Thursday TV Ratings 9/30/21: Grey’s Anatomy Ties Series Low in Premiere, Station 19 and Big Sky Return Steady, Law & Order: SVU Leads the Night (UPDATED)

Preliminary Analysis: It was a rather disastrous premiere Thursday for ABC as 'Station 19' (0.7) and 'Grey's Anatomy' (0.7) returned well over 40% below their year-ago openers (1.22/1.35). In the 10pm  hour, 'Big Sky' (0.4) was three-tenths behind its November 2020 debut but matched its May finale (0.40). All three dramas tied their series lows, leaving them little room to drop from here. The lackluster performances on the alphabet network left a steady edition of NBC's 'Law & Order: SVU' (0.8) free to become the highest-rated broadcast of the evening. 'Law & Order: Organized Crime' (0.7) gained a tenth after last week's middling return. CBS got solid results out of a pair of 'Young Sheldon' repeats (0.4/0.4) and a 50-year anniversary 'Price is Right' special (0.5). The network will unveil its new comedy block next week. Fox had encores of freshmen dramas 'The Big Leap' (0.2) and 'Our Kind of People' (0.2). 'Coroner' (0.1) and 'The Outpost' (0.1) did not budge on the CW.

Finals Update: Station 19 (+0.1) and Grey's Anatomy (+0.1) adjusted up. Law & Order: SVU (-0.1) and The Outpost (-0.1) adjusted down.

Premiere Thursday TV Ratings 9/23/21: Law & Order: SVU Rises from Finale as Organized Crime Holds Steady, The Masked Singer Dips Below 1.0 for the First Time, Alter Ego Bombs in Night Two (UPDATED)

Ratings Analysis: Though it seemed like its momentum had tapered off last spring, NBC's 'Law & Order: SVU' (0.79) got off to a phenomenal start for its 23rd season. This rating went above the last 5 episodes from the prior season and was a full two-tenths higher that the season 22 opener (0.59). At 10, 'Law & Order: Organized Crime' (0.60) appeared a bit more sluggish than its veteran counterpart. 'Crime' could only match its series low and was an entire ratings point lower than its breakout season one debut. On Fox, 'The Masked Singer' (0.97) fell below a 1.0 for the first time in its run while 'Alter Ego' (0.44) crashed after a relatively respectable launch (0.65). ABC wrapped up the remaining summer shows left, with 'Holey Moley' (0.38) garnering its usual rating and 'The Hustler' (0.30/0.28) rising by a tenth for its two-hour closer. CBS's 'Big Brother' (0.81) inched down and led into a low-rated Kenny Rogers special (0.30). A 'Bull' rerun (0.16) lost nearly 50% of that audience from there. 'Coroner' (0.08) and 'The Outpost' (0.05) were even on the CW.

Finals Update: 'The Masked Singer' (+0.1) and the repeat of 'Bull' (+0.1) adjusted up.

Thursday TV Ratings 9/16/21: Brooklyn Nine-Nine Series Finale Rises, Big Brother Stays on Top, When Nature Calls Finale and The Hustler Stay Low, The Outpost Rises After Cancellation (UPDATED)

Ratings Analysis: After over 150 episodes, countless timeslot changes, and a highly-publicized network swap, 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' (0.39) closed out its run in rather quiet fashion on NBC. Although the series finale did pick up a tenth, the Samberg cop sitcom failed to hit a new season high for its final outing. Reruns of 'Law & Order: SVU' (0.23) and 'Organized Crime' (0.24) filled out the 9-11pm stretch. ABC's struggling newbie 'When Nature Calls' (0.20) held flat for its finale but lost nearly half of the 'Holey Moley' rerun (0.36) that preceded it. Though it remained in dire territory, 'The Hustler' (0.22) was able to build a bit from 'Nature' at 10. CBS's 'Big Brother' (0.94) gained a couple hundredths and led into a rerun of 'Bull' (0.20). Fox's encores of 'MasterChef' (0.29) and 'Call Me Kat' (0.25/0.22) bested ABC's original efforts. 'Coroner' (0.09) and recently-canceled drama 'The Outpost' (0.05) gained one-hundredth apiece on the CW.

Finals Update: The 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' series finale (0.4, -0.1) and repeats of 'MasterChef' (0.3, -0.1), 'Call Me Kat' (0.3, -0.1; 0.2, -0.2), 'Law & Order: SVU' (0.2, -0.3), and 'Organized Crime' (0.2, -0.3) all adjusted down. The 'Holey Moley' rerun (0.4, +0.1) adjusted up.

The Outpost Canceled by The CW

The Outpost has been taken out. The fantasy drama has been canceled by The CW after four seasons. This news comes just weeks after the network canceled fellow summer series The Republic of Sarah after a single season, making it the latest in a line of summer scripted shows canceled by The CW in recent seasons. The show was not a strong ratings performer for the network, averaging just a 0.05 in its fourth and final season. That made it the lowest-rated series on The CW or any broadcast network this season, tied with Dynasty and the canceled Republic of Sarah. Jessica Green, Jake Stormoen and Anand Desai-Barochia starred in the series, which will air its series finale on October 7.

Thursday TV Ratings 9/9/21: NFL Returns with Higher Ratings than 2020 Kickoff, Big Brother Dips, CBS Fall Preview Special Low (UPDATED)

Preliminary Analysis: NFL ratings enjoyed a sizable rebound as the 'Cowboys v. Buccaneers' game (6.5) soared past the preliminary 5.4 rating that the first 2020 game garnered. The 8pm 'NFL Kickoff' (4.6) also went five-tenths above last year's (4.1), giving the NBC network a clear win. Against the football competition, 'Big Brother' (0.8) only shed a tenth on a week-to-week basis. As usual, CBS's momentum collapsed from there, with a 'Fall Preview' special (0.2) retaining less than a third of that audience. Meager reruns of 'Young Sheldon' (0.2) and 'Bull' (0.1) followed from there. ABC was even with 'Holey Moley' (0.4) and 'When Nature Calls' (0.2), but 'The Hustler' (0.2) lost a few hundredths at 10. Fox was the only network of the evening with no original broadcasts, instead going with encores of 'MasterChef' (0.2) and 'Call Me Kat' (0.2/0.2). On the CW, 'The Outpost' (0.1) picked up a tenth after posting a 0.0 the week prior. 'Coroner' (0.1) remained unchanged at 8. 

Finals Update: Big Brother (+0.1) and NFL: Cowboys v. Buccaneers (+1.1) adjusted up. NFL Kickoff (-1.0) and The Outpost (-0.1) adjusted down.