Thursday Overnights: ‘Murphy Brown’ Concludes for the Season – or Series – on CBS

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2018

Household Rating/Share
CBS: 3.8/ 7, ABC: 2.9/ 5, NBC: 2.1/ 4, Fox: 1.1/ 2, CW: 0.8/ 1

Percent Change from the Year-Ago Evening
CW: +60, Fox: +10, ABC: – 3, NBC: -12, CBS: -25,

-Ratings Scorecard:
Minus Thursday Night Football, CBS led this pre-holiday Thursday. There was only one original option on the Eye net, “Murphy Brown,” which dominated the 9:30 p.m. ET half-hour with a 3.8 rating/7 share. While not a bust, there is no reason to expect a second season for the revival of “Murphy Brown” (which, most likely, would not have been buried in a sea of repeats last night has the network considered a renewal).

In series-finale news was NBC time travel drama “Timeless” at a modest 2.2/ 4 in households from 8-10 p.m. While talk continues of a potential new outlet for “Timeless,” it only has a small cult following, unfortunately.

In season-finale news was ABC’s “The Great American Baking Show” at a typical 2.7/ 5 from 9-11 p.m.

The only other original programming option was two-hour CW special, “The 4th Annual Howie Mandel Stand-Up Extravaganza,” which scored a 0.8/ 1 from 8-10 p.m. Consider that typical for The CW, who survives on the strength of social media (and not the overnight ratings).

8:00 p.m.
ABC – “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (R): 3.6/ 6 (#2)
CBS – “The Big Bang Theory” (R): 5.0/ 9 (#1)
NBC – “Timeless” (series finale): 2.6/ 5 (#3)
Fox – “A Christmas Story Live” (R): 1.4/ 3 (#34)
CW – “The 4th Annual Howie Mandel Stand-Up Extravaganza”: 0.9/ 2 (#5)

8:30 p.m.
ABC – “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (R): 3.2/ 6 (#2)
CBS – “Young Sheldon” (R): 4.5/ 8 (#1)
NBC – “Timeless” (series finale): 2.2/ 4 (#3)
Fox – “A Christmas Story Live” (R): 1.1/ 2 (#34)
CW – “The 4th Annual Howie Mandel Stand-Up Extravaganza”: 0.8/ 1 (#5)

9:00 p.m.
ABC – “The Great American Baking Show” (season finale): 2.7/ 5 (#2)
CBS – “The Big Bang Theory” (R): 4.4/ 8 (#1)
NBC – “Timeless” (series finale): 2.1/ 4 (#3)
Fox – “A Christmas Story Live” (R): 1.0/ 2 (#34)
CW – “The 4th Annual Howie Mandel Stand-Up Extravaganza”: 0.7/ 1 (#5)

9:30 p.m.
ABC – “The Great American Baking Show” (season finale): 2.7/ 5 (#2)
CBS – “Murphy Brown” (season or series finale): 3.8/ 7 (#1)
NBC – “Timeless” (series finale): 2.1/ 4 (#3)
Fox – “A Christmas Story Live” (R): 1.0/ 2 (#34)
CW – “The 4th Annual Howie Mandel Stand-Up Extravaganza”: 0.6/ 1 (#5)

10:00 p.m.
ABC – “The Great American Baking Show” (season finale): 2.6/ 5 (#2)
CBS – “S.W.A.T.”: 2.7/ 5 (#1)
NBC – “Deal or No Deal” (R): 1.6/ 3 (#3)

10:30 p.m.
ABC – “The Great American Baking Show” (season finale): 2.6/ 5 (#1t)
CBS – “S.W.A.T.”: 2.6/ 5 (#1t)
NBC – “Deal or No Deal” (R): 1.9/ 4 (#3)

Source: Nielsen Media Research