Read the table below and gather a sense of what is going on with another season of Nielsen drops. Last season's heavy-hitters, 9-1-1 and Grey's Anatomy have drifted from extraordinary to ordinary hits. Not a single scripted series on radar has registered above the 1.0 mark, showing a climate change for Broadcast Television as those numbers only exist in Reality TV and sports. Among the first two weeks' entries, many question if The Rookie may be done this season. It may indeed be a possibility as Nathan Fillion's salary comes at a premium, much like Ellen Pompeo's salary on Grey's Anatomy.
Another victorious factor to examine is The Rookie registered a 0.36 18-49 Adult Demo rating out of Supermarket Sweep's 0.44. This is indeed a noticeable lead-out, but Big Sky delivered a 0.37 out of Grey's Anatomy's 0.77, and The Good Doctor delivered an underwhelming 0.41 out of Dancing With The Stars' 0.72 entry. The Rookie's retention, coupled against a less desirable timeslot leaves it leaning toward renewal with the math presented. Shows need two-plus Nielsen ratings to have renewal odds predicted unless renewed or cancelled, which is why most of the chart reads purple below.
Not all shows lost ground, or shifted into a better place. Law & Order: SVU has found a mild renaissance in its 23rd season, having grown almost 30%, and its fellow franchise Organized Crime is enjoying the surge in compatible scheduling. Grey's Anatomy took a hit, but fellow spinoff Station 19 is neck to neck in Nielsen performance and indicating it is well established. The Chicago-verse (another overdone franchise) is also down but sturdy with all entries delivering in the upper echelon of the charts.
