With the fall season moving ahead with fewer scripted series than before, it was a night of mixed returns for the broadcast networks.
Survivor Season 45 kicked off with 5.1 million viewers and a 0.8 rating in the demo, right on par with its prior premiere.
A 0.8 in today’s climate is a solid result.
The series also typically benefits from strong post-airdate viewership, so we can’t wait to see how it holds up this season.
The Amazing Race followed with 2.6 million viewers and a 0.3 rating, dropping quite a bit from its Survivor lead-in.
CBS would have been wise to keep the reality series at 60 minutes, with Big Brother and 9 p.m.
The network has been bumping Big Brother around the schedule, so it’s getting difficult to keep up to speed with the show.
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FOX’s The Masked Singer returned in its regular timeslot at 3.1 million viewers and a 0.5 rating — off a bit from last fall.
Snake Oil launched with 1.8 million viewers and a 0.4 rating, holding up well in the demo out of the reality TV series.
However, the total viewer tally could be stronger.
Over on ABC, it was a night of season premieres with Celebrity Jeopardy! (3.4 million viewers/0.4 rating), Celebrity Wheel of Fortune (2.8 million/0.4 rating), and The $100000 Pyramid (2.3 million/0.3 rating).
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The numbers are decent for the network, with its scripted roster in limbo.
With the end of the WGA strike, there’s a chance shows like Grey’s Anatomy and The Good Doctor will be able to return in early 2024.
That’s assuming the SAG-AFTRA strike is resolved soon.
Over on NBC, the season finale of America’s Got Talent led the night in total viewers (5.2 million/0.4 rating) but was softer than usual in the demo.
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The TV ratings round-ups should be far more interesting next week with the returns of Quantum Leap and Magnum P.I. and the premiere of Found.
We’re looking forward to having some good TV shows back on the air again.
How about you?
What are you excited about watching this fall on the broadcast networks?
Hit the comments below.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.