Each season, the television networks introduce dozens of new TV shows and hope that each will be a big hit in the ratings. Unfortunately, most are cancelled after one season. How are the 2015-16 series doing? Which have the best ratings and which have the worst? How many will survive to see a second season? Stay tuned.
Here are the season average ratings of the new 2015-16 network TV shows — through the end of week 34 (Sunday, May 15, 2016).
New ABC shows (so far): Bachelor Live, Blood & Oil, The Catch, Dr. Ken, The Family, The Great Holiday Baking Show, The Muppets, My Diet Is Better Than Yours, Of Kings and Prophets, The Real O’Neals, Quantico, and Wicked City.
New CBS shows this season (so far): Angel From Hell, Code Black, Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, Life In Pieces, Limitless, Rush Hour, and Supergirl.
New CW shows this season (so far): Containment, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.
New FOX shows this season (so far): American Grit, Bordertown, Cooper Barrett’s Guide to Surviving Life, Crowded, Grandfathered, The Grinder, Houdini & Doyle, Lucifer, Minority Report, Rosewood, Scream Queens, Second Chance, and The X-Files. (Technically, The X-Files isn’t a “new” show but the series has been out of primetime for 14 years so it seemed valid to include it here.)
New NBC shows this season (so far): Blindspot, Best Time Ever With Neil Patrick Harris, Chicago Med, Dateline: On Assignment, Game of Silence, Heartbeat, Heroes Reborn, Little Big Shots, The Player, Shades of Blue, Strong, Superstore, Telenovela, Truth Be Told, and You, Me and the Apocalypse.
Note: If you’re not seeing the updated charts, please try reloading the page. You can also view them here and here.
The averages are based on the final national numbers (live plus same day viewing). The demos are typically reported with one decimal place but I’ve included two for more accurate ranking.
Keep in mind that the demo numbers are typically what’s most important to advertisers. Therefore, that’s how the networks measure success. Advertisers pay more for ad time on a show that has a higher demo rating. Because older viewers don’t count? No, it’s because younger viewers watch less traditional TV and are harder to reach.
What do you think? Are you surprised by any of the ratings? Which shows should be doing better?
