Friday TV Ratings 12/8/23: Norman Lear Special Low, Shark Tank Rises After Break, WWE SmackDown Also Up (UPDATED w/Analysis)

Ratings Analysis: CBS honored legendary sitcom producer Norman Lear with the special Norman Lear: A Life on Television (0.21), but its performance in the Adults 18-49 demographic left much to be desired. Raid the Cage (0.20, -0.04) declined in the 9 p.m. time slot and was followed by the usual Blue Bloods rerun (0.17). Fox's WWE Smackdown (0.63, +0.04) grew a bit and returned to its position as Friday night champion. Shark Tank (0.36, +0.02) and 20/20 (0.33, +0.07) were both up on ABC after taking a few weeks off. NBC's broadcast of 2017 film Despicable Me 3 (0.19) did not impress and dragged down Dateline (0.21, -0.06). FBoy Island (0.04, 0.00) held flat for its CW finale, but Penn & Teller (0.07, -0.01) shed a hundredth.

Finals Update: Shark Tank (+0.1) adjusted up.

Time	Show	18-49 Rating	18-49 Share	Viewers (mil)	Network
8 PM	WWE SmackDown	0.63	9	2.38	Fox
	Shark Tank	0.36	4	3.28	ABC
	Norman Lear: A Life on Television	0.21	3	3.07	CBS
	Despicable Me 3	0.19	2	1.42	NBC
	Penn & Teller: Fool Us	0.07	1	0.61	The CW
9 PM	20/20	0.33	4	3.09	ABC
	Raid the Cage	0.20	2	2.19	CBS
	FBoy Island (F)	0.04	0	0.19	The CW
10 PM	Dateline NBC	0.21	2	1.80	NBC
	Blue Bloods (R)	0.17	2	2.25	CBS