Saturday, February 2, 2013
Best and Worst of the Week is back! I apologize for not posting, but I was unaware that I would not have an internet connection out of the country. Had I known, this most likely would have been the first week for the feature. Anyway, lets get on with the show!
In its second week on the air, The Following actually increased from its premiere rating (3.2 to 3.3). Perhaps it was the lack of competition (CBS was in repeat mode on the night) but any show that can increase in week two is a winner in my book. Given FOX's lack of overall success, a drama pulling over a 3.0 two weeks in a row has to be a sigh of relief for them. We will have to see how The Following does in week three before making further judgments about the series.
Do No Harm had the trouble of airing in the now-dreaded NBC timeslot; Thursdays at 10/9c. Since ER left the airwaves in 2009, the following shows have come and gone after one season: Southland, The Jay Leno Show, Prime Suspect, The Firm, and Awake. Chalk up Do No Harm as the likely sixth fatality in the timeslot. Do No Harm premiered to an embarrassing 3.12 million viewers and a 0.9 demo - the lowest in-season premiere for a Big 4 series ever. It doesn't get much worse than that.
Talk about an amazing season. After hitting a series high earlier this season, Scandal continued to impress (not with a series high this time, however). With all new competition, Scandal held a very impressive 96% of Grey's Anatomy's demographic audience and 91% of the viewership, which is superb retention. If I am not mistaken, the retention trumps every airing of Private Private in the two years it held the timeslot. Next stop for Scandal: improving on Grey's Anatomy.
Deception premiered to a so-so 2.0 demo in early January. Just a few weeks later, and Deception is yet another failure on the NBC schedule. On Monday, Deception performed with a minuscule 1.2 demo and less than 4 million viewers. As if that wasn't bad enough already, those numbers were with Castle and Hawaii Five-0 in repeat mode. Deception also held onto a tiny 52% of The Biggest Losers demographic audience, which is pretty much terrible.
Sue me for not choosing American Idol, The Big Bang Theory, or NCIS for the final spot on the list. Shark Tank and Undercover Boss both earned themselves a spot for pulling a 1.9 demographic on a Friday night. Undercover Boss started the night right for CBS and Shark Tank grew out of its lowly-rated lead in on ABC. When most shows are struggling to come close to a 2.0 on other nights, these two actually crossed that barrier in the :30 half hour - on a Friday.
How low can you go? After solid ratings behind The Voice, both series have completely collapsed. This past week, Go On had a measly 1.3 demo (tied for a series low) and The New Normal was even worse with a 1.1 demo (a new series low). One has to wonder how long NBC plans on sticking with these two and if they actually will get the lead in of The Voice again later this season. It's pretty sad when ABC's Happy Endings performs in line with the two NBC comedies.
Honorable Mentions: American Idol, The Big Bang Theory, NCIS (renewed), New Girl
