ABC’s aliens-in-the-suburbs sitcom The Neighbors pulled out surprise (and brief) guest star appearances by George Takei and Mark Hamill for that show’s finale, but that didn’t translate into any sort of ratings boost (though it set the social networks ablaze afterwards). The last episode of that show’s first season pulled a 1.5 rating in the 18-49 Demographic with five and a half million total viewers. That’s noticeably down from where it has been hovering at most of the season, though up a tick from its last two airings. It has been the lowest rated half hour of ABC’s two hour Tuesday comedy block for pretty much the entire season, so that will work against it when the network is deciding on whether to bring it back for a sophomore year. But then sitcoms apparently have lower expectations as far as ratings performance, so it’s not sunk yet. Still, I’m bumping up its Cancellation Alert status to Medium and will keep it there until ABC announces its schedule for next season which should happen any time between now and mid-May.
Over on The CW on Wednesday night, Arrow dropped to a 0.9 rating in the 18-49 demo with 2.7 million total viewers. And for the first time this season Supernatural bested its lead-in ratings-wise, pulling a 1.0 rating with 2.2 million total viewers. On Thursday, Vampire Diaries had a 1.2 rating with 2.5 million total viewers while Beauty and the Beast could only muster a 0.6 rating with 1.5 million viewers. CBS’s Person of Interest was preempted for a second week for NCAA basketball.
On Friday, NBC’s Grimm slipped to a 1.3 rating with 4.8 million total viewers, though no need to be concerned about that one at this point as it has performed well for much of the season. The CW’s Nikita pulled its typically low 0.4 rating with 1.7 million total viewers, and Cult continued to barely move the needle with only a measly 0.2 rating and just over six hundred thousand total viewers. On FOX, Touch sunk to its lowest numbers of the season with a 0.5 rating and 2.4 million total viewers.
Below are the full ratings results for last week’s shows, and I already covered the early week shows in my previous mid-week column. And you can keep an eye on the Cancellation Watch Twitter Site for the early returns from Sunday thru Tuesday shows from this week. You can see the Cancellation Alert status of all the shows currently airing plus the final results from prior seasons at my Cancellation Watch page. And for questions on how the ratings work and my Cancellation Alert statuses, you can see the Cancellation Watch FAQ.
Ratings Results for the Week of March 24:
Once Upon A Time (ABC Sun 8 PM) Rating: 2.2 | Trend: Down | Cancellation Alert: Moderate
The Walking Dead (AMC Sun 9 PM) Rating: 5.4 | Trend: Down | Cancellation Alert: Renewed
The Following (FOX Mon 9 PM) Rating: 2.3 | Trend: Down | Cancellation Alert: Renewed
Being Human (Syfy Mon 9 PM) Rating: 0.6 | Trend: Up | Cancellation Alert: Low
Bates Motel (A&E Mon 10 PM) Rating: 1.3 | Trend: Steady | Cancellation Alert: Low
Arrow (CW Wed 8 PM) Rating: 0.9 | Trend: Down | Cancellation Alert: Renewed
The Neighbors (ABC Wed 9:30 PM) Rating: 1.5 | Trend: Up | Cancellation Alert: Medium
Supernatural (CW Wed 9 PM) Rating: 1.0 | Trend: Steady | Cancellation Alert: Renewed
Vampire Diaries (CW Thu 8 PM) Rating: 1.2 | Trend: Down | Cancellation Alert: Renewed
Person of Interest (CBS Thu 9 PM) Rating: Preempted | Trend: Down | Cancellation Alert: Renewed
Beauty and the Beast (CW Thu 9 PM) Rating: 0.6 | Trend: Steady | Cancellation Alert: Medium
Nikita (CW Fri 8 PM) Rating: 0.4 | Trend: Steady | Cancellation Alert: Moderate
Cult (CW Tue 9 PM) Rating: 0.2 | Trend: Steady | Cancellation Alert: High
Touch (FOX Fri 9 PM) Rating: 0.5 | Trend: Down | Cancellation Alert: High
Grimm (NBC Fri 9 PM) Rating: 1.3 | Trend: Down | Cancellation Alert: Low
Lost Girl and Continuum not as heavily tied to U.S. ratings
Ratings Source: TV by the Numbers
Nielsen TV Ratings: ©2013 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved.
Why Were They Cancelled?
The Plight of Science Fiction and Fantasy Television in the Face of the Unforgiving Nielsens and Networks
Ever wondered why your favorite science fiction and/or fantasy show disappeared from the television schedule, never to deliver anymore new episodes? The reason why, most likely, is that it was cancelled because its ratings were low. And this book looks at those many cancelled sci fi/fantasy shows as well as the Neilsen ratings and television networks that dictate their fates. Available now for only $2.99 on Kindle from Amazon.com.
