Shonda Rhimes’ “For the People” is way more “The Catch” than “Grey’s Anatomy” — at least, after one night. The ABC drama premiered to a pretty soft 0.8 Nielsen rating/3 share and 3.2 million total viewers.
To be fair to the new Shondaland series, those numbers were still an improvement over the Disney-owned broadcaster’s recent averages in the 10 o’clock time slot.
NBC’s debut of “Rise” on Tuesday fared much better, though it also had a great lead-in from the net’s “This Is Us” Season 2 finale. “This Is Us” jumped 23 percent from last week in the key 18-49 demographic, as viewers rushed to catch Kate’s wedding and see what was up with “Old Jack” before spoilers hit the web.
All told, Tuesday was a comfortable win in the main demo for NBC. CBS still walked away with the most overall viewers, however, as “NCIS” and “Bull” continued churning.
NBC was first in ratings with a 2.1 rating in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and in total viewers with an average of 9.2 million, according to preliminary numbers. “The Voice” at 8 p.m. earned a 2.2/9 and 11 million viewers. At 9, “This Is Us” scored a 2.7/10 and 10.8 million viewers. “Rise” at 10 landed a 1.3/5 and 5.7 million viewers.
CBS was second in ratings with a 1.2 and in viewers with 10.9 million. “NCIS” at 8 put up a 1.4/6 and 13.1 million viewers. At 9, “Bull” posted a 1.2/4 and 10.6 million viewers. “NCIS: New Orleans” at 10 received a 1.0/4 and 9.2 million viewers.
ABC was third in ratings with a 0.9 and in viewers with 3.4 million. “The Middle” at 8 had a 1.1/5 and 4.8 million viewers. At 8:30, “Fresh Off the Boat” got a 0.9/3 and 3.1 million viewers. “Black-ish” at 9 received a 0.9/3 and 3 million viewers. A second episode at 9:30 dipped to a 0.8/3 and 2.8 million viewers. “For the People” followed.
The CW was fourth in ratings with a 0.6/2 and fifth in viewers with 1.8 million. “The Flash” at 8 had a 0.7/3 and 2.1 million viewers. At 9, “Black Lightning” got a 0.5/2 and 1.5 million viewers.
Fox and Univision tied for fifth in ratings, both with a 0.5/2. Fox was fourth in total viewers with 2 million, Univision was sixth with 1.5 million.
For Fox, following a rerun, “LA to Vegas” at 9 had a 0.7/3 and 2.1 million viewers. At 9:30, “The Mick” got a 0.6/2 and 1.8 million viewers.
Telemundo was seventh in ratings with a 0.4/2 and in viewers with 1.1 million.