How’d They Do? Evaluating The Ratings of The Final Seasons of The Good Place and Will & Grace

Welcome to this edition of ‘How’d They Do?’. The final season ratings of NBC shows which ended in the 2019-20 season are evaluated here. Note that this does not include cancelations, but rather shows that were announce to be ending ahead of time.

Credit for the ratings go to Programming Insider. Any missing numbers is a result of them not being reported. Some shows will have a column reflected their viewership in Canada, but numbers are only available for weeks where the show made the top 30. Averages in the Canada column are only visible when the vast majority of episodes have ratings reported.

The Good Place (2016-2020)
The Good Place first burst onto the scene in 2016. The serialized comedy, which is set in an afterlife, proved to be a solid ratings performer for NBC, doing better than most of their other post-Office offerings when taking into account the declines in viewership across the board every season. It also has seemed to find a following on Netflix and Hulu. For its fourth and final season, it was tasked with anchoring NBC’s Thursday 9pm hour. The night has had its ups and downs for them for the past several years, oftentimes with some shows working and others failing. The Good Place started the season airing directly after Perfect Harmony, and directly before the short-lived Sunnyside. On its tenth episode, it made a time slot change back to its usual 8:30 time after Superstore.

For its final season, The Good Place saw sharp declines across the board. Even after moving back
to 8:30, that ugly 0.50 in A18-49 Live + Same Day for the eleventh episode demonstrated that the show was no longer what it once was. On the bright side, it stayed mainly pretty steady throughout the season. This is shown clearly by the subdemos table. The remarkable amount of white is a sign that most ratings hovered around the average, with the occasional fluctuation.

The ratings for the series finale grew from the previous episode in all demos except M18-34, where it matched the previous rating. It didn’t see the bump NBC was probably hoping for when they had a two hour time period blocked off for it, including a Paley Center Salutes before and a special Late Night episode with the cast directly after the finale. However, it could’ve easily gone worse.

It’s tough to look at these ratings and talk about them positively, but it did at least look solid compared to the comedies which surrounded it.

Grade: C



Will & Grace (1998-2006; 2017-2020)
Will & Grace is simply an iconic comedy. At its peak, when it aired behind Friends, it pulled in ratings higher than nearly every other show. It also had a strong social impact, something only some shows can say.

When it lost the Friends lead-in back in the day, its ratings took a huge dive. Still, it returned well for the revival, hitting a 3.0 A18-49 L+SD rating. It fell from there, back down to numbers one would expect when accounting for declines in viewership levels in general.

If there is one thing impressive about these ratings, it’s that the median age rose by 1.02 years. As, yes, a viewer gets one year older for every season, this could be an indicator that it had a stable audience. The year-to-year trends for the demos, though, are harsh. Take for example the 0.1s it received in all 18-34 subdemos for its tenth episode. With eight episodes left in the series at that point, anyone following its ratings would have to hold their breath and hope this iconic show never fell to a 0.0, even if in a demo outside of 18-49.

The dreaded, however, did happen for the series finale: it’s A18-49 L+SD and L+3 ratings both dropped from the previous week. This is a show that, for its 2006 finale, jumped from a 3.6 to an 8.4 in A18-49 L+SD. That was a TV event; this was not.

Canada seemed to be interested in it though, as it was the only episode of the season that cracked Canada’s weekly top 30 list in seven-day viewership. Given the population in Canada is drastically lower than that of the United States, one million viewers is a strong rating. Also, older viewers seemed to have shown some increased interest; with the Households rising to a season high, it’s very possible the A55+ demo saw a big spike. That data is not publicly available, so it is something that can only be speculated.

Overall, this season did provide the value of not being Sunnyside. It didn’t serve much of a purpose outside of that, unless it was huge on digital. While it was nice NBC gave it a pre-announced final season, there didn’t seem to be a whole lot of interest.

Grade: D


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Thursday TV Ratings, 4/23/20: ’Will & Grace’ Drops For Final Episode, ’NFL Draft’ Leads

Here are the final broadcast ratings for Thursday, April 23, 2020.

