Monday TV Ratings 1/26/26: American Idol Returns Up from Season 23 Premiere, The Rookie Down on New Night, Memory of a Killer Decent for Time Slot Premiere [+ Analysis]

American Idol (0.62) got off to a strong start on ABC, rising by nearly 38% from last year's premiere rating (0.45), but The Rookie (0.27, -0.03) took a step down on a new night. On Fox, Memory of a Killer (0.22, -1.13) looked relatively solid in its time slot debut, matching the return of Extracted (0.22). On NBC, St. Denis (0.31, +0.07) and The Wall (0.16, +0.04) bounced back, while drama Brilliant Minds (0.11, +0.01) was only up slightly. CBS was still in repeat mode (0.25/0.19/0.16/0.09). The CW aired the premiere of Wild Cards (0.05). Key: (P) = premiere. (R) = repeat.

Time	Show	18-49 Rating	18-49 Share	Viewers (mil)	Network
8 PM	American Idol (P)	0.62	8	6.22	ABC
	St. Denis Medical	0.31	4	2.69	NBC
	The Neighborhood (R)	0.25	3	2.74	CBS
	Extracted (P)	0.22	3	1.89	Fox
	Wild Cards (P)	0.05	1	0.71	CW
8:30 PM	DMV (R)	0.19	2	2.10	CBS
	Stumble (R)	0.17	2	1.58	NBC
9 PM	Memory of a Killer	0.22	3	2.15	Fox
	The Wall	0.16	2	1.59	NBC
	FBI (R)	0.16	2	2.60	CBS
	Sullivan's Crossing (R)	0.02	0	0.26	CW
10 PM	The Rookie	0.27	4	3.43	ABC
	Brilliant Minds	0.11	2	1.59	NBC
	NCIS: Origins (R)	0.09	1	1.58	CBS

Cable Highlights:

Show	Network	18-49 Viewers	Total viewership rank*
Men's College Basketball 9 PM	ESPN	0.40	6th
Men's College Basketball 7 PM	ESPN	0.38	7th
90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way -Tell All	TLC	0.22	8th
The Rachel Maddow Show	MSNOW	0.18	3rd
Gutfeld!	Fox News	0.18	2nd
Below Deck Mediterranean	Bravo	0.18	16th
Jesse Watters Primetime	Fox News	0.13	1st
NewsNight	CNN	0.13	11th
The Source with Kaitlan Collins	CNN	0.12	12th
Hannity	Fox News	0.12	4th
Anderson Cooper 360	CNN	0.11	10th
The Weeknight	MSNOW	0.10	9th
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell	MSNOW	0.10	5th
Baking Championship: Next Gen	Food	0.09	19th
Men's College Basketball 7 PM	FS1	0.06	70th
Unrivaled: Lunar Owls v. Hive	TNT	0.05	130th
Unrivaled: Laces v. Breeze	TNT	N/A (0.02 or below)	N/A