The Monday debuts of The Neighborhood and Bob Hearts Abishola rounded out the fall offerings of sitcoms, leaving the pack at a scant 16 options. These shows made a hearty debut and took 3rd in their respective timeslots while other shows struggled this week. Sunday, November 15 kicked FOX's Football Inflation Seesaw into high mode with The Simpsons (1.3) while Bless The Harts (0.7), Bob's Burgers (0.7) and Family Guy (0.7) all registered the same rating. Monday, November 16 saw solid debuts for The Neighborhood (0.8) and Bob Hearts Abishola (0.7) on CBS, while Wednesday, November 18 experienced family squabbles on ABC with only American Housewife (0.6) holding steady. Elsewhere, The Goldbergs (0.7), The Conners (0.6) and Blackish (0.4) all clipped a tenth off of their prior showings, and now The Goldbergs is officially ABC's leading comedy.
Thursday, November 19 held steady for NBC's Superstore (0.5), while CBS experienced some mild growth. Young Sheldon (0.8) and Mom (0.6) again registered steady, while newer sitcoms B-Positive (0.6) and The Unicorn (0.5) gained a tenth. CBS experienced a mild bounceback this week with its stronger Monday players while ABC slid down as its family sitcoms all struggled. If the same trend continues, CBS could push its way back into 2nd place for sitcoms.
The Unicorn's status has been registered as a Likely Cancellation due to it continues to flounder on the back of CBS' Thursday lineup. While B-Positive has little to write home about, it is the newer option of the two and CBS may choose to spare it if Mom is renewed. If Mom ends after its 8th season, the network could shutter up its 9:00 hour and blade out all three shows in favor of a Young Sheldon/new pilot option at 8:00.
Over at ABC, what the devil is going on with The Conners!? Debuting at a strong 0.9 on October 21, it continues to shed a tenth every week. Once ABC's strongest player, it has now been dethroned as ABC's strongest sitcom. If the series were in-house, there would be little concern. But it is outsourced and floundering on the schedule. If it continues to lose more ground, would ABC opt to axe it in favor of returning the 9:00 hour to dramas or shop a new sitcom? All of the networks save for FOX need fresh blood in their roster if they want to keep their sitcom franchises strong.
