UPDATE: RESURRECTION only got bigger in final numbers, rising 0.2 to a huge 3.8 (crushed by THE WALKING DEAD, but still). That tied the debut of THE BLACKLIST last fall–and of course BLACKLIST had a giant lead-in from THE VOICE to help launch it. The midseason premiere of ONCE UPON A TIME went up 0.1 to a healthy 2.4, and THE AMAZING RACE gained 0.1 to 1.9.
SUNDAY CABLE: THE WALKING DEAD (AMC) shrugged off the arrival of RESURRECTION, down a mere 0.1 to 6.3. Companion show TALKING DEAD slid 0.2 to 2.4. The season finale of TRUE DETECTIVE (HBO) had a giant bump, up 0.6 to 1.6 (plus 0.5 for the 11PM re-airing), which put it above the new episode of THE GOOD WIFE on CBS in the 9PM hour. GIRLS got only a taste of that boost, up 0.1 to 0.6. (No numbers for the season finale of LOOKING.) Most of the other cable networks had taken Oscar Sunday off, so comparisons are to 2 weeks ago. SHAMELESS (Showtime) slipped 0.1 to 0.8, with no numbers available for HOUSE OF LIES or EPISODES. In the unscripted world, REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ATLANTA (Bravo) fell 0.2 to 1.7, and KEEPING UP WITH THE KARDASHIANS (E!) climbed 0.2 to 1.2.
Last night, ABC had its best news since fall 2013.
ABC: After trying time and again to launch a new drama that viewers were interested in watching, RESURRECTION leaped to a 3.6 start, dominating an hour with plenty of competition on both broadcast and cable. (Of course, Agents of SHIELD got off to a huge start, too–but let’s give ABC its moment.) The night started with 1.2 for a ONCE UPON A TIME clip show, and then Once itself had its midseason premiere with 2.3, up 0.4 from its fall finale. REVENGE was more of a mixed bag: helped by the biggest lead-in it’s had all season, it averaged 1.9 during the hour, up 0.6 from its last original episode. On the other hand, it fell steeply from 10PM to 10:30PM (from 2.1 to 1.6), suggesting that a lot of Resurrection viewers who stuck around initially ended up changing the channel.
FOX: In the most aggressive attempt to program the Sunday 7PM hour in years, FOX aired new episodes of BOB’S BURGERS and THE SIMPSONS in that hour to set up the premiere of COSMOS at 9PM. (And did so on the first night of Daylight Savings Time, when viewing goes down in early evening.) Both shows felt the pinch, with Bob’s down 0.6 from its last airing to 0.9, and Simpsons down 0.5 to 1.2. Another Simpsons in the show’s regular 8PM slot was at 1.6, which was itself down 0.1 from its last original. An 8:30PM episode of FAMILY GUY, however, was up 0.2 to 2.2. Cosmos premiered at 2.1, not a great number, but it’s hard to gauge its full impact, because the show aired simultaneously on 9 FOX-owned cable networks as well.
CBS: The new competition for 60 MINUTES was high-profile, but probably didn’t overlap much with that show’s usual viewers, so it was up 0.1 from last week’s Oscar night telecast to 1.5. THE AMAZING RACE, similarly, was better off facing animations than the Oscars, and rose 0.3 to 1.8. THE GOOD WIFE‘s midseason premiere, however, got walloped by the night’s premieres, down 0.5 to 1.3 from its last new episode. THE MENTALIST dropped 0.2 to 1.6.
NBC: The network held off its own Sunday premieres until next week, with 1.1s for both DATELINE and a rerun of THE VOICE.
Another busy night tonight. NBC turns over The Blacklist‘s post-The Voice slot for the evening to a preview of BELIEVE. ABC has the season finale of THE BACHELOR. FOX returns BONES to the Monday 8PM hour, hoping that it will do some good for the slumping but nevertheless renewed THE FOLLOWING. CW has the last Monday episode of BEAUTY & THE BEAST before The Tomorrow People takes that slot next week. CBS has a new HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, but then reruns until a new INTELLIGENCE at 10PM. Meanwhile, on cable, A&E will hope THOSE WHO KILL won’t drop below its very disappointing start last week.
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