While “The Jay Leno Show” repeatedly struggled at 10PM for NBC, it is not as if the primetime talkshow was the network’s only area of weakness. The hour-long drama has also struggled; new series “Mercy” and “Trauma” failed to take off, while the once-red hot”Heroes” has descended into endangered territory.
Expectations for Sunday’s return of dramedy “Chuck,” consequently, were not high. Having barely escaped last year’s cancellation axe as it is, how would the show perform on an even weaker NBC schedule?
If Sunday’s two-hour season three kickoff is any indication of how the show will perform on Monday, then the show is in decent shape.
Sunday’s premiere averaged a 2.95 adults 18-49 rating over its two hours; the first hour posted a 3.0 rating with 7.7 million viewers while hour two was good for a 2.9 rating and 7.2 million. That marks the highest rating since last year’s 3D episode.
The decline from hour one to hour two, no matter how slight, is somewhat alarming, but the reality is that “Chuck” will function as a winner for the struggling NBC it can stay over a 2.5 rating on Mondays.
Update: Though little can erase the overall positive news surrounding “Chuck”‘s premiere rating, the half-hour breakdown reveals an even worse trend regarding the show’s viewership retention level. The first half-hour of the night actually started with 7.9 million viewers and a 3.0 rating; for the next three segments, it fell to 7.5 million/3.0, 7.3 million/2.9 and 7.1 million/2.9.
Whether that will happen remains to be seen, but for now, “Chuck” fans can rejoice over the success of the season premiere.