Parrot Analytics reports the audience demand of a show compared to the market average. For example, if Parrot Analytics gives a show an audience demand multiplier of 2.0, that means the show is performing double that of the market average in the United States on a 30-day rolling average. Here is a look at broadcast TV shows that ended some time between 2015 and 2020, sorted by network. These numbers are up to date through January 8, 2021. Note that this does not include long-running shows that were abruptly canceled, such as 2 Broke Girls and Castle.
ABCShow | Year Ended | Audience Demand Multiplier |
Agents of SHIELD | 2020 | 22.5 |
Fresh Off the Boat | 2020 | 4.4 |
How to Get Away with Murder | 2020 | 11.9 |
Modern Family | 2020 | 21.8 |
Scandal | 2018 | 8.4 |
The Middle | 2018 | 5.8 |
ABC was not always known for giving shows final season announcements, bringing an end to shows like Castle and Last Man Standing without advanced notice. After the public outrage behind Last Man Standing’s cancelation, ABC started giving out final season announcements more frequently, starting with fellow sitcom The Middle. While The Middle is in syndication, its streaming presence was practically non-existent until it was added to HBO Max in December 2020. While its audience demand is still nearly six times that of the average show, it is on the lower end of shows with recent final season announcements. Fresh Off the Boat is faring worse, with a poor showing in syndication and weak ratings by the end of its run. Still, it proves itself to be a show that deserved its final season announcement rather than a cancelation.
In the latter half of the 2010s, ABC had a strong relationship with Shonda Rhimes’ Shondaland Productions. Two of its three hits, Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder, were given final season announcements, while Grey’s Anatomy continues to air. Currently, How to Get Away with Murder is faring better than Scandal, although that can likely be explained by it being the more recent one to end. The longer a show has been off the air, the longer it’s had to escape the minds of the general public. Although it is not as strong as How to Get Away with Murder, Scandal is certainly shaping up to have a good afterlife.
None of these shows are quite as in-demand right now as Agents of SHEILD and Modern Family. The latter played a large part in rebuilding ABC’s comedy brand and continues to air in syndication, while the former is a Marvel tie-in that had a few more seasons than its Live + Same Day ratings suggested it should have. Seeing Agents of SHIELD’s audience demand at 22.5 times the market average explains an awful lot about its long run, and its popularity will likely continue for some time to come due to its placement on Disney+ and Netflix.
CBS
|
Show |
Year Ended |
Audience Demand |
|
Criminal Minds |
2020 |
34.9 |
|
CSI |
2015 |
8.8 |
|
Elementary |
2019 |
12.2 |
|
Hawaii Five-0 |
2020 |
25.6 |
|
Madam Secretary |
2019 |
9.6 |
|
Mike and Molly |
2016 |
2.6 |
|
Person Of Interest |
2016 |
9.9 |
|
The Big Bang Theory |
2019 |
34.7 |
|
The Good Wife |
2016 |
6.3 |
|
The Mentalist |
2015 |
6.1 |
|
Two and a Half Men |
2015 |
10.0 |
As with ABC, some of CBS’ recently-ended shows have aged better than others. At the bottom is Mike & Molly, a sitcom that ran for six seasons and entered syndication. At 2.6 times the average audience demand in the United States, Mike & Molly has not aged nearly as well as other shows that have been lucky enough to exit the airwaves gracefully.
Doing a bit better are a string of shows that ended their runs on Sundays: CSI, Madam Secretary, and The Good Wife. With a limited-run revival on the way, CSI’s 8.8 seems to please CBS, and The Good Wife has a spinoff on CBS All-Access. Also in that range is The Mentalist, which has its viewing options restricted to Amazon Prime Video.
Two and a Half Men remains in syndication, with its 10.0 multiplier much more impressive than those of Mike & Molly and The Middle. Given Two and a Half Men ended in 2015, this type of interest is promising for the show’s ability to stay in the eye of the general public for several more years to come. The same can be said for Elementary, a show that survived year after year thanks to a record-breaking lucrative syndication deal with WGN.
By looking at the multipliers for Criminal Minds, The Big Bang Theory, and Hawaii Five-0, you will pick up on a general trend: syndication still matters. These three shows are on constant rotation in syndication, and the audience demand shows for it. Criminal Minds is likely also boosted by its presence on Netflix. These shows are among the most popular on all of television, surpassing many currently-airing shows.
NBC
Show | Year Ended | Audience Demand Multiplier |
Blindspot | 2020 | 11.6 |
The Good Place | 2020 | 22.4 |
Will & Grace | 2020 | 8.3 |
Shades of Blue | 2019 | 0.8 |
Grimm | 2017 | 8.1 |
Parenthood | 2015 | 4.2 |
Parks and Recreation | 2015 | 22.4 |
Among ratings fanatics, Shades of Blue is perhaps best known as a show that received a final season announcement after airing just two 13-episode seasons. It has not aged well, with an audience demand multiplier less than that of the average show.
