The CW’s hit series The Flash returned for its second season on Tuesday and pulled a 1.4 rating based on the overnights for the 18-49 demographic with 3.6 million total viewers. That’s down from the 1.9 rating the show had for its first season premiere and also from the 1.5 score it had for its season finale, but it is in line with the show’s season average from last year and in the current ratings slump environment I’m sure that The CW is happy enough with those numbers. Considering that it bested everything on FOX’s schedule for the night and came just two ticks short of the 1.6 score that Agents of SHIELD had, that’s not too bad for the fifth place network (which was nearly the fourth place network on Tuesday evening). Also having its second season debut last night was iZombie which pulled a 0.7 rating with 1.5 million total viewers. That’s also right in line with its first season average and the two shows together came close to topping FOX for the night (they actually did until the numbers for Scream Queens were adjusted up in the finals). With that network slumping, I have to wonder if The CW might challenge it this season on non-Empire nights. Though The Flash is The CW’s powerhouse show and the only other entry that comes close to its numbers is Arrow. Still, based on last night’s numbers, The CW is not suffering as much as the other networks as far as the ratings slump is concerned (at least for one night). Though let’s give it a few weeks before making any judgement calls.
Jumping to a different continent, word is that Doctor Who‘s viewership numbers are not looking good over in Britain for the show’s ninth season. The debut episode pulled the lowest totals the show has seen seen the 2005 revival started, and it has continued to trend down since then. Now from what I understand, it has had some stiff competition from the Rugby World Cup and other programming, so I’m not certain how much that has been factored in. But apparently the viewership drop has caused a stir over there and The Mirror quoted a “BBC source” as saying
Doctor Who’s decline is very worrying and needs to be addressed. At this stage all options are being considered … Everyone accepts that drastic action may be needed.
The Mirror also claimed that Peter Capaldi is considering leaving the show and that instead of a tenth season they may do a series of movie specials similar to the way that the David Tennant era wrapped up. Of course, I believe The Mirror is considered more of a tabloid over there, so I’m not certain how reliable it is as a source. And the numbers for Doctor Who have been decent on BBC America, though it did slip to a low this last weekend. Since I haven’t kept a close eye on the BBC and their behavioral patterns (too many nets/shows in the States to keep up with), I can’t make an informed prediction on this show. And it has aired only three episodes in its ninth season so far. But I will keep an eye on the show throughout the season and report back any news that I see. And for readers in Britain, if you have some good sources for BBC ratings and news on their shows, please pass them along.
