So much for stunt programming in the sitcom world.
Fox’s “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” and “New Girl” episodes last night both dropped from their respective prior week tune-ins. That’s particularly glaring as the two shows crossed-over with one another on Tuesday. Somewhere, procedural kingpin and crossover pioneer Dick Wolf is getting a kick out of the competition’s highly disappointing swing-and-miss.
Meanwhile, on demo-winner NBC, new hit “This Is Us” actually built on the previous half-hour of lead-in “The Voice” — that makes the drama the first scripted series to ever accomplish such growth. CBS finished first among primetime total viewers thanks to “NCIS” and “Bull.”
NBC was first in ratings with a 2.4 rating/8 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and second in total viewers with an average of 9.3 million, according to preliminary numbers. “The Voice” at 8 p.m. ET had a 2.5/9 and 10.6 million viewers. At 9, “This Is Us” scored a 2.8/9 and 9.8 million viewers. The “Chicago Fire” season premiere at 10 received a 1.8/6 and 7.5 million viewers.
CBS was second in ratings with a 1.5/5 and in viewers with 12.4 million. “NCIS” at 8 p.m. ET earned a 1.7/6 and 14.5 million viewers. At 9, “Bull” posted a 1.6/5 and 13 million viewers. “NCIS: New Orleans” at 10 landed a 1.2/4 and 9.7 million viewers.
ABC was third in ratings with a 1.4/5 and in viewers with 4.6 million. “The Middle” at 8 p.m. ET premiered to a 1.7/7 and 6.6 million viewers. At 8:30, “American Housewife” debuted to a 1.8/6 and 6.5 million viewers. “Fresh Off the Boat” at 9 returned to a 1.5/5 and 5 million viewers. At 9:30, “The Real O’Neals” kicked off Season 2 with a 1.2/4 and 3.8 million viewers. “Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD” at 10 got a 0.9/3 and 2.8 million viewers.
Fox was fourth in ratings with a 0.8/3 and in viewers with 1.84 million. “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” at 8 p.m. ET kicked off the crossover event to a 0.9/3 and 2.1 million viewers. At 8:30, “New Girl” finished the arc off with a 0.9/3 and 2 million viewers. “Scream Queens” at 9 managed a 0.7/2 and 1.6 million viewers.
The CW and Telemundo tied for fifth in ratings, both with a 0.7/2. CW was fifth in total viewers with 1.80 million, Telemundo was sixth with 1.75 million.
For CW, “The Flash” at 8 p.m. ET had a 1.0/4 and 2.7 million viewers. At 9, “No Tomorrow” got a 0.3/1 and 843,000 viewers.
Univision was seventh in ratings with a 0.6/2 and in viewers with 1.6 million.