The second Thursday meant ratings drops a number of broadcast series–veteran and new–but the two freshman comedies were hit particularly hard.
Following a weakened edition of “The Big Bang Theory” (4.3 adults 18-49 rating, 12.97 million viewers), CBS’ new series “$#*! My Dad Says” was down to a 3.2 rating with 10.44 million viewers. That performance was still strong enough to give CBS the lead for the half-hour, but a second-week drop of nearly 18% is never a good sign, especially since the same genre-lead-in was only down by about 10%. Clearly, a number of viewers who tuned into the premiere out of curiosity were not impressed.
NBC’s new comedy entry also took a tumble this week. Following an episode of “The Office” that declined by 14% in the ratings (3.7 rating, 7.30 million viewers), “Outsourced” dipped 20% to a 2.8 with 5.81 million viewers. Though not a terrible number from an objective standpoint, neither the retention nor the excessive drop from week two is a fantastic sign for the new NBC comedy.
NBC’s 8PM comedies had mixed success; “Community” dropped to a 1.9 with 4.51 million viewers while “30 Rock” held at a 2.6 and 5.69 million.