This week, I had to determine the number of seasons plus the year to year change on each show. By all accounts, most veteran shows are down double digits in percentages. The only exceptions are the Chicago shows, 9-1-1, All American, and A Million Little Things. All four kept their decline to the single digits so far. For everyone else, the double digit declines are pretty alarming but every year on average, ratings fall 5-10%. But this year is a special case. Ratings are projected to be down 20% with the projected league average standing at a 0.76. With that perspective, maybe things may not look as bad. We can all hope, as other factors such as profit margins are in play.
On the CW, notice how the ratings on the WB side are at least a tenth from each other when you take out the top 3 shows on the network? All are in the upper 0.2 levels, and have other factors in play. For the newbies, it's the HBO Max/CBS All Access deal. For the veterans, it's the Netflix deal. But how will the Viacom/CBS merger affect the CW? Probably not much for now. For the bottom 3, the CBS produced shows should take some solace that the production costs will be covered for at least another season, if not two. I'll cover more in the CW Renew/Cancel. But, man, these 0.2s are a plenty, and they are painful to look at for any ratings watcher.
In the anemic range, we have Bluff City Law, Emergence, and Almost Family with odds at -5%. For Bluff City Law, I may have to slap that "cancelled" label eventually. Anyways, all three shows had their episode orders capped at their initial orders due to their ratings. Throughout the entire fall season, I predicted that Almost Family is certain to be canceled. Though I also predicted that The Resident sitting in the middle of the pack will be leaning towards getting the ax, and that's reflected on the scorecard. In recent weeks before the holidays, however, The Resident's ratings looked better than Almost Family's or The Moodys'. No doubt that it's close to the FOX median. I'll reassess after New Year's. Space is a key factor, so that will be tested come midseason.
A lot of dramas dropped to middle of the pack this season. When I first tried my hand on the creation of the drama scorecard, it was a month ago. Things do change quickly. Until then, let's have at it in the comment section!
