Little to be GLEEful about.
FOX: Despite a major episode that included NY auditions for 2 of the characters that the season had been building to (as well as, this being GLEE, a musical spousal abuse subplot, and a rock version of “The Rain In Spain”) Glee fell once again to a 2.4, tying its season low. That wasn’t even the network’s worst news, which was NEW GIRL plummeting to a new low 2.1, down half a ratings point or more from recent episodes. The only excuse for the sudden plunge would seem to be the higher-than-usual numbers for CBS in the hour, but one wouldn’t expect much of an overlap between NCIS LA and New Girl viewers, so…?
ABC: Is LAST MAN STANDING still a shoo-in for renewal? Conventional wisdom says it is, but last night the show collapsed to a terrible new 1.4 low (even with last week’s Community, which is considered to be gasping for its life even on NBC). Last Man has a stronger audience among total–which is to say “old”–viewers (although even there it ranked 3rd place for its slot, and not far from 4th), but does ABC really want a sitcom Harry’s Law? (One possibility would be to push the show to Fridays in the Fall, a night that already has older viewership.) COUGAR TOWN, widely expected to be canceled, was only 0.1 below Last Man in 18-49s, which as we know is essentially a meaningless.distinction. DANCING WITH THE STARS tied a season low 2.3, pretty much where it’s been since April, and PRIVATE PRACTICE was negligibly down from last week, still easily able to take its hour.
CBS: Crossovers still work. Although the Hawaii 5-0 portion of its crossover with NCIS LA didn’t pay any dividends, the conclusion last night propelled the latter show to a 3.0, its highest rating since March and more than half a ratings point above its last new episode. That, plus stability the rest of the evening, gave CBS the night. Franchise-mate NCIS was also at 3.0, which for that show was even with recent numbers. UNFORGETTABLE tied its season low 1.8, just 0.3 above what recent repeats have been earning.
NBC: THE BIGGEST LOSER had its lowest season finale ever, a 2.1 that was even slightly down from recent weeks, and a steep one-third below last season’s Spring cycle average. THE VOICE results show is currently at a new low 3.1, still the highest rated show of the night. With the exception of one blip 3 weeks ago, FASHION STAR has been a steadily mediocre 1.5 for weeks, in last place for its hour.
CW: Any hopes that THE LA COMPLEX could benefit from its added airings last week and increase its ratings in Week 2 were lost, as the show could only tie its awful 0.3 debut (see our pilot + 1 review). 90210 tied last week’s 0.6.
Another night of fresh Sweeps merchandise on the network shelves tonight, except for an LA Complex repeat at 8PM on CW.
About the Author
More articles by Mitch Salem »