Photo Credit: Chris Haston/NBC

Preliminary Analysis: NBC's 'Will & Grace' (0.5) bowed out for the second time on NBC, down a tenth from last week. Although leagues below its original 2006 series finale (8.4), it at least managed not to hit a new low. It led into a 9:30pm retrospective (0.5) and the 21st season finale of 'Law & Order: SVU' (0.7). 'SVU' was even week-to-week and with its year-ago finale. There was brighter news in the 8pm hour as both 'Superstore' (0.7) and 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' (0.6) were steady with last week and both up a notch from their year-ago closers (0.6 & 0.5).

ABC preempted their regular Thursday lineup in favor of the 'NFL Draft' (1.6). It effortlessly trumped last year's result (1.1) and was well above what a normal 'Station 19' would do.

CBS's 'Man with a Plan' (0.6) and 'Broke' (0.6) each lost a tenth as their lead-ins (0.6/0.6) went into repeat mode. Fox's 'Last Man Standing' (0.6) held steady at its low, leading into more encores (0.5/0.3). The CW had another helping of 0.1s with stable 'Katy Keene' and 'In the Dark'.

Finals Update: The 'NFL Draft' (1.4, -0.2) adjusted down while 'Man with a Plan' (0.7, +0.1) and 'Last Man Standing' (0.7, +0.1) adjusted up.

Time	Show	18-49 Rating/ Share	Viewers (mil)	Channel
8 PM	NFL Draft 2020	1.4/7	5.69	ABC
	Last Man Standing	0.7/3	4.14	FOX
	Superstore (F)	0.7/3	3.01	NBC
	Young Sheldon (R)	0.6/3	5.75	CBS
	Katy Keene	0.1/0	0.48	CW
8:30 PM	Man With a Plan	0.7/3	5.84	CBS
	Brooklyn Nine-Nine (F)	0.6/3	2.24	NBC
	Last Man Standing (R)	0.5/2	2.83	FOX
9 PM	Mom (R)	0.5/2	4.84	CBS
	Will & Grace (SF)	0.5/2	3.14	NBC
	Mental Samurai (R)	0.3/1	1.51	FOX
	In the Dark	0.1/0	0.39	CW
9:30 PM	Broke	0.6/3	4.78	CBS
	Will & Grace Retrospective	0.5/2	2.97	NBC
10 PM	Law & Order: SVU (F)	0.7/3	3.69	NBC
	Tommy	0.5/2	4.62	NBC

(R) = Repeat

(F) = Finale

(SF) = Series Finale

2017-18 Week 24 Sitcom Scorecard -- The Goldbergs Bests Modern Family as Superstore Nearly Overtakes Will & Grace

Written Witnessing Change by Bridger Cunningham.

March 8 marked this season's 32nd original sitcom entry as NBC debuted Champions in its softening Must-See-TV Thursday block.  Previous newbies AP Bio and CBS' Living Biblically are performing poorly compared to their fall counterparts, tumbling fast.  Five more sitcoms have yet to debut in the upcoming weeks -- new pilot Splitting Up Together and Roseanne's 10th season premiere (March 27), Alex, Inc. (March 28) and New Girl's 7th and final season (April 10).  As Trial & Error is not slated to begin filming until March 19, it can debut no earlier than April 12 or later.  Who will be the champion in that pack?  All bets are on heavyweight Roseanne, so stay tuned.

FOX wisely took Sunday, March 4 off as ABC aired the Oscars.  Their Sunday flock will wait till March 18 to unleash mayhem, as ABC's American Idol debuts on March 11.  Monday, March 5 saw few changes as Kevin Can Wait (1.1) and Man With a Plan (1.0) held steady, Superior Donuts (0.9) rebounded a soft tenth, and Living Biblically (0.7) already matched the sitcom low for CBS in its second episode.  Tuesday, March 6 found a scarcity of original sitcoms as ABC ducked out, leaving LA>Vegas (0.7) and The Mick (0.6) steady at their series lows.  ABC improved its performance on Wednesday, March 7 as The Goldbergs (1.5) spiked two tenths, officially overtaking Modern Family.  Speechless (1.2), Modern Family (1.4) and American Housewife (1.1) all bounced back one tenth.

Thursday March 8 also experienced some shifts in dynamics on NBC.  Superstore (1.0) bounced back a tenth as AP Bio (0.7) held steady with last week.  Will and Grace (1.0) not only carved out a new series low after losing a tenth, but tied Superstore for the week.  Could W&G drop below Superstore soon?  And Champions (0.7) marked the lowest debut for any NBC sitcom.  Over at CBS, The Big Bang Theory (2.6) and Life in Pieces (1.2) gained a tenth as Young Sheldon (2.1) and Mom (1.5) held sturdy and steady.

