NBC’s post-Olympics mini-mo continues to pick up steam, with Tuesday’s "Parenthood" winning its timeslot against all-original drama competition — ensuring it’ll be back for a second season.
Whether the Peacock announces the move this week or decides to be super-cautious and hold off a few more weeks is academic: It’s just hard to imagine any scenario where the network doesn’t bring back Imagine TV’s warm and fuzzy hour. The show’s overall adults 18-49 rating (2.6/7) isn’t huge, but it did demonstrate growth (albeit just 4%) and outdrew CBS’s already-renewed "The Good Wife" (2.4/7) and ABC’s super-hyped "V" (2.5/7).
If we’re being fair, "Parenthood" does lose a decent chunk of its "Biggest Loser" lead-in: The final half-hour of NBC’s reality hit earned a 3.5 demo rating, which immediately falls to a 2.7 for the first half-hour of "Parenthood" (and then to a 2.5 for the second half-hour of the drama).
"Good Wife" also falls off from its "NCIS: Cool J" lead-in (from a 3.0 to a 2.3, with an uptick at 10:30 to a 2.4), while "V" surrenders the most audience (dropping from a 3.8 to a 2.6).
Nonetheless, let us repeat: "Parenthood" was No. 1 in its timeslot vs. two big first-run shows. When you’re the No. 3 (with Olympics)/No. 4 (without Olympics) network, you really shouldn’t think twice about renewing a show that finishes in first, particularly one that’s got a quality halo around it and is super advertiser-friendly. It’s unlikely NBC will hesitate.
Elsewhere in the ratings, there was blood everywhere. Turn away now if you’re squeamish.
"American Idol" (7.1/19) continued its lackluster season with another bloated two-hour episode, losing another 8 percent of its audience week-to-week.
ABC’s "Dancing with the Stars: In Which We Pad a Two-Minute Results Announcement With 40 Minutes of Filler" (2.4/7) dropped 20 percent from last week and earned a series low. That’s one giant leap off a ratings cliff — though the results show airs earlier than it did last year, which explains the series low. "DWTS" actually double what ABC earned in the time period a year ago (and that’s one small step toward building a better Tuesday).
The aforementioned "Lost" and "The Good Wife" also dropped to series lows in the demo. It’s worth noting that in overall viewership, "Good Wife" drew just over 12 million viewers, doubling the roughly six million young ‘uns who watched "V" and "Parenthood." That’s what CBS gets for calling its 10 p.m. show "Good Wife" instead of "NCIS: Julianna Margulies."
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