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 2017-18 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 2017-18 network TV shows — through the end of week 47 (Sunday, August 12, 2018).
New ABC TV shows (so far): Alex Inc., The Bachelor Winter Games, Castaways, Child Support, The Crossing, Deception, For the People, The Good Doctor, Kevin (Probably) Saves the World, The Last Defense, Marvel’s Inhumans, The Mayor, The Proposal, Roseanne, Splitting Up Together, Station 19, Take Two, and Ten Days in the Valley.
New CBS TV shows this season (so far): 9JKL, Big Brother: Celebrity Edition, Instinct, Living Biblically, Me Myself & I, Pink Collar Crimes, SEAL Team, SWAT, TKO: Total Knock Out, Undercover Boss: Celebrity Edition, Whistleblower, Wisdom of the Crowd, and Young Sheldon.
New CW TV shows this season (so far): Black Lightning, Burden of Truth, Dynasty, Life Sentence, The Outpost, and Valor.
New FOX TV shows this season (so far): 9-1-1, The Four: Battle for Stardom, Ghosted, The Gifted, Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back, LA to Vegas, The Orville, Phenoms, The Resident, and Showtime at the Apollo.
New NBC TV shows this season (so far): AP Bio, The Brave, Champions, Ellen’s Game of Games, Genius Junior, Good Girls, Law & Order True Crime, Making It, Reverie, Rise, and Will & Grace.
Note: If you’re not seeing the updated charts, please try reloading the page. You can also view them here.
Note: Though Will & Grace and Roseanne aren’t technically new shows, we’re treating them as such because they’ve been off the air for so many years.
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 typically 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. It’s also important to remember that ratings are designed to estimate how many people watch a show’s commercials — not the show itself. That’s what advertisers pay for.
Want more? You can check out other season listings here.
What do you think? Are you surprised by any of the ratings? Which shows should be doing better?
