Go Pro Today

‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ Has a New Home, But Will It Have Better TV Ratings?

New NBC time slot is currently averaging almost twice as many eyeballs as Andy Samberg sitcom got in its final Fox season

and | January 10, 2019 @ 1:03 PM Last Updated: January 10, 2019 @ 1:11 PM
Brooklyn Nine Nine san diego comic-con 2018 panel

FOX

After seven months off duty, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” moves into its new precinct, NBC, tonight.

But with the comedy’s channel switch for its sixth season — which came about following serious fan outcry that led NBC to save the series last May, less than one day after Fox gave it the ax — comes the question: Will the Andy Samberg and Andre Braugher-led sitcom see better Nielsen numbers when it starts working NBC’s 9 o’clock Thursday shift?

NBC placed “Nine-Nine” on what has in recent seasons been considered the network’s “comedy night,” which in the fall included a lineup of “Will & Grace,” “Superstore” and the now-“concluded” freshman series “I Feel Bad.” But with a new midseason schedule in place, Dwayne Johnson’s new series “The Titan Games” at 8 p.m. will serve as the lead-in for “Nine-Nine” tonight, with the midseason return of Mike Schur’s “The Good Place” being on the other end at 9:30/8:30c.

Also Read: 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' and 19 Other TV Shows That Found New Homes After Cancellation (Photos)

Season-to-date, the now-“Brooklyn” time slot on NBC has averaged a modest 0.8 “live” rating and 3.428 million total viewers, excluding sports. It’s a tough night for comedies — at least, the ones going up against CBS’ strong sitcom lineup.

The previous “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” season premiere (on Fox) received a 0.7 demo rating and 1.963 million viewers. At the time, the Tuesday sitcom followed “The Mick.” The finale, which featured Jake (Samberg) and Amy’s (Melissa Fumero) wedding and was almost the series finale, got a 0.8 rating and 1.788 million viewers. That one aired on a Sunday in May and followed “The Simpsons.”

All told, last season of “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” (again, on Fox) averaged a 0.7 “live” demo rating and 1.761 million viewers. With a week of delayed viewing factored in, that rating grew by 86 percent on average (a 0.7 to a 1.3) and 59 percent in overall eyeballs (1.8 million total viewers to 2.8 million).

Also Read: 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' Boss on Why a 'This Is Us' Crossover Is Probably a Bad Idea

Those still relatively low Nielsen numbers explain why Fox canned it, but “Brooklyn” carries plenty of value elsewhere. For starters, it’s a critical darling and an excellent half-hour show — hence the outcry over Fox’s cancellation. Plus, in its final Fox season, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” was the broadcast network’s second-most upscale series behind only “New Girl,” which ended anyway.

We’ll find out soon enough if Fox’s loss is NBC’s gain. Having seen the Season 6 premiere in advance, we can promise a good time for any Nielsen panelists that vote with their remotes.

“Brooklyn Nine-Nine” Season 6 premieres tonight, Thursday, at 9/8c on NBC.

'One Day at a Time' and 20 Other TV Shows That Found New Homes After Cancellation (Photos)

  • One Day at a Time Netflix
  • One Day At A Time Netflix
  • Andy Samberg Brooklyn Nine Nine Universal
  • designated survivor season 2 political risks tom kirkman kiefer sutherland ABC
  • Lucifer Fox
  • 'Nashville' Season 6 CMT
  • Courteney Cox Cougar Town Emmy TBS
  • Lucille Arrested Development Jessica Walter Netflix
  • the expanse binge Syfy
  • futurama finale Fox
  • Gilmore Girls The Bracebridge Dinner Warner Bros
  • "Community" Season 6 Sony
  • scrubs ABC
  • The Mindy Project Season 5 Hulu
  • diffrent strokes alan thicke NBC
  • Once More With Feeling Buffy 20th Century Fox
  • 20th Century Fox
  • Warner Bros
  • stargate sg1 Showtime
  • 'Project Runway' Season 16 finale Lifetime
  • JAG CBS
  • Last Man Standing Fox
1 of 22

As the Alvarez family moves to Pop TV, TheWrap rounds up more crews who have been saved

One man's trash is another man's treasure. OK, no show wants to be called "trash," but if it means you're getting picked up by another network or platform after cancellation at your original home, you probably won't mind it too much.  And as "One Day at a Time" was picked up for a fourth season by Pop TV last week after being canceled by Netflix in March, TheWrap thought now was the perfect time to look back at all the shows that have made a comeback on a new platform. Click through our gallery to see some of the most famous cases.  

Also Read: Fall TV Premieres: Here’s When All Your Favorite Broadcast Shows Will Return (Updating)

View In Gallery

Related Content