other show to hit a series low last night was The Mysteries of Laura, which was also just rewarded with a full season order.  Wednesdays episode notched 7.49 million viewers and 1.2 A18-49, down a tenth from last week.  For some reason, NBC showed repeats of SVU and Chicago PD, but decided to air a new episode of Laura…strange.

In addition, Game 7 averaged 23.52 million viewers and 6.6 A18-49, the highest performance for a World Series game since 2011.

Updated with finals

Everything Down – Tuesday Ratings

With added competition from game six of the World Series (despite being a 10-0 blowout), every new series was down from last week.

The show that took the slightest hit this week was CBS’ NCIS: New Orleans. The third NCIS series scored 16.09 million viewers and 2.3 A18-49, down only a tenth from last week. Retention from the mothership was 92 percent in total viewers and 88 percent in the demo. Not bad, not bad at all.

A new episode of promising The Flash, which totaled 3.53 million viewers and 1.4 A18-49, also down a tenth from last week.  All in all, a very solid week four.

Week three of Marry Me dipped to 5.06 million viewers and 1.5 A18-49. Had these numbers been in any other timeslot, they would be solid. Behind The Voice, however, they are alarming. Retention was a terrible 45% among total viewers and 52% in the demo. If we looked at the 830 to 9 o’clock retention, I’m sure it slips even further.

Rounding out the new series was ABC’s Forever. It’s latest episode was down a tenth from last week, nothing 4.95 million viewers and 1.1 A18-49. Retention from Agents of Shield was an alarming 59% in the demo (while growing in total viewers). The incompatibility of these two show is quite obvious, yet ABC doesn’t make any changes.

NBC Gives Full Season to “Mysteries of Laura”

After allowing CW and CBS to take in some of the glory of full season orders, NBC is doing the same.  Unlike CW and CBS, however, NBC is handing out a full season to only one series: The Mysteries of Laura.

Debuting as the first drama of the season behind America’s Got Talent, The Mysteries of Laura did well with 10.2 million viewers and 2.0 A18-49.  When it moved to its official Wednesday 8 o’clock timeslot, many believed it would die quickly (including myself).  That was not the case.  Despite an older skew, The Mysteries of Laura has averaged between 8 and 9 million viewers the last four episodes.  It has also helped Law and Order: SVU score some of its more impressive performances, at least in total viewers.

NBC has ordered an additional nine episodes, bringing its first season total to 22 episodes.

“Scorpion” and “Gotham” Slip

Week six of Scorpion notched 10.39 million viewers and 2.3 A18-49, down only a tenth from last week.  Perhaps what makes the performance from Scorpion impressive is the growth of six tenths (!) from its The Millers (6.94 million / 1.7 demo) lead in.  Yesterdays full season order announcement was certainly the correct call by CBS.

On FOX, a new episode of Gotham continued its string of solid performances, averaging 5.89 million viewers and 2.2 A18-49, down two tenths from last week.  Again, it is not a huge show for FOX, but it is keeping the lights on.

Finally, week three of Jane the Virgin slipped from last week to 1.09 million viewers and 0.4 A18-49, down a tenth from last week.  What started as a promising drama is quickly becoming a possible problem for The CW.  If Jane the Virgin slips below 1 million viewers next week, yikes.

Updated with finals