Another new sitcom bit the dust when NBC canceled Welcome to the Family late last Friday. On the plus side, the cancelation makes room for the return of Community in January; on the down side, NBCâs rejiggered schedule means that Parks and Recreation is on hiatus for most of the rest of the year. Other than that, how are this yearâs comedies doing in the ratings?
CBSâs winning formula continues to pay dividends. Constant hit The Big Bang Theory pulled in 16.47 million viewers for its new episode this week, and am impressive 7.93 million for a rerun on Monday. The Millers and The Crazy Ones are still slipping a bit each week, this weekâs ratings at 10.88 million and 8.77 million respectively. Some of that is likely due to the World Series over on Fox, but also could indicate that viewers arenât hooked on the new hits. The rest of CBSâs sitcoms â Two and a Half Men, 2 Broke Girls, Mom, and the departing How I Met Your Mother â all pulled in more than 7 million, respectable for the network and trouncing most of the competition. CBS ordered full seasons of The Millers, The Crazy Ones, and Mom because they know what works.
Over at ABC, Modern Family continues its strong run, with 10.32 million viewers, while sleeper hit The Middle, which hit its 100th episode this week, pulled in 8.31 million viewers. Otherwise, things are pretty much the same as last week. Back in the Game, Last Man Standing, Super Fun Night, and The Goldbergs are living comfortably between 5 and 6.5 million viewers, while The Neighbors and Trophy Wife are struggling with under 4.5 million and likely to go soon.
As has become custom since Friends and Will & Grace ended years ago, the lack of hits on NBCâs long-standing Thursday night comedy block has been the cause of much discussion. The networkâs decision to schedule a rerun of themegahit reality show The Voice on Thursday in place of Parks and Rec didnât really do much for the shows that air afterwards. Sean Saves the World gained a little over half a million viewers from last week, pulling in just over 4.03 million. The Michael J. Fox Show had a slight improvement, bringing it to 3.74 million. The ratings for both shows didnât change in the key 18-49 demographic.
And while Foxâs animation block was all reruns this week, most of its live action sitcoms slightly ticked up in the ratings. Brooklyn Nine-Nine and New Girl had the biggest gains, with 3.77 and 3.74 million each, while Dads pulled in 3.59 million. The networkâs confidence is clearly tipped towards Brooklyn, ordering the full season of the show, though a full order may be coming for Dads as well. The Mindy Project lost a few hundred thousand viewers again this week, down to 2.69 million.