Thanks to COVID-19, the 2020-21 season was like none other. ABC aired far more unscripted series than usual and ran just 15 scripted series in the regular season (compared to 20 the previous year). The alphabet network launched just four new scripted series. None were hits but the programmers cancelled two and renewed the other two anyway. How will the ABC TV shows perform in the ratings during the 2021-22 season? Stay tuned!

ABC shows (so far):  The $100,000 Pyramid, 20/20, Abbott Elementary, America’s Funniest Home Videos, American Idol, The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Big Sky, Black-ish, Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, The Chase, Claim to Fame, The Con, The Conners, Dancing with the Stars, The Fatal Flaw, The Final Straw, Generation Gap, The Goldbergs, The Good Doctor, The Great Christmas Light Fight, Grey’s Anatomy, Holey Moley, Home Economics, Jeopardy! National College Championship, Judge Steve Harvey, Let the World See, A Million Little Things, Press Your Luck,  Promised Land, Queens, The Rookie, Shark Tank, Station 19, Supermarket Sweep, To Tell The Truth, Who Do You Believe?, Women of the Movement, and The Wonder Years.

There’s lots of data that network execs look at when deciding whether to renew or cancel a TV series but ratings are the major ingredient. These 2021-22 season charts will be updated daily, as new ratings data becomes available.

Note: If you’re not seeing the updated chart, please try reloading the page or view them here and here.

A couple of notes about these charts:
These figures are updated automatically as new ratings are released. The averages are based on the final national numbers (live plus same day viewing), unless marked with an asterisk (*). For technical reasons, I have to resort them manually. While these numbers don’t include further delayed or streaming viewing, they are a very good indicator of how a show is performing, especially when compared to others on the same channel. There can be other economic factors involved in a show’s fate, but typically the higher-rated series are renewed and the lower-rated ones are cancelled.

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. Older viewers also matter but younger viewers watch less traditional TV and are therefore harder to reach. Delayed viewing matters more and more these days (if commercials are watched) but live viewing is still advertisers’ ideal.

Demo numbers are typically reported using the 10ths decimal place (2.4, for example). In the averages, I’m using an extra decimal for easier ranking. The networks take into account when shows air on Fridays and Saturdays, nights when TV viewership is lower.

What do you think? Are you surprised by any of the ratings? Which 2021-22 shows should be doing better? Which one do you think will be cancelled next?