So what is going on with the networks?  It seems to be a "Hell Freezes Over" week as not only did The Goldbergs shatter Modern Family's 440-week reign as the highest ABC Sitcom (details here), but former Nielsen heavyweight Will & Grace was tied by Superstore and stands in threat of fractional territory.  Both renewed series are indeed declining.  All which needs to happen next is Young Sheldon overtaking TBBT on CBS or Bob's Burgers overperforming The Simpsons on FOX.  Neither seems likely this season, but rather foreshadow aging and changes.

These changes may signal scheduling changes next season, especially with so many rumored exits by Spring 2019.  With The Middle done this May and MF declining, ABC may choose to move its prominent fixtures to make headway and attract growth.  TBBT is likely done as well at CBS and will likely hand the torch over to spinoff YS.  Where CBS may choose to develop, however, is moving Mom to failing Mondays and allow YS to develop a Thursday replacement.  FOX's sitcoms may be trimmed as less shelf space is available due to successful dramas and acquiring Thursday Night Football for fall's entirety.  That may axe the Tuesday comedy space.  And NBC will likely shuffle fixtures and keep to the truncated episode orders.

This season's patterns are on par with the 2016-17 season with a Silent Spring.  CBS continues to tarnish newbies in their undesirable Monday 9:30 timeslot, FOX shuffles Tuesday live-action pieces and NBC debuts a multitude of low-rated pilots squashed between the hits.  The only change is ABC is going for broke and debuting three new sitcoms during the last week of March and abbreviating Speechless and Fresh Off The Boat.  This is a bold strategy which will likely resolve with at least two series earning renewals.  Regardless of outcome, ABC has some major restructuring in need as Wednesdays are soft and Tuesdays are mediocre.

Status Changes

Speechess -- 2016 was stellar for the series, but not so much in 2017.  After disappointing outings, the series dropped as low as 55% (On the Bubble, Leans Renewal).  One week ago, the series was upgraded to 70% (Leans Renewal).  And after making an impressive bounceback in harsh spring territory, the series received another upgrade to 80% (Likely Renewal).

Superior Donuts -- CBS' afterthought series is not rising in the ranks due to stellar performances, but rather the weakness of others.  Marked at 45% (On the Bubble, Leans Cancel) for most of the season, it was upgraded last week to 55%.  And after Living Blasphemously lowered the bar further, SD has been upgraded to 70% due to a lack of options.

On the Bench for Week 25: 15 Original Sitcoms

(CBS) Monday, March 12 -- Man With a Plan (8:30), Living Biblically (9:30)
(ABC) Tuesday, March 13 -- The Middle (8:00), Fresh Off the Boat (8:30), Blackish (9:00 and 9:30)
(FOX) Tuesday, March 13 -- LA<Vegas (9:00), The Mick (9:30)
(ABC) Wednesday, March 14 -- Speechless (8:00 and 8:30), American Housewife (9:30)
(NBC) Thursday, March 15 -- Superstore (8:00), AP Bio (8:30), W&G (9:00), Champions (9:30)

2018 Sitcoms -- What is Coming, Going and As Good as Gone

Written Organizing Laughs by Bridger Cunningham

The four networks are poised to increase this season's sitcoms displayed prior to May 1 to 36-37 entries planned vs. last year's 34.  All debut dates, save for FOX's Brooklyn 99, NBC's Trial & Error, are slated between February 1 and April 10.  Several shows will dip in and out of the schedule between now and then, so let's look at what 2018's calendar offers:

COMING:

February 1:  The same evening The Good Place bows out for its 2nd season, AP Bio makes a special debut behind Will & Grace.  Following the frosty Olympics, it is slated to return March 1.

February 26: CBS debuts its 10th entry of original programming in the 9:30 timeslot, which has not housed a successful occupant since spring 2014 with Mike and Molly.  Can this sitcom produced by Johnny Galecki break the network's curse over this troubled timeslot?

March 8: NBC announced on January 9 that Champions will debut on March 8, presumably in the vacated 8:30 timeslot used by The Good Place.  Champions has 4 weeks of mining Will & Grace as its leadout, an ideal setup crafted by NBC.

