Wednesday TV Ratings 4/16/25: Abbott Elementary Drops for Finale, Survivor Jumps to Season High, The Masked Singer and The Floor Also Climb, Chicago Med Hits Series Low [+ Analysis]

Ratings Analysis: Class was dismissed on ABC, as Abbott Elementary (0.30, -0.07) closed out its fourth season on Wednesday night with a rather steep decline. The Conners (0.26, -0.04) also lost some ground at eight, although not as much as Abbott. Later in the night, Celebrity Jeopardy! (0.25, 0.00) held even, and What Would You Do? (0.14, +0.03) rose for its own finale. CBS's Survivor (0.80, +0.12) jumped to a new season high, but The Amazing Race (0.30, -0.05) went in the opposite direction. On NBC, Chicago Med (0.30, -0.12) and Fire (0.33, -0.11) collapsed, while PD (0.30, -0.04) had a more mild decline. The Masked Singer (0.42, +0.11) soared on Fox, and The Floor (0.34, +0.05) also climbed higher. On series premiere night, CW drama Sherlock & Daughter (0.03) made a soft landing, but it at least fully retained its Wild Cards lead-in (0.03, -0.01). Key: (F) = finale.

The Conners Season 1 Finale Review

It's already time for the finale of the inaugural run of The Conners. The Roseanne spinoff that happened accidentally has proven to be one of the best new sitcoms of the season, anchored by strong performances from its entire cast, with Lecy Goranson's Becky proving to be the breakout among the cast. I'm excited to see what's in store for the Conner family before we say farewell for (hopefully) just a few months.

Darlene tells Becky about Ben's proposition from last week, and Becky allows her to go, even if it will complicate her promise that she'd be there to help with the baby. Later on, Jackie throws Peter's stuff out after she discovers that he's been calling another woman and has been cheating on Jackie with her. Peter blames the whole affair on Jackie, and she ends up attacking him with a towel until he finally leaves. Darlene tells the kids that they're moving to Chicago with Ben, but David interrupts to tell Darlene that he broke up with Blue. Darlene isn't happy that David wants her to flock back to him now that she's happy with Ben, but he professes his love to her. Before she can say anything else, Dan rushes in to tell her that Jackie's in trouble and they rush out.

An officer informs Dan and Darlene that Jackie is drunk and causing a disturbance, which they soon see for themselves. She tells them about Peter, and she starts to break down when talking about Roseanne and her old time at the Lanford Lunch Box. This causes Darlene to rethink moving, and she tells Ben the next day. Becky finds out that Emilio was detained by ICE.

Wrap-Up:

As expected, this was a strong ending to the first season of The Conners. I do have one complaint, though. With all of its storylines, which covered most of the cast, it did feel a bit rushed. This left me wanting to see more of Jackie's story and less of Darlene's, as I feel like Darlene and Ben's (often times uninteresting) relationship has taken up too much time this season. Laurie Metcalf gave a brilliant performance this week, with her knocking it out of the parking during both the hilarious and heartbreaking moments. As always, Lecy Goranson gave a strong performance, and I felt terrible for Becky as she discovered that her baby's father Emilio was deported. This show has found a great way to balance humor with bleakness, and that scene particular had a great blend of humor and pure devastation.

All in all, this was a fitting way to end the inaugural season. Bookending the season with a pair of emotional, heartfelt episodes (the premiere "Keep on Truckin" and this finale, "We Continue To Truck") was a smart idea, especially considering the unique way that this show was brought into the world. A beloved character was killed off in the premiere, and the show has never shied away from that, with the emotional heart of this episode being due, once again, to the death of Roseanne. Making Jackie's despair at the death of Roseanne pair up with her sadness about the end of her relationship was a smart way to deal with grief, and it showed why this show is so great: it's relatable. Just as always, these characters are people that you can relate to. Anyone that has ever loved and lost (in any way) could relate to Jackie in that moment at the Lunch Box.

And that's a wrap on this season of The Conners! I hope to see it back later this year, preferably with a few more episodes than we got this time around.

