ABC hasn’t exactly been having the best luck with their new shows this season. They’ve cancelled two of them already (The Whole Truth and My Generation) and none of the others have made much of a splash. Of the new crop, No Ordinary Family has been getting the best ratings but it could hardly be called a success, averaging a mediocre 2.6 in the demo.
The network is in a bit of a pickle. They still have some very successful programs but some of them have been on the air for several years and they need to find new blood. This new crop has been a disappointment so far but it looks like they really want to make them work.
The network has now given full season orders to two new series — No Ordinary Family and Better with You — and ordered a handful of more installments from Detroit 1-8-7 and Brothers & Sisters. Are they safe?
Four episodes of No Ordinary Family have aired so far. The series debuted to a 3.2 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 10.69 million total viewers. Those numbers are positive. Unfortunately, the show’s ratings have sunk every week. Last week’s episode hit a 2.2 in the demo and 7.41 million viewers. If the ratings don’t even off, this show will certainly be on the chopping block.
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Better with You hasn’t been dropping like No Ordinary Family but didn’t get as good a start either. The sitcom debuted to a 2.5 in the demo and 7.86 million total viewers. It now seems to have leveled off at a 2.1 in the demo. Though sandwiched between The Middle (averaging a 2.6) and ABC’s highly successful Modern Family (averaging a 4.8), Better with You has averaged just a 2.2 rating. It seems a percentage of viewers are making a conscious effort to skip the freshman comedy. ABC has several other sitcom possibilities waiting in the wings and they’ll surely try them.
Detroit 1-8-7 is doing even worse in the ratings and as a result didn’t get a full season. ABC has just ordered five additional installments, bringing the first season total to 18 episodes. Now that My Generation and The Whole Truth have been dumped (though the latter isn’t off the air yet), Detroit 1-8-7 is the lowest-rated not-cancelled scripted show on the network. It’s averaging a 1.9 rating in the demo and is consistently in third place for the timeslot. Unless the numbers turnaround, it doesn’t have a future and will surely be cancelled in the spring.
On the positive side, as previously reported, Brothers & Sisters has received an order for four more episodes, bringing the season total to 22 installments. When the network only ordered 18 episodes in the spring, many speculated that the show was on its way out. The ratings have been good this season and, luckily for the cast and crew, they’re better than any of the new shows. For now, Brothers & Sisters looks to be on track for season six.
What do you think? Are any of ABC’s new shows worth watching? Are you surprised that any were given orders for additional episodes? Will any survive to see a second season?
Image courtesy ABC.
detroit 187 is an awesome show.
Better with You—-only exists because some are too lazy to change the channel for a half hour. I’m one of those. I put the television on Mute and read until Modern Family comes on. If that gets the show good ratings, I’m sorry. It really needs to go off the air.
Detroit is one of the best shows out there so far. The execs need to give it a chance for the audience to get to know all the characters…the stories are fabulous…gritty and well written, reminding me of the early days of Hill Street Blues. Give this show some time!
just let no ordinary family go it stinks real bad abc doent need this garbage
Detroit 187 is a good show. I sincerely hope it won’t be cancelled! There are some shows that should be considered, but not this one. Michael Imperiole is really good in this role and the cast works well. Hope to see more of this show and watch the characters develop.
better with you is a GREAT show. I hope it sticks around!
I love “Better With You”, “The Whole Truth”, “No Ordinary Family”, even the cancelled “Flashforward” that needs to come back and finish up! “V” also needs to come back and finish up! If you don’t want to order more episodes, the run a 2 hour show of it to complete the story!
I love Detroit 1-8-7 and agree with previous posts: it has an unfortunate lead-in in DWTS, but is an excellent show that keeps getting better, and should be given a chance to build an audience over time. Given that it was barely promoted by ABC and still receives almost no press, I think it’s doing amazingly well!
Putting Detroit 1-8-7 after DWTS where most who watch that ONLY watch , ‘reality shows’ was a bad idea from the getgo.
I think Detroit 187 is actually turning into a very good show – was suprised the ratings were so low. If I were ABC, I would let this show run it’s course for a while, and I am betting it picks up – has good story lines and actors.
Detroit 1-8-7 is the best new show and much better than Hawaii Five-O! It is gritty, yet quirky. Michael Imperioli is great on this show. I don’t want to know why his character does the things that he does, so his behavior should just be one of those unexplained things that keeps the show going forever.
Better With You has too many characters and none are distinguishable except for the mother whose rejuvinated face is not right for a show that is supposed to be showing relationships with 3 different age group. A mother with a new face doesn’t work with bald and retired father character.
Hearing that Detroit 1-8-7 might be cancelled is distressing. A great show with substance nneds to be given a chance to find it’s audience. Sadly this is the history of TV execs, afraid to give good shows a chance to grow. You pre-doom shows by yanking them after three or four showings? Outlaw is another great show that was a victim of a bad name. Let the shows breathe a bit. History proves several shows in the past, including M*A*S*H, were almost cancelled, but some wise person saw the show was worth holding onto. Execs, do yourselves a favor, take… Read more »
Better with you is great! I really hope it gets a chance to stay around.
Me and my kid love the show.We hope it stays on a few seasons