March 27: Aided by a 60-minute premiere, Roseanne returns to television on ABC after a 21-year hiatus.  Can the reincarnation ignite a fraction of the original series' ratings magic?  After all, Roseanne was a top-10 player for 7 of its 9 seasons.  And on this same evening, ABC launches its latest pilot, Splitting Up Together in the cursed 9:30 timeslot.  Can the series survive a timeslot which has claimed the short existences of The Real O'Neal's, Imaginary Mary and The Mayor?  Hopefully, a lack of competition from NBC's powerhouse This is Us, as well as a rumored March rebound for the network can keep this series above the 1.0 mark for a fighting chance.

March 28: ABC's last sitcom offering, Alex, Inc, receives the network's plum development place on Wednesdays at 8:30 between The Goldbergs and Modern Family.  Hopefully, it outperform Speechless, which underperformed in this place since early fall.

April 10: After six critically-heralded seasons, New Girl bows out of the FOX lineup with an 8 episode run.  Which timeslot remains unclear, but it will likely be paired with Brooklyn 99 and/or the remainder of The Mick's 20-episode season.

GOING:

February 1: Following Great News' exit, The Good Place bows out the following week after a strong 2nd season.  The Good Place currently averages a 1.18 18-49 Adult Demo average, NBC's 2nd strongest player which currently ranks 14th among the 29 series on display.  The Good Place has already retained a renewal and opts for shorter 13-episode seasons.

March 20: ABC is going for broke in March 2018, deciding to end two sitcoms early to allow its last three entries to finish the season with greater visibility.  Fresh Off The Boat will exit the season earlier than usual with 19 episodes vs. the standard 22.    With 79 episodes by the season's close, FOTB holds a 1.08 demo average.  Fans best not fret, as the durable series can be positioned in nearly every timeslot and take its fans with it.

March 21: Like FOTB, Speechless' episode order was reduced to 18 episodes, bringing the overall original count to 39 episodes by the season's close.  Speechless hit declines this season and currently 1.14 average for the season, underperforming against its surrounding shows, The Goldbergs (1.51) and Modern Family (1.74).  Will the series make it to fall 2018?  The remains of the season (and the performances of Spring's 3 debuts) will paint a stronger picture of Speechless' future.

April 5: After a 11-year hiatus, NBC darling Will & Grace received a two-season renewal prior to its 2017 return.  A bold stroke indeed, as the network found its strongest sitcom since the Office graced the lineup in the early 2010's.  Its 17-episode run ends in April, currently the 3rd-strongest sitcom on the map with a 1.89 average, likely finishing the season in this rank.

GOOD AS GONE:

January 25: It appears Great News is slated to conclude its run early as 10 episodes of the 13-episode run have already played out.  The sophomore series, which received a surprise renewal last year after averaging a 0.80 rating, has already dropped below that average at 0.79, currently ranked 28th among the 29 sitcoms.  It's broadcast range has scattered ratings between 0.4-1.3, heavily dependent on its strong lead-in, Will and Grace.  Will it survive the season?  Currently, it is NBC's weakest sitcom.

February 5-19: No confirmed date has been stated, but 9JKL airs out its final 16th episode of the season one one of these Mondays.  The critically reviled series currently averages a 0.99, tying the network sitcom lows only known to Me, Myself & I and The Great Indoors.  The series continues to slide down this season's ladder, currently in 23rd Place among the 29 entries.

ALREADY OUT:

October 30, 2017: The season's first Monday minus The Big Bang Theory created a fractional bloodbath, with Me, Myself & I collapsing and tying the network's sitcom low at 0.7.  CBS shelved the series as it finished with a 1.00, shuffled 9JKL into its 9:30 deathslot to open the 8:30 timeslot for returning Man With a Plan.

December 12, 2017: Although the 9th episode of ABC's freshman series ticked up during an evening of rebounds, it meagerly managed a 0.8 rating.  It was MIA as recently as January 2, being replaced by a Modern Family rerun.  ABC yanked the series on January 4 after it averaged a 0.82, currently finishing the season ranked 26th of the 29 sitcoms.

MIA:

NBC's debut of Trial & Error has yet to declare a debut timeslot.  Brooklyn 99, which stands in last place among the 29 sitcoms on the air with an abysmal 0.65 average, has yet to have a date and timeslot declared to finish out the season.