Two weeks ago, ABC's Tuesday lineup made a shockingly strong return on the Alphabet Network, igniting a sleepy TV landscape. This week, I finally give my take on the breakout performances of High Potential and Will Trent.
Certain Cancellation:
N/A
Likely Cancellation:
N/A
Leans Cancellation:
Doctor Odyssey (0.29, 0.22-0.40)
The Rookie (0.34, 0.33-0.34)
Leans Renewal:
N/A
Already Ending:
The Conners
High Potential: In a move I have long anticipated making, even well before the explosive rise of its linear ratings, High Potential is getting a prediction upgrade this week. While it was a strong performer on streaming over its entire fall run, its poor retention from Dancing with the Stars and so-so ratings overall definitely masked its overall strength. Its new time slot has exposed just how bad of a slot 10 PM was for this show, allowing it to rate about twice as high as some of those lower-rated episodes at the end of its fall run. I was prepared to upgrade the show when it returned just based off of its incredible performance in multiplatform ratings, including continued domination on Hulu, but its last few showings on ABC are truly remarkable. It's so rare to see a show naturally grow so much on its own, and not simply as the result of getting a massive lead-in. While Will Trent is doing very well itself, High Potential's success can clearly be entirely attributed to its own merit. Linear ratings aren't the only place it has gained, either. Its average of 2.33 in MP+7 multiplatform ratings was already enough to be the #1 entertainment program on broadcast, and it returned with a 2.43 in MP+7 ratings for its midseason premiere. Just a few episodes remain before its season ends, and it could possibly slip a bit in those weeks, but not by nearly enough to be in any danger whatsoever. This is a genuine hit in every regard, and ABC is incredibly lucky to have found it. It is, at long last, upgraded to a CERTAIN RENEWAL.
Will Trent: Last week, I didn't break down my reasoning for my prediction for Will Trent, but I alluded to wanting to be cautious before I gave it a "certain renewal" label. I try to be very conservative with handing out assertions that a show will certainly return, and only hand this status to shows that I see absolutely zero chance of being canceled. With this show's ratings boost being such a recent development, and such a shocking one, I needed a bit more data before I could be sure it was actually real and not a mere fluke. Like with High Potential, the show could still drop in the coming weeks, but last week's showing was very impressive, shedding just a few hundredths from it series high performance the prior week. I haven't always been enthusiastic about Will Trent's ratings, as I felt it didn't live up to its potential after it got a huge time slot upgrade last season, particularly on premiere night. However, it has finally lived up to its potential, nearly matching the breakout High Potential in the key demo. Thanks to the fall run weighing High Potential's average down, Will Trent is actually ABC's #3 show this season, barely trailing Shifting Gears (which it beat last week). That's unlikely to hold, as top performers The Bachelor and American Idol have yet to premiere, but it's still quite the improvement from last season, when it tied Bachelor in Paradise and The Conners for eleventh place. Its performance in multplatform ratings isn't nearly as strong, having premiered with a 1.2 in that demo (seven tenths below The Rookie, and slightly under half the demo of High Potential), but total viewers is a metric more valued by streaming services, and it hit a new high there, with nearly 10 million viewers in MP+7. Will Trent may never be a powerhouse on streaming, or one of ABC's strongest shows overall, but a good, solid performer is really valuable, and that's what this show is proving itself to be. Like High Potential, it earns itself an upgrade this week, to a CERTAIN RENEWAL.
Interactive Schedule:
The TV Ratings Guide | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mon | The Bachelor | The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives | ||||
Tues | Will Trent | High Potential | The Rookie | |||
Wed | Shifting Gears | Abbott Elementary | Celebrity Jeopardy! | What Would You Do? | ||
Thurs | Extreme Makeover: Home Edition | Only Murders In The Building | ||||
Fri | Shark Tank | 20/20 |
What do you think of my predictions? What are your predictions? Let me know in the comments and vote in the poll of the week!