Sitcom Scorecard (2/28-3/8) -- FOX Thaws as Great North Melts Southward And Slips to From 1st to 5th


March Madness is around the corner, and everyone but CBS sitcoms is dribbling into the foul zone.  FOX finally deflated the nacho fart from NFL they used to boost most of their shows, who now meet with indigestion and lose ground each week.  Readers of this column may recall a brief windfall in January when Call Me Kat purred at the top of the sitcom cat condo.  That cat may be landing on its feet, but fumbling down branches and now rests below a series which is on its way out.  And The Great North finally thawed out of 1st Place and is drifting below the worthy sitcoms who will reclaim their throne in April.  The slides continue each week for Family Guy, Bob's Burgers and Bless The Harts, 

The truth in this chart is CBS deserves the crown position.  The Neighborhood and Young Sheldon's numbers have remained steady and shown upward growth this winter.  Their trailing of sitcoms also surged as Bob Hearts Abishola and B Positive descended upward, and even outgoing Mom and likely extinct Unicorn grew from their halo.  Young Rock is indeed strong (and the first time in the Sitcom Scorecard's history since Will & Grace) but losing ground every week.  By April, will it be in The Middle of the Neighborhood?  Elsewhere on NBC is trying to laugh, Kenan has already dipped down rapidly to the middle of the block and showing less grit.  It may still help repopulate NBC's decimated Thursday comedy block (which shall lose Superstore and Brooklyn 99 in 2021), but NBC has an embarrassment of riches in dramas and still holds The Voice.  The peacock has choices to make how much space they have available for laughs.

As for ABC, the last Sitcom Scorecard appears to be their rock bottom as their formerly sturdy franchises are aging.  Time will tell if The Goldbergs, The Conners or American Housewife will make the leap to the next season, and Blackish is still reigning strong.  What is saddening to see the formerly mighty sitcom block withering week by week.  4 years earlier when the Sitcom Scorecard launched, ABC was in the front often with only CBS giving it competition.  This season's goal appears to be getting their franchises back to the seasonal average.

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