Add “Life UneXpected” to the list of returning CW series that disappointed in the season premiere ratings race.
The sophomore drama premiered Tuesday to just 1.74 million viewers and a 0.8 adults 18-49 rating. While the show did have the challenge of contending with part one of the “America’s Got Talent” season finale (14.26 million viewers with a 3.8 A18-49 rating), it is not as if “LUX” never faced stiff competition during its freshman season. As an additional note of disappointment, “Life UneXpected” bled viewership from its “One Tree Hill” lead-in.
“One Tree Hill” was far from glowing in its season premiere, but its 2.18 million viewership average and 1.1 demo rating at least ranked it above the performances from the supposedly-fresher CW series “90210” and “Gossip Girl” on Monday.
Elsewhere, NBC’s “Parenthood” launched to a 2.7 adults 18-49 demographic rating with 7.69 million viewers. While solid in principle, the show nonetheless only achieved mediocre retention from its “Got Talent” lead-in. And in a happenstance that never speaks favorably about viewer engagement in a program, the show’s audience dropped sizably from the first to second half hour. The comparison for 10-10:30 vs. 10:30-11 was 8.45 million viewers vs. 6.93 million viewers and a 2.9 rating vs. a 2.5 rating.
Such a decline was inevitable given the inclusion of “Got Talent” holdovers in the first half hour number, but as the premiere reduced basically to a normal season mark by the end of the 10PM hour, there is not yet evidence that season two of “Parenthood” will show any noteworthy growth from season one.