Positioned against the midseason premiere of ABC’s “How To Get Away With Murder,” NBC’s “Shades Of Blue” predictably failed to rise from last week’s deflated performance.
It did, however, avoid taking another adults 18-49 tumble against the popular 10PM series. It endured only a slight loss in viewership.
Per Nielsen fast national data, Thursday’s “Shades Of Blue” drew a 1.1 adults 18-49 rating and 5.387 million total viewers. Last week’s episode drew the same 1.1 with a slightly stronger 5.643 million viewership total.
It surely helps that “How To Get Away With Murder” is not the force it was last year. While the 2015 midseason premiere drew a 3.1 rating and 9.18 million viewers, this week’s episode drew a 1.8 with 5.785 million.
While not a live+same-day ratings powerhouse, “Shades” has performed respectably in what has become a difficult slot for NBC in recent years. It also receives sizable boosts from DVR viewership. Those factors drove NBC to issue a season two renewal.
— NBC led into “Shades” with “The Blacklist” (1.4, 6.317 million this week vs. 1.5, 6.493 million last week). It opened its night with 8PM series “You, Me & The Apocalypse” (0.8, 2.960 million this week vs. 0.9, 3.473 million last week).
