Itâs kind of weird that tracking NBCâs Thursday night ratings feels like checking the lifeline of good comedy on TV, right? Like, if Parks and Rec and Community suddenly tank and get cancelled, it would really be a terrible sign for great, single-camera sitcoms on TV on any network, NBC or otherwise. As the highest-profile smart sitcoms on TV (well, Modern Family counts too, but they certainly have no issues with ratings), theyâre kind of the canaries in the comedy coal mines. If they fail, NBCâs new bosses are likely to take a cue from the much-more-successful CBS and put broader multicam stuff on the air instead. And frankly, that would be heartbreaking.
So! With that in mind, letâs see how they did last night.
Community stayed even with last weekâs numbers, pulling in 4.6 million viewers. Thatâs the good news! The Office, 30 Rock and Parks and Rec didnât fare as well, losing 11%, 11% and 6% from last week, respectively.
Meanwhile, Perfect Couples took a serious dip of 19% from its premiere, and Outsourced got a modest 6% bump (although it was still the lowest-rated show of the night).
The takeaway? The four beloved shows in question are all hanging in there. Did any of them beat last nightâs rerun of $#*! My Dad Says? Depressingly, no. But as long as they can keep these numbers, theyâre donât look to be in danger of getting cancelled anytime soon.