At least the television community can confirm this was not “opposite week.” While critically-acclaimed new drama “Lone Star” was indeed a bomb for FOX, critically-panned ABC entry “My Generation” was not a hit. Called “laughably bad” in Headline Planet’s advance review, the ABC series opened to a mere 1.6 adults 18-49 rating with 5.2 million viewers.
The debut was far worse than that of “FlashForward” last season and pretty much on par with some of the “filler” that was thrown into the timeslot at the end of the season and early summer.
The show even lost to NBC’s relatively-low rated 8PM comedy lineup, which had the battle of going head-to-head with CBS’ monster comedies “The Big Bang Theory” and “$#*! My Dad Says.” The Betty White appearance prevented “Community” from falling below its late-spring marks with a 2.2 and 5.0 million viewers, but it did not provide any actual boost for the show. Lead-out “30 Rock” drew a 2.6 and 5.9 million viewers, a modest audience but one that suggests “30 Rock” will not absolutely die in the new timeslot.
Following a solidly-rated episode of “The Office” (8.4 million viewers, 4.3 rating), new comedy “Outsourced” repectably followed with 7.4 million viewers and a 3.5. While the retention is strong, it is worth noting that “The Office” lead-in has not necessarily been immensely effective in creating independent hits. Even if “Outsourced” continues to perform this well paired with NBC’s veteran comedy, it is far from a lock that the show would do any better than “Community” without the lead-in.
NBC’s “The Apprentice” closed the night with a poor 1.4 and 3.9 million viewers.