AFTERNOON UPDATE: SURVIVOR widened its lead over AMERICAN IDOL by 0.1, and that was the only change from this morning for the new episodes. On ABC, reruns of THE MIDDLE, SUBURGATORY and MODERN FAMILY all went up 0.1 (but the new MIXOLOGY didn’t), and the rerun NASHVILLE dropped 0.1.
WEDNESDAY CABLE: As we prepare for the return of GAME OF THRONES to HBO, now just 3 Sundays away (and if the HBO GO server couldn’t handle the TRUE DETECTIVE finale, it’s hard to see how it’ll survive that night), it’s good to remember that not everything HBO touches turns to gold. Last night’s premiere of DOLL & EM was a disaster even compared to modest expectations, with an 18-49 rating of 0.04 for the 1st episode that fell to 0.03 for the second. Young women were particularly unimpressed: the 108K 18-34 year olds who tuned in for the first half-hour plunged to 40K for the second. Back to the shows that people actually watched: DUCK DYNASTY (A&E), back after a week off, tumbled 0.6 to 1.9 from its last episode, its lowest rating in more than a year, but still enough to tower over the rest of the night on cable. Companion show WAHLBURGERS appreciative for the return of its lead-in, climbed 0.4 to 1.1. WORKAHOLICS (Comedy) slipped 0.1 to 0.8, while ROBOT CHICKEN (Adult Swim) climbed 0.2 to 0.9 and REAL WORLD (MTV) stayed at 0.8. THE AMERICANS (FX) gained 0.1 to 0.5. NCAA TOURNAMENT Play-In Games (Tru) were at 0.8/0.6, and the penultimate PSYCH held at 0.5.
The only network with something to celebrate on an ugly night was humble CW.
CW: THE 100 had a terrific opening by CW standards with 0.9, building on the 0.8 lead-in it got from ARROW (up 0.1 from last week).
FOX: No, AMERICAN IDOL still may not have hit bottom. It dropped 0.2 to yet another all-time low last night at 2.2, and since the Thursday show is traditionally below Wednesday’s, the question is whether tonight is the night it hits the not-so-magic 2.0 mark.
NBC: REVOLUTION fell 0.1 to a new low 1.2, not helping its bubble status. The as-yet unrenewed SVU fell 0.1 to 1.5, despite a hyped episode that featured Alec Baldwin and Mariska Hargitay’s directing debut. CHICAGO PD, which was renewed yesterday, dropped 0.2 to a new series low 1.4.
CBS: SURVIVOR beat Idol, but it didn’t look so hot last night either, slipping 0.1 to tie its 2.4 season low. CRIMINAL MINDS similarly fell 0.1 to tie its series low at 2.2. CSI stayed even at 2.0.
ABC: The only new show on ABC last night was MIXOLOGY, so it’s no surprise that the show fell 0.3 to a new series low 1.2. That was well below the night’s highest-rated rerun, 1.7 for MODERN FAMILY.
All the networks are new tonight, with the event being the arrival of the year’s NCAA BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT on CBS (as well as cable). The opening rounds typically aren’t high-rated (although they do well with male demos), and last year’s opening night broadcast games were at 1.9/1.2, which could help the female-skewing competition.
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