Score: 8.5/10
Grade: B+

The Conners Season 1 Episode 8 Review

On this week's midseason (but really three-quarters-through-the-season) finale of The Conners, Dan misses some signs from Katey Sagal. Also, Jackie and Peter travel back to old-timey Norway (?) and drama involving Harris causes drama between Darlene and Becky.

Dan starts talking with the bartender at the restaurant Becky works for, Louise, and she asks him out. That night, Becky answers the door to discover Harris, who was taken home by a police officer because she was drinking in the woods with her friends. Becky decides not to give her a lecture, and agrees not to tell Darlene as long as she doesn't keep drinking with her friends. The next day, the officer shows up again to drop off Harris's sweater, and reveals that Becky knew about it. I think Harris is gonna get murdered, guys!

Jackie's Norwegian experience that she's taking part in with Peter is going terribly, for her at least. Becky and Jackie warn Dan about Louise wanting to date him, but he just thinks they're being crazy. Darlene confronts Harris about the cop stopping by, but she brings up Becky as an example of how bad choices can ruin anyone's life, and Becky overhears her and gets offended.

Becky tells Peter that he's not bringing anything to their relationship, but he brushes her off and tells her to get to work. She refuses, and won't take part in his school assignment anymore. Dan stops by to talk to Louise, and she makes a move on him. He confronts her about what Becky and Jackie said, and she tells him they're right. He tells her he's not interested because he still loves Roseanne. They agree to remain friends anyway. Darlene tracks Becky down to talk, and she talks about why she felt so hurt. It goes back to when she lost Mark and Darlene didn't comfort her like she wanted.

Wrap-Up:
This was the strongest episode of the Conners so far. All of the storylines were very funny, and Jackie's in particular was very creative. The other stories were definitely similar to other plots we've seen on other TV shows, but they added their Conner flair to them and made them their own, so I can forgive their familiarity.

Dan's storyline was really funny, especially since he was so oblivious, but it was also really touching. I'm glad that they didn't have him get over Roseanne so quickly, because it would be such a huge disservice to both Dan and the Roseanne character for him to be moving on already. There will be a time for that for sure, but right now, he's just not emotionally ready for that and it has shown throughout the season.

Darlene and Becky's story was also really enjoyable, and it was good to see her addressing Mark's death, which we haven't heard menitoned at all. Lecy Goranson and Sara Gilbert work so well together, and I'm really enjoying the increase in screen time together that we're seeing with them this season. It's been great to see the show explore Darlene and Becky's sisterly bond, and this episode dealed with that bond the best so far.

My favorite plot, though, was Jackie's. That entire plot was just so hilarious and I absolutely loved it. Matthew Broderick's Peter sure is annoying, but Broderick has done a wonderful job in the role and his scenes this week were absolutely hilarious. I could have taken an entire episode of just this plot, I loved it that much. Her standing up to Peter and finally telling him that he contributes nothing was just what I've been waiting for, and I'm so Excited to see where their relationship goes from here. No matter what, it'll probably be hilarious. I do wish we could have seen Jackie talking with Dan about what she told Peter, considering Peter and Dan's argument last week and Jackie and Dan's discussion about it. Maybe in January.

Score: 9.5/10
Grade: A

The Conners Season 1 Episode 7 Review

On tonight's Christmas-but-not-really episode of The Conners, we focus on two of the show's newest relationships: Jackie and Peter and Darlene and Ben. Is love in the air, or will there be a whole lotta heartbreak in store? Plus, Blue shows up and tries to help Darlene. Wait, that can't be right...

Darlene and Ben are trying to figure out the future of their potential relationship, and it's incredibly awkward. Well, until Darlene kisses Ben. Jackie shows up with her boyfriend Peter, and he asks Dan to repair his new bike. Dan refuses at first, but Jackie is able to convince him. Later on, Darlene and Becky have an... interesting conversation about Darlene's new relationship with Ben. Peter and Dan run into each other at the restaurant and get into an argument, with Peter insulting Dan's intellegence. On a date at his apartment, Darlene and Ben bud heads over dinner, which ends with Darlene leaving early.

