Drama Scorecard: November 29-December 4, 2020


 The fall entries have started to hibernate till 2021, and the last of the returning shows arrived with CBS unveiling 4 more entries.  They took the night off on Sunday, November 29, leaving only Pandora (0.1) and The Outpost (0.0) to match their prior outing.  Monday, November 30 featured scattered helpings of steadiness with ABC's The Good Doctor (0.6), CBS' All Rise (0.5) and Bull (0.5), as well as FOX' Filthy Rich (0.3).  Tuesday, December 1 had NBC and CBS taking the night off from original scripted programming, leaving steady entries from ABC's surprise hit Big Sky (0.7), and disappointment with FOX' Next (0.2).

Wednesday, December 2 entered another drama into the arena as CBS welcomed back SEAL Team (0.5, 0.5) with a double helping that bested the same serving they gave SWAT by a tenth.  Alarmingly, ABC's For Life (0.3) unexpectedly hit the skids and lost two tenths.  Thursday, December 3 saw some slight drops as Station 19 (0.8) lost two tenths and Grey's Anatomy (1.2) and A Million Little Things (0.7) shed a tenth.  And Law and Order: SVU (0.5) stayed steady as well.  Friday, December 4 featured CBS unveiling three veteran dramas with MacGyver (0.5), Magnum PI (0.5) and Blue Bloods (0.5) all returning down but solid.


29 original dramas have emerged from the COVID-19 wreckage, and 16 more are expected to come back full swing, 11 of which are coming from CW.  FOX is expected to make a slight rebound with their 9-1-1 franchise after their embarrassing burnoffs leave them appearing to have the weakest entries among the big four.  What readers need to realize is this is FOX' pattern since American Idol soared strong.  They deal out mediocre at best in the fall, then unveil the big ticket items in January.  Almost all hit shows debut in January with recent winners such as 9-1-1, Empire and the early entries of The Resident.

Elsewhere, NBC appears again to hold the strongest dramas on pallet and will likely claim the crown this year.  ABC has slightly improved with Thursdays in solid shape as well as the surprise success of Big Sky.  Other dramas are middling but keeping ABC in strong shape.  CBS has disappointed with not a single drama busting through the 1.0 stratosphere and few hits anticipated.  However, majority of their players have delivered at 0.5 or higher, demonstrating they have much value on the schedule.  As for CW, do they even regard ratings?  If they did, executives would be expecting strokes and heart attacks with the abysmal deliveries.  However, CW has moved past the outdated broadcast network format and seeking lucrative means from streaming to gain exposure.

Expect the upcoming weeks to be lean and light with original entries as the holidays are in full swing.  

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