Ratings Analysis: Though it was down by almost 21% from its February 2021 premiere (1.17), ABC's 'American Idol' (0.93) returned in relatively solid shape and bested its May season finale (0.88). The programs surrounding 'Idol' clearly benefited from its return, with 'America's Funniest Home Videos' (0.65, +0.21) surging at 7 and 'The Rookie' (0.44, +0.11) climbing to a new season high in the 10PM slot. CBS's '60 Minutes' (0.68, +0.16) rose by nearly two-tenths, but 'The Equalizer' (0.58, -0.10) and 'NCIS: Los Angeles' (0.49, -0.03) slipped for their first installments in nearly two months. In the 10PM timeslot, 'SWAT' (0.45, +0.03) narrowly beat out 'The Rookie' and topped its hour. Fox's animation lineup was fully intact for the first time since December, but 'The Simpsons' (0.39, -0.29), 'The Great North' (0.28, -0.14), and 'Bob's Burgers' (0.40, -0.10) plummeted to new season lows. 'Family Guy' (0.42, -0.06) avoided a new low and was the highest-rated of the four sitcoms. The 7PM hour was occupied by a 'NASCAR'-inflated rerun of 'The Simpsons' (0.70) and a 'Call Me Kat' encore (0.26) that went higher than its last original episode. NBC aired repeats of 'America's Got Talent: Extreme' (0.34), 'The Endgame' (0.19), and 'Law & Order' (0.15). The CW's 'March' (0.03, -0.03) was 50% lower than the last time it aired and lost to the 'All American: Homecoming' repeat (0.04) that led into it.
Finals Update: '60 Minutes' (+0.1), 'The Equalizer' (+0.1), 'America's Funniest Home Videos' (+0.1), and 'SWAT' (+0.1) adjusted up.
(P) = premiere
(R) = repeat
