Ratings: 'Burden of Truth' and 'In the Dark' Finales Leave CW in the Dark

The CW

The “Burden of Truth” finale was a burden for The CW last night. The network’s “In the Dark” finale left it in the dark.

ABC was first in ratings with a 0.6 rating/4 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and in total viewers with an average of 3.4 million, according to preliminary numbers. “Holey Moley” at 8 had a 0.6/4 and 3.7 million viewers. At 9, “Don’t” did a 0.7/4 and 3.3 million viewers. “To Tell the Truth” at 10 got a 0.6/4 and 3.3 million viewers.

Univision was second in ratings with a 0.5/3 and fourth in viewers with 1.7 million.

Also Read: 'Tough as Nails' Debut Isn't Soft, but CBS Can't Break Away From Univision in Key Demo Ratings

CBS was third in ratings with a 0.4/2 and second in viewers with 3.2 million, airing all reruns.

NBC, Fox and Telemundo tied for fourth in ratings, each with a 0.3/2. NBC was third in total viewers with 2 million, Fox was fifth with 1.2 million and Telemundo was sixth with 905,000.

For NBC, “Blindspot” at 8 had a 0.3/2 and 2.4 million viewers. At 9, a second episode dipped to a 0.2/1 and 1.8 million viewers, which are lows for the series. A repeat followed.

Also Read: Univision Telenovelas Tie NBC Repeats Atop Low-Rated Tuesday

For Fox, “Celebrity Watch Party” at 8 got a 0.3/2 and 1.4 million viewers. At 9, “Labor of Love” received a 0.2/2 and 959,000 viewers.

The CW was seventh in ratings with a 0.1/1 and in viewers with 446,000. At 8, “Burden of Truth” got a 0.1/1 and 481,000 viewers. “In the Dark” at 9 had a 0.1/0 and 411,000 viewers.

14 Lowest-Rated Renewed Broadcast TV Shows of the 2019-2020 Season (Photos)

Why would a low-rated show ever be renewed for another season? Well, the series could be a critical darling or might do well in demos other than the regularly reported adults 18-49 one. Such a program may be particularly cheap to produce or exist at a studio that shares an umbrella with its network.

Maybe there's a global pandemic, and shows with a cast, writing staff, production crew and existing sets are suddenly a better bet than rolling the dice on new development. Or, perhaps the show is simply on Fox.

Scroll through the TheWrap's gallery to see the 14 lowest-rated scripted TV shows of the 2019-20 season that were renewed by Fox, ABC, CBS, and NBC. All ratings in this story come from Nielsen's "most current" data, which includes a week's worth of delayed viewing where available. Lowest-rated is first, highest-rated last. And, yes, there are ties. Readers can see the complete list of all the broadcast TV shows that have been renewed, canceled and ordered here
Fox/NBC/ABC/CBS
Series: "Magnum P.I." Net: CBS 18-49 rating: 1.0

Not much to investigate here.
CBS
Series: "MacGyver" Net: CBS 18-49 rating: 1.0

Another CBS reboot that puts up another OK rating.
CBS
Series: "The Unicorn" Net: CBS 18-49 rating: 1.0

Decent enough numbers + Walton Goggins' charm = a second season.
CBS
Series: "Bob Hearts Abishola" Net: CBS 18-49 rating: 1.0

The freshman comedy gave its net as much to heart in the way of Nielsen returns as Goggins' show did.
CBS
Series: "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" Net: NBC 18-49 rating: 0.9

The Nine-Nine's large fanbase doesn't bring it a large Nielsen rating.
NBC
Series: "Good Girls" Net: NBC 18-49 rating: 0.9

Not bad, but not good either.
NBC
Series: "American Housewife" Net: ABC 18-49 rating: 0.9

Hey, you can't win over every American.
ABC
Series: "All Rise" Net: CBS 18-49 rating: 0.9

Well, not "all" rise, at least not all adults 18-49.
CBS
Series: "black-ish" Net: ABC 18-49 rating: 0.9

OK-ish.
ABC
Series: "mixed-ish" Net: ABC 18-49 rating: 0.9

Ties its parent series as OK-ish.
ABC
Series: "Bless the Harts" Net: Fox 18-49 rating: 0.9

Nowhere near blessed, but better than the other first-year Fox animated sitcom on this list.
Fox
Series: "Bob's Burgers" Net: Fox 18-49 rating: 0.9

Critical acclaim doesn't always cook up nice Nielsen numbers.
Fox
Series: "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist" Net: NBC 18-49 rating: 0.7

Not extraordinary.
NBC
Series: "Duncanville" Net: Fox 18-49 rating: 0.5 We're not trying to dunk on the freshman animated series when we say this demo rating is pretty darn low for a show that earned a renewal.
Fox

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We’ve got good news and bad news, but not necessarily in that order…

Why would a low-rated show ever be renewed for another season? Well, the series could be a critical darling or might do well in demos other than the regularly reported adults 18-49 one. Such a program may be particularly cheap to produce or exist at a studio that shares an umbrella with its network.

Maybe there's a global pandemic, and shows with a cast, writing staff, production crew and existing sets are suddenly a better bet than rolling the dice on new development. Or, perhaps the show is simply on Fox.

Scroll through the TheWrap's gallery to see the 14 lowest-rated scripted TV shows of the 2019-20 season that were renewed by Fox, ABC, CBS, and NBC. All ratings in this story come from Nielsen's "most current" data, which includes a week's worth of delayed viewing where available. Lowest-rated is first, highest-rated last. And, yes, there are ties. Readers can see the complete list of all the broadcast TV shows that have been renewed, canceled and ordered here

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