NBC’s “The Player” rode the ratings bench for its entire 9-episode run this fall. While the series’ final whistle blows tonight, there remains at least some semblance of life from 9 other broadcast series that are actually faring worse than the Wesley Snipes drama.
At 1.3, “The Player” rounds up in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic to the same number as CBS’ “CSI: Cyber” and a pair of Fox shows, “Bob’s Burgers” and “MasterChef Junior”–but is actually higher rated when the rating is extended out to the hundredth of a point. To be fair to those nets, “CSI” skews above the age 49 cutoff, while “Bob’s” is popular among the younger end of that range — and even below. “MasterChef Junior,” like a few shows on our list, airs on a Friday.
At the bottom of the bin is Fox’s Friday offering “World’s Funniest.” NBC comedy “Truth Be Told” has the lowest ratings of any show still on the air, but has already had its episode order cut to 10, effectively canceling it.
The numbers below all include seven-day delayed viewing where available. They are rounded to the nearest one-tenth of a ratings point, but there are slight distinctions breaking the ties and allowing for rankings.
Here are the seven shows sitting below “The Player”:
1. “CSI: Cyber” (CBS): 1.3
2. “Bob’s Burgers” (Fox): 1.3
3. “MasterChef Junior” (Fox): 1.3
4. “America’s Funniest Home Video” (ABC): 1.0
5. “Undateable” (NBC): 0.9
6. “Elementary” (CBS): 0.9
7. “World’s Funniest” (Fox): 0.8
It is worth pointing out that the young-skewing CW has 9 of its own series that are lower-rated among viewers 18-49. We omitted Saturday series in this study.
“The Player” concludes tonight at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.