Thursday TV Ratings 2/26/26: Elsbeth and Matlock Drop in Midseason Debuts, SVU and 9-1-1: Nashville Also Sink, Animal Control and The Hunting Party Rise [+ Analysis]

Matlock (0.20, -0.09) and Elsbeth (0.14, -0.04) had disappointing returns on CBS, while Georgie & Mandy (0.40, +0.04) and Ghosts (0.34, +0.09) were up noticeably from their last installments. On ABC, 9-1-1 (0.29, -0.06), 9-1-1: Nashville (0.20, -0.12), and Grey's Anatomy (0.15, -0.07) all plummeted. NBC's Law & Order (0.24, -0.04) and Law & Order: SVU (0.26, -0.09) also declined, but The Hunting Party (0.17, +0.02) bucked the trend. Next Level Chef (0.28, +0.08), Animal Control (0.22, +0.05), and Going Dutch (0.18, +0.08) all soared on Fox. Scrabble (0.04, +0.01) and Trivial Pursuit (0.04, +0.01) each gained a hundredth on the CW.

Time	Show	18-49 Rating	18-49 Share	Viewers (mil)	Network
8 PM	Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage	0.40	6	5.58	CBS
	9-1-1	0.29	4	4.08	ABC
	Next Level Chef	0.28	4	1.83	Fox
	Law & Order	0.24	3	3.93	NBC
	Scrabble	0.04	1	0.41	CW
8:30 PM	Ghosts	0.34	5	4.62	CBS
9 PM	Law & Order: SVU	0.26	4	3.74	NBC
	Animal Control	0.22	3	1.20	Fox
	Matlock	0.20	3	4.09	CBS
	9-1-1: Nashville	0.20	3	3.29	ABC
	Trivial Pursuit	0.04	1	0.39	CW
9:30 PM	Going Dutch	0.18	3	0.97	Fox
10 PM	The Hunting Party	0.17	3	2.09	NBC
	Grey's Anatomy	0.15	2	2.25	ABC
	Elsbeth	0.14	2	3.23	CBS

Cable Highlights:

Show	Network	18-49 Viewers	Viewers (mil.)
Impractical Jokers	TBS	0.21	0.55
Gutfeld!	Fox News	0.18	3.13
Jesse Watters Primetime	Fox News	0.17	3.64
NHL	ESPN	0.16	0.62
Hannity	Fox News	0.13	3.10
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills	Bravo	0.11	0.67
NewsNight	CNN	0.10	0.83
All In with Chris Hayes	MSNOW	0.09	1.41
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell	MSNOW	0.09	1.58
Anderson Cooper 360	CNN	0.08	0.92
Men's College Basketball 9 PM	ESPN2	0.07	0.27
The Briefing with Jen Psaki	MSNOW	0.07	1.40
The Source with Kaitlan Collins	CNN	0.06	0.83
The Valley: Persian Style	Bravo	0.05	0.33