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Early ratings show tepid interest in new TV shows

4 min read

Autumn isn’t what it used to be.

Once upon a time, falling leaves sparked excitement about a new school year, Sunday football and a fresh television season. Now, schools are up and running before Labor Day, the football season begins on a Thursday, and few people seem to care about new television shows.

Buzz about the unveiling of the 2015-16 TV series has been relegated to a whisper. Granted, some local buzz-kill may have occurred because of a hotly contested baseball pennant race, which, in the not-too-distant past, was primarily a radio event. But with virtually every baseball game now available on 50-inch, high-definition screens, summer TV viewers may be focused on sports rather than traditional programming, thus bypassing advertising hype for the new TV season.

And early ratings indicate that lackluster interest in new TV shows isn’t just a ‘Burgh thing. Over the past few years, premiere week would attract about 40 million viewers to the major networks during the 9 p.m. hour (the top viewing hour of the night). Last Wednesday, about six million of those viewers were nowhere to be found on the networks.

Moreover, the two shows with the highest preseason profile, “The Muppets” and “Blindspot,” were not the most-watched new series. That honor – if you can call it that – went to sitcom “Life in Pieces,” which reeled in 11 million viewers, thanks in no small part to its “Big Bang Theory” lead-in. While 11 million viewers would ensure renewal deep into the season, new shows tend to draw a curious crowd at the outset, often in the 15 million range. That hasn’t occurred with any new show thus far.

The tally through Wednesday was, in order, “Blindspot (10.6 million) “Limitless,” (10 million), “The Muppets” (9 million) “Rosewood” (7 million), “Scream Queens” (4 million) and “Minority Report” (3 million). Granted, live viewing numbers are increasingly insignificant, but even over the next seven days, it’s doubtful “Minority Report” will generate enough delayed-viewing fans to salvage the show.

Last season, “Empire” was far and away the biggest freshman series, as it not only maintained its premiere audience, but also added millions of viewers as it progressed. It opened last week with a not-too-shabby 16 million sets of eyes. And therein may be the rub. Last season, all networks, save powerhouse CBS, gambled with genres, resulting in unexpected hits such as “Empire,” “black-ish” and “Fresh off the Boat.”

This year, virtually every new show is a variation of an older one. Whether it’s the reinvention of “Supergirl” and “Heroes,” the return of “Coach” and “The Muppets,” or the retelling of the movies “Minority Report” and “Limitless,” the new season has a very familiar – make that tired – feel to it.

The boldest move, perhaps, is that two series this fall will be broadcast live in an attempt to lure viewers to watch the series – and its commercials – in real time. How’s that working?

The first live show to premiere, “Best Time Ever,” snagged six million fans for Neil Patrick Harris. Most assuredly, he is not this season’s “Six Million Dollar Man.”

Despite its relatively slow start, “The Muppets” remains the frontrunner for this season’s top hit. While it’s infused more adult-oriented humor than in past incarnations, “The Muppets” is still ultimately a top-notch kid show, and one that will certainly fare well in delayed viewing (kids love to watch individual episodes of their favorite shows multiple times).

“Life in Pieces” is an OK comedy, but CBS doesn’t tolerate “OK,” which is why it has “Mike and Molly” waiting in the wings. It’s also clear that “Pieces” isn’t a good companion to “Big Bang Theory.”

There was a time when special events on popular sitcoms were a big deal. Not so for “Big Bang Theory.” Just 18 million guests accepted the invitation to its lead-character nuptials last Monday. Make no mistake: Those are excellent numbers for a network sitcom, but nowhere near ratings for high-profile episodes such as “Who Shot JR?” (“Dallas”), the birth of Baby Joey (“All in the Family”) or the final episode of “M*A*S*H.”

Three footnotes to summer television. Yes, CBS axed “Under the Dome,” despite its setting up a fourth season on the final episode. Yes, NBC renewed summer sitcom “The Carmichael Show,” but not “Mr. Robinson,” and yes, AMC already has renewed “Fear the Walking Dead.”

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