ABC’s ‘Imaginary Mary’ and NBC’s ‘Great News’ Waiting for the Axe to Swing

TUESDAY, MAY 9, 2017

Household Rating/Share
CBS: 7.1/12, NBC: 4.0/ 7, ABC: 2.2/ 4, Fox: 1.5/ 2, CW: 1.4/ 2

-Percent Change from the Year-Ago Evening:
ABC: +