Unlike comedy rival “Glee,” “Modern Family”‘s second season two episode could not match the ratings prowess of the series premiere. But with a hefty 4.5 adults 18-49 rating and 11.88 million, “Family” still dominated Wednesday night and again showed that comedies can be both critically-acclaimed and universally accessible.
Unfortunately for ABC, “Family” is the network’s only Wednesday comedy that can truly be called a strong performer. “The Middle” performed competently with a 2.4 rating and 8.33 million viewers, but that showing is hardly setting the world on fire. Meanwhile, week two of “Better with You” marked a big decline, with the show slipping to a 2.1 rating with 7.06 million viewers.
That figure, too, is far from abysmal, but given its sandwiched scheduling behind “The Middle” and “Modern Family,” it is concerning that the show can neither retain all of its lead-in nor attract a high quantity of ‘early’ “Modern Family” fans.
“Cougar Town” scored a 2.9 with 7.07 million viewers. Again, while that performance is passable, it is hard to ignore the fact that the show squandered more than 35% of the lead-in from a similar-enough comedy.