Blue talks to Darlene over some coffee, and Blue ends up giving Darlene some relationship advice. Jackie confronts Dan about his argument with Peter, and he tries to tell her that she's being taken advantage of. She doesn't believe it, and tells him that her relationship is mutually beneficial for her and Peter. At work, Darlene and Ben make up, and decide to try and make their relationship work.

Wrap-Up:
This was my least-favorite episode of The Conners so far. I was looking forward to seeing more of Peter this time around, and we didn't really get as much of that story as I'd have liked. Instead, the episode focused more on Darlene and Ben's relationship, which I'm honestly not very interested in. This episode didn't exactly do anything to make me more interested in that relationship, making it a pretty big annoyance already. There was still plenty of enjoyable moments to be found though, pretty much any scene with Dan in it included.  I'm not ashamed to admit that I would have liked to see Dan knock Peter out, because he's a huge idiot. Also, Becky wasn't onscreen nearly enough in this episode and I'm upset. Maybe next week's episode will help me get over it.

Score: 7.5/10
Grade: B-

The Conners Season 1 Episode 6 Review

Last week was a very significant episode for the Conner family, Becky in particular. It also left us with a bit of a cliffhanger, in the form of Maria and Bridgette, customers at the restaurant who might become potential adoptive parents to Becky's baby. We'll see how that plays out on tonight's episode. Also, because some things never change, Jackie "hatches" a new scheme that will absolutely drive Dan up a wall.

Jackie applied for an application with the city to build a chicken coop, and she's approved, much to Dan's dismay. The kids get really excited about the possibility, and they're able to convince Dan to allow it. Meanwhile, Andrea stops by the restaurant and her and Becky start talking about motherhood. She tells Becky that she's struggling with being a mom, despite being well-off financially, and then Becky tells her that she's pregnant. Later on, Bridgette and Maria, the couple from last week's episode, tells Becky that they'd like to adopt Becky's baby, but she'd still get to see it and be a part of its life. Becky is shocked and she decides to think it over.

Dan has been up all night, but he finished the chicken coop. Jackie brings their chicken, Cornflakes, back from the vet after it was attacked by a cat. The vet says she has PTSD and will need special treatment, including living in the house for a while. Dan's... not thrilled. Meanwhile, Darlene tells Ben about the harassment she's been suffering from at the casino, and he tells her how to fend the guy off. Becky stops by Bridgette and Maria's to tell them that she decided to raise the baby with them, but she's not exactly thrilled about it.

Becky wakes Darlene up to tell her about her decision, because she's freaked out about it and needs advice. Darlene doesn't get why she made the decision without asking her, and Becky tells her why she's so concerned: she's an alcoholic, and she knows it. Jackie has decided to get rid of the chickens and take them to a chicken sanctuary, but Dan tells her they can stay. Then Jackie tells Dan that she only wanted the chickens to be at the Conner house so that she had a reason to come over. Dan tells her she doesn't need the chickens to have an excuse to come over, because she's family. At the casino, Darlene spills her drink on the creepy guy and decides to quit her job. Meanwhile, Becky tells Bridgette and Maria that she's decided to keep the baby.

Wrap-Up:
This was my favorite episode of The Conners so far. The entire episode was hilarious, with all the storylines providing for some memorable and highly comical moments. Becky's storyline obviously got the most attention, and for good reason. It was great to see Becky confronting her problems, and bonding with Darlene over them. I'm also so glad that she decided to keep her baby, because the thought of Becky as a mother is hilarious and now we'll actually get to see it. Jackie's story was very funny, especially after they brought Cornflakes the chicken back from the vet, but the unexpected emotional turn it took at the end might have been the best part. Her and Dan may not always be the best of friends, and they may drive each other crazy, but it was great to see that both really do care about each other.

Score: 9.5/10
Grade: A