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FOX chants: bring back GLEE!
FOX: The network’s 4-sitcom Tuesday is starting to look less like an unsuccessful experiment and more like a disaster. I HATE MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER is already all-but-canceled, and BREAKING IN won’t be far behind, with their 1.2 and 1.3 respective ratings, but what’s scary is the way the 8PM hour is dragging down NEW GIRL. That was FOX’s biggest hit of the fall, and it’s gone nowhere but down since it lost Glee as a lead-in–last night’s season low 2.6 was more than 2 full rating points below its season high. RAISING HOPE is holding on for dear life with a 1.6, but the network will hope that when the schedule stabilizes in April, Hope will benefit from its old timeslot behind New Girl.
ABC: COUGAR TOWN‘s 1.6 rating wasn’t good, but the show gets credit for a loyal, stable audience: even though its LAST MAN STANDING lead-in was a season low 1.9, Cougar scored the same number as when Last Man was several ticks higher a few weeks ago. THE RIVER managed an extra 0.1 for its series season finale, but its 1.4 was still paddling to nowhere. A BODY OF PROOF rerun couldn’t manage a 1 rating.
NBC: THE BIGGEST LOSER was up slightly, all its numbers in the past 6 weeks within a narrow 0.3 range. FASHION STAR gained 0.2 from its debut, but a 1.8 still isn’t anything to boast about, and the number has an asterisk due to the repeat on ABC. (NBC also got some residual bad news from Monday when final ratings were released: SMASH went down to a series low 2.2, even though its lead-in from THE VOICE was adjusted up for the night. Of course, on NBC a 2.2 is still a very viable number, so the show isn’t in any danger unless it continues to slip.)
CBS: Even though The Eye was the night’s easy winner, NCIS hit a season low (admittedly with its first new episode since Daylight Savings Time began) and NCIS LA was just 0.1 above its season low. UNFORGETTABLE perked up 0.2, but as with Fashion Star, that may be because it was facing a repeat on ABC.
CW: 90210 was at an OK 0.7, but RINGER, which is heading toward its season finale in mid-April, was only able to climb to a 0.5.
Tonight the ever-changing Wednesday schedule on NBC features the network’s burn-off of BENT, which is seeing its 6 episode order efficiently aired over 3 weeks, 2 episodes per week. Bent may benefit, though, from facing a repeat MODERN FAMILY on ABC. (That network is all but begging for a season low from HAPPY ENDINGS by planting it as the only new episode on a night of repeats, because they need to finish off the season’s order before launching DON’T TRUST THE B– IN APT 23 next month.)
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