Categories: Entertainment News

NBC’s “Undercovers” Ratings Disappoint, “The Defenders” Soft

It was not a bomb on the scale of FOX’s “Lone Star” or ABC’s “The Whole Truth,” but NBC’s “Undercovers” definitely failed to impress in its debut Wednesday.

The premiere scored a 2.1 adults 18-49 rating with 8.6 million viewers. While the viewership total was not terrible, the demo performance was disappointing, indicating an older skew than was expected and a general disinterest from younger viewers. No one was pegging “Undercovers” as a major hit, but there was definitely some internal hope that the marketing campaign and JJ Abrams backing would have spurred a higher premiere rating.

A two hour “Law & Order: SVU” followed with a 3.2 rating and 10.0 million viewers.

Over on CBS, new series “The Defenders” got off to a soft–but respectable–start in the 10PM timeslot. Its 2.9 rating with 12.1 million viewers made for a fine performance, although it was down from where “CSI: New York” opened last season. Granted, “CSI: NY” was slipping to around this level by season’s end, so if “The Defenders” can hold, it will be viewed as a successful launch.

How the debut of “Law & Order: Los Angeles” affects “Defenders” will also be a point of interest; it is not a scientific certainty that “LOLA” will perform identically to this week’s two-hour “SVU.”

Other CBS shows included “Survivor” (12.5 million viewers, 4.0) and “Criminal Minds” (14.1 million, 4.0). FOX devoted its evening to “Hell’s Kitchen” (6.6 million, 2.9).

Brian Cantor

Brian Cantor is the editor-in-chief for Headline Planet. He has been a leading reporter in the music, movie, television and sporting spaces since 2002. Brian's reporting has been cited by major websites like BuzzFeed, Billboard, the New Yorker and The Fader -- and shared by celebrities like Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj. Contact Brian at brian.cantor[at]headlineplanet.com.

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Brian Cantor