‘The Good Wife’ Concludes in Style on CBS

[socialpoll id=”2357877″]

SUNDAY, MAY 8, 2016

Household Rating/Share
CBS: 6.1 rating/11 share, NBC: 3.2/ 6, ABC: 2.5/ 4, Fox: 1.2/ 2

Percent Change from the Year-Ago Evening:
CBS: + 5, NBC: – 3, Fox: -14, ABC: -26

—–

Ratings Breakdown:
CBS stood well above the competition in the Sunday overnights, besting distant No. 2 NBC by 91 percent in households. “The Good Wife” concluded its seven season run on a season high note, with a 7.3 rating/12 share in households at 9 p.m. Unlike so many series that overstay their welcomes, “The Good Wife” is a rare example of a series that knew when it was time to exit. Comparably, “The Good Wife” increased from the season-finale of lead-in “Madam Secretary” (#1: 7.0/12 at 8 p.m.) by four percent, and it led into “Elementary,” also a season-ender, at a 3.6/ 6 (#1) at 10 p.m. At this point, I am not sure why CBS needed another season of tired “Elementary.”

Earlier in the evening on CBS was granddaddy “60 Minutes” at a dominant 6.6/13 at 7 p.m., which beat the debut of “Dateline: On Assignment” on NBC (#3: 2.6/ 6) by a hefty 154 percent.

Next on NBC was “Little Big Shots,” hosted by Steve Harvey, at a series-low 4.6/ 6 in the household overnights (#2) at 8 p.m. With weaker lead-in support (and opposite the series-finale of “The Good Wife”), on-the-fence NBC sitcoms “The Carmichael Show” (#2: 2.2/ 4) and recently introduced “Crowded” (#3: 1.7/ 3) sunk to series lows from 9-10 p.m. And that led into the regular Sunday edition of “Dateline” at a second-place 3.5/ 7 at 10 p.m., which perked up from lead-in “Crowded” by 106 percent.

NBC would be wise to rest “Little Big Shots” until midseason to give it a longer potential shelf life.

It was Sunday overnight business as usual on ABC with its line-up of “America’s Funniest Home Videos” (#2: 3.1/ 6 at 7 p.m.), deteriorating “Once Upon a Time” (#3: 2.5/ 4 at 8 p.m.), which should not remain in this time period next season, doomed recent entry “The Family” (#3: 1.9/ 3 at 9 p.m.) and “Quantico” (#3: 2.6/ 5 at 10 p.m.). My suggestion for “Quantico” next season would be the Tuesday 10 p.m. hour.

Fox, which is in need of a makeover on Sunday, finished fourth in each of its six half-hours care of waiting-to-be-axed “Bordertown” (0.7/ 1), a repeat of “The Simpsons” (0.8. 1), the regular edition of “The Simpsons” (1.5/ 3), “Bob’s Burgers” (1.3/2 ), “Family Guy” (1.7/ 3) and “The Last on Earth” (1.5/ 2).

Source: Nielsen Media Research