Premiere ratings for new Noah Wyle crime drama “The Red Line” might have CBS executives seeing its titular color.
The event series about a black doctor shot by a white cop in Chicago debuted Sunday to just a 0.5 rating/2 share among adults 18-49, easily finishing last in its time slot among the Big 4 broadcast channels. That small Nielsen number ties “The Red Line” with Fox Friday show “Proven Innocent” for the lowest-rated new drama debut(s) of the season. (And it ties the regular time slot premiere for CBS’ “The Code.”)
A few dramas opened to lower total-viewer figures than “The Red Line,” with 4.9 million, did.
ABC was first in ratings with a 1.2 rating/5 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and in total viewers with an average of 6.4 million, according to preliminary numbers. “America’s Funniest Home Videos” at 7 p.m. had a 1.1/6 and 5.7 million viewers. “American Idol” from 8 to 10 posted a 1.4/6 and 7.9 million viewers. At 10, “Shark Tank” got a 0.8/4 and 4.1 million viewers.
NBC was second in ratings with a 0.7/3 and third in viewers with 2.9 million. Following a rerun, “World of Dance” from 8-10 averaged a 0.8/4 and 3.4 million viewers. “Good Girls” at 10 got a 0.6/3 and 2.4 million viewers.
CBS and Fox tied for third in ratings, both with a 0.6/3. CBS was second in total viewers with 6.1 million, Fox was fourth with 1.6 million.
For CBS, “60 Minutes” at 7 had a 0.8/4 and 9.1 million viewers. Following “The Red Line,” “NCIS: Los Angeles” at 10 got a 0.6/3 and 5.6 million viewers.
For Fox, following repeats, “The Simpsons” at 8 had a 0.7/3 and 1.9 million viewers. At 8:30, “Bob’s Burgers” got a 0.8/3 and 1.8 million viewers. “Family Guy” at 9 received a 0.8/3 and 2 million viewers.
Univision was fifth in ratings with a 0.4/2 and in viewers with 1.3 million.
Telemundo was sixth in ratings with a 0.3/1 and in viewers with 925,000.
The CW was seventh in ratings with a 0.2/1 and in viewers with 864,000. “Supergirl” at 8 had a 0.3/1 and 1.1 million viewers. “Charmed” at 9 got a 0.2/1 and 730,000 viewers.