“90210,” “Gossip Girl” Seasons Premiere to Disastrous Ratings

• Tweet
• Pin It

Hope of “90210″ and “Gossip Girl” rebounding from their dismal 2009-10 performances is over; airing against limited competition from the other networks, the two CW shows nonetheless failed to make any sort of mark in their season premieres Monday.

“90210,” which now airs on Mondays at 8PM, opened its third season up with a 0.9 adults 18-49 rating and 1.98 million viewers. While that total is up from what “90210″ had been doing last spring against “American Idol,” it represents a sizable decline from last season’s premiere and a weak way to start the season’s trajectory, given the fact that heightened competition and the lack of “premiere buzz” should mean a ratings decline over the next few weeks and months.

At 9PM, the fourth season premiere of “Gossip Girl” again made the television industry wonder why the show is still considered a flagship performer for the network. The show averaged just 1.87 million viewers with a 1.0 adults 18-49 rating; its 2.0 rating in the women 18-34 demographic, while far from an abomination, is similarly not impressive for a show that is supposed to directly click with that audience. There was also considerably less critical interest and buzz than there had been for past seasons; the show no longer even has the “pop culture phenomenon” claim to soften the blow of ratings releases.

The CW completes its fall launch with “One Tree Hill” and “Life UneXpected” Tuesday night. Nothing so far has looked fantastic for the network, but “Hellcats” and “Nikita” premiered to numbers that could at least be considered decent given expectations.

• Tweet
• Pin It