Scripted programming entering the top 10 was a rarity the prior season, only occasionally punctuated by a NFL-inflated Sunday evening program entering the arena. That season was shared by sports and reality TV programming in the top 10 reaches of the chart. That however, has changed early in this season as most sturdy reality TV franchises hang out in the top 20, and on occasion claw their way into the top 10 like Masked Singer does when a Football Inflated Simpsons or 60 Minutes entry isn't pushing it down. The Voice, Masked Singer and even Bachelor(ette) programming enjoyed top-10 for over 15 years.
The game changed in 2021 as these sturdy franchises are eroding. Masked Singer tumbled below the 1.0 mark after 5 solid seasons ruling the roost. Dancing With the Stars has dipped lower after a hearty 0.92 rating, losing a solid two tenths and crashing at 0.69 on some showings, explaining how it fell out of the top 20. Big Brother's summer runover also demonstrated losses as the CBS hit dropped below the 1.0 bar, as did Survivor.
More alarming is The Voice's 0.76 entry on the evening of 10/18, showing 11 years are finally showing their age on NBC's former uber hit. They still rate above average but are suffering the effects many scripted series have faced in recent years. Perhaps most damaging was ABC's obvious competition ramming of American Idol on Mondays in spring 2021, leading to the two franchises cannibalizing each other. The Voice is far from over, but perhaps could reduce to one cycle a year is drops continue.
Elsewhere, prior heavyweight scripted programming has also taken a battering. ABC Shondaland hits Station 19 and Grey's Anatomy have taken massive plunges year to year, losing 30-40% of their audience in a year with each carving new lows at 0.56 and 0.61, respectively. 9-1-1 has held the sturdiest of the scripted shows reaching above the 0.8 mark on multiple occasions but cannot crack the Top 20 rankings. NCIS' Monday move on CBS lopped off more viewers on the aged series, seeing Mark Harmon's exit also carving out a series low at 0.56.
The data in this table tracks programming which has submitted 2+ original series since September 1. Shows with red fonts have concluded their runs, and surprisingly are rising up the charts as in-season programming continues to sink in the Nielsen race.