The other dramas ended by NBC in recent seasons have fared better than Shades of Blue, to varying degrees. Parenthood, the show many were reminded of upon first hearing about This Is Us, still has an audience nearly six years after it finished airing, yet not nearly as much as one as Friday night staple Grimm. Blindspot, which ended in 2020, was thrown around the schedule throughout its run. It started as the high-profile drama to air after the Monday edition of The Voice in the fall before airing on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and finally Fridays, with each time slot arguably worse than the previous one. It was only a ratings hit for the first couple seasons, but stuck around for 100 episodes. Given it was temporarily pulled from the schedule toward the end of its low-rated fourth season, the fifth season renewal was seen as a shocker to many. This 11.6 multiplier gives reason to believe NBC made the right decision all along.
Tied for first on NBC are two comedies: The Good Place and Parks and Recreation. Coincidentally, Michael Schur created the former and co-created the latter. Parks and Recreation was not often known as a power player in Live + Same Day ratings, and The Good Place was always solid at best. Still, their heavy presence on streaming, combined with Parks’ syndication deal, have catapulted them to massive success even after they ended. To settle a tie, Parks and Recreation is arguably the more impressive one, having ended nearly six years ago.
FOX
Show | Year Ended | Audience Demand Multiplier |
Empire | 2020 | 7.4 |
Gotham | 2019 | 17.9 |
New Girl | 2018 | 15.1 |
Bones | 2017 | 10.4 |
Glee | 2015 | 10.8 |
What stands out the most about FOX, other than how few shows they have given a final season announcement for in the latter half of the 2010s decade, is how Empire is aging worse than the other shows. At one point, Empire was huge, reaching nearly a 7.0 Live + Same Day rating in Adults 18-49 for its Season 1 finale in an era where that was unheard of. While having a 7.4 multiplier is certainly not bad for a show no longer airing, being below the other shows on this list illustrates how far it has fallen. In all fairness, though, the only streaming service Empire is on is Hulu. The multiplier might have been higher had it been added to Disney+.
By and large, FOX’s crop of ended shows continues to look strong today. Procedural Bones and musical Glee are nearly identical, with the first being in syndication and the latter on Netflix. Both shows aired directly following American Idol at their peaks, and Glee was considered a cultural phenomenal for a couple seasons before flaming out. Glee’s inability to pull in even passable Live + Same Day ratings in its final two seasons leads to a double digit multiplier being quite a surprise.
Unlike ABC, CBS, NBC, and as you’ll see soon, The CW, FOX does not have any recently ended shows with multipliers in the 20s or 30s. Rather, they peak in the mid-teens with New Girl and Gotham. Both are available for viewing on Netflix, and New Girl was able to secure a syndication deal as well. New Girl’s syndication deal likely does not have too much to do with its success, though, given it primarily airs overnight. None of the shows in this table for FOX went out on particularly high notes, but with multipliers like these, none of them seemed to outstay their welcome as much as it may have looked at the time.
The CW
Show | Audience Demand | Nielsen Rating (L+SD) |
The 100 | 2020 | 22.9 |
Arrow | 2020 | 20.4 |
Supernatural | 2020 | 47.4 |
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend | 2019 | 3.5 |
iZombie | 2019 | 6.0 |
Jane the Virgin | 2019 | 5.6 |
The Originals | 2018 | 13.0 |
Reign | 2017 | 6.7 |
The Vampire Diaries | 2017 | 18.8 |
Hart of Dixie | 2015 | 5.8 |
Note: An audience demand multiplier for Beauty & the Beast has not been located.
Looking at these multipliers, it seems The CW is a much more popular network than anyone tracking only its Live + Same Day Nielsen ratings would be able to see. Still, when compared to the other shows in this table, critically-acclaimed but abysmally-rated Crazy Ex-Girlfriend does not stand out as some silent hit. Having an audience demand of over three times that of the average show is certainly impressive on face value, but not so much compared to its company. For example, Jane The Virgin was in a similar situation ratings-wise yet has a multiplier of over two points more. Alongside iZombie, Reign, and Hart of Dixie, Jane the Virgin has a multiplier much higher than one would assume based on linear ratings, but they are also far from the most popular shows that The CW recently ended. Of this group, Hart of Dixie is arguably the most impressive, having ended in 2015 on Fridays. In general, it is tough to grade The CW. On one hand, none were ever known to be ratings juggernauts on the low-rated network. On the other hand, they are prominently featured on Netflix. The CW seems to have found shows that resonate with an audience, just not when they first air.
The Vampire Diaries remains massively popular, with its spin-off, The Originals, also notable. Given how The Originals ended in 2018 and The Vampire Diaries ended in 2017, multipliers in the teens are quite a feat, and demonstrate there is still an audience watching or re-watching the shows. Even more popular are the shows that wrapped up in 2020. The 100 and Arrow both have multipliers above 20, making them two of the most in-demand shows of all those ended by broadcast networks from 2015 through 2020. Arrow began the “ArrowVerse,” a series of shows that transformed The CW from a female-oriented soap network to a male-oriented superhero/action network. The 100, however, is more of a stand-alone show when it comes to network tie-ins. Many were probably confused when The CW announced it was putting a spin-off of The 100 into development given its low ratings, but this multiplier would explain why.
No show in any of these tables comes close to competing with Supernatural and its 47.4 multiplier. Yes, Supernatural’s audience demand is more than 47 times that of the average show. Granted, it ended more recently than any other show in these tables, but this goes to show what a long-running show can do when it’s both in syndication and easily accessible on Netflix.
What do you think? Is there anything in here that surprises you? Leave a reaction and a comment!