‘Will & Grace’ Return Ignites NBC

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2017

Household Rating/Share
CBS: 7.0 rating/12 share, ABC: 4.7/ 8, NBC: 4.6/ 8, Fox: 2.5/ 4, CW: 0.9/ 2

Percent Change from Opening Thursday in 2016 – 9/21/16:
CW: +50, NBC: +10, ABC: no change, Fox: -17, CBS:-24

-Ratings Breakdown:
CBS won this first Thursday in the 2017-18 TV season thanks to the Chicago Bears/Green Bay Packers match-up on NFL Football. But the bigger story was NBC sitcom “Will & Grace,” which returned after an 11-year absence with a dominant 7.7 rating/12 share in the 9 p.m. half-hour. Comparably, this was 67 percent above the season-premiere of former time period occupant “Chicago Med” on the first Thursday in 2016 (9/21/16). It built from lead-in “The Good Place” (#3: 3.4/ 6 at 8:30 p.m.) by a hefty 126 percent. And it was, no doubt, the largest opening for any sitcom on NBC in the overnights in years.

Needless to say, there was the curiosity factor last night. But once the dust settles, “Will & Grace” should have no trouble setting into a very solid return on NBC. The only thing missing is Shelley Morrison as Rosario.

Ignited by “Will & Grace,” season two of NBC comedy “Great News,” featuring guest star Tina Fey, rose to a series-high 3.7/ 6 (#3) at 9:30 p.m. The overnight retention for “Great News” out of “Will & Grace,” however, was only 48 percent.

Airing out of “Great News” was the season premiere of NBC drama “Chicago Fire,” which finished second with a 4.8/ 9 at 10 p.m. Comparably, that bested the season premiere of ABC’s competing “How To Get Away From Murder” (#3: 3.1/ 5) by 55 percent, and it was nine percent above the year-ago season-opening performance of “The Blacklist” (4.4/ 8 on 9/21/16).

Earlier in the evening on NBC was the third season premiere of sitcom “Superstore” at a third-place 3.3/ 6 in the 8 p.m. half-hour, which was 11 percent below the 3.7/ 6 on the year-ago opening Thursday.

On CBS, the aforementioned Chicago Bears/Green Bay Packers match-up, which was delayed by approximately 45-minutes due to lightening, averaged an estimated 7.3/12.

Over at ABC, two episodes of veteran “Grey’s Anatomy” was on the overnight map with a 5.7/10 (#2) in the 8 p.m. hour, which was 10 percent below the 6.3/10 on the year-ago opening Thursday, and a 5.3/ 8 at 9 p.m. (#3). At this point, “Grey’s Anatomy,” now in season 14, should have no trouble surpassing 15-year “ER” as the longest-running medical drama in TV history.

Elsewhere, Fox could not compete with its pairing of dramas “Gotham” (#4: 2.2/ 3) and “The Orville” (#4: 2.8/5). And The CW featured “Penn & Teller: Fool Us” (#5: 1.1/ 2) and two episodes (original and repeat) of “Who’s Line is it Anyway?” (avg. 0.7/ 1 from 9-10 p.m.).
What follows is the breakdown by half-hour for Thursday, September 28:

8:00 p.m.
ABC – “Grey’s Anatomy” (season premiere): 5.9/10 (#1)
CBS – NFL Football Kickoff: 5.3/10 (#2
NBC – “Superstore” (season premiere): 3.3/ 6 (#3)
Fox – “Gotham”: 2.3/ 4 (#4)
CW – “Penn & Teller: Fool Us”: 1.1/ 2 (#5)

8:30 p.m.
ABC – “Grey’s Anatomy” (season premiere): 5.6/ 9 (#2)
CBS – Thursday Football (Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers): 7.8/13 (#1)
NBC – “The Good Place”: 3.4/ 6 (#3)
Fox – “Gotham”: 2.1/ 3 (#4)
CW – “Penn & Teller: Fool Us”: 1.1/ 2 (#5)

9:00 p.m.
ABC – “Grey’s Anatomy”: 5.3/ 8 (#3)
CBS – Thursday Football (Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers): 7.6/13 (#2)
NBC – “Will & Grace” (season premiere/return): 7.7/12 (#1)
Fox – “The Orville”: 2.7/ 4 (#4)
CW – “Whose Line is it Anyway?”: 0.7/ 1 (#5)

9:30 p.m.
ABC – “Grey’s Anatomy”: 5.4/ 9 (#3)
CBS – Thursday Football (Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers): 6.3/10 (#1)
NBC – “Great news” (season premiere): 3.7/ 6 (#3)
Fox – “The Orville”: 2.9/ 5 (#4)
CW – “Whose Line is it Anyway?” (R): 0.7/ 1 (#5)

10:00 p.m.
ABC – “How to Get Away With Murder” (season premiere): 3.2/ 5 (#3)
CBS – Thursday Football (Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers): 7.8/13 (#1)
NBC – “Chicago Fire” (season premiere): 4.9/ 8 (#2)

10:30 p.m.
ABC – “How to Get Away With Murder” (season premiere): 3.0/ 6 (#3)
CBS – Thursday Football (Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers): 7.1/12 (#1)
NBC – “Chicago Fire” (season premiere): 4.7/ 9 (#2)

Source: Nielsen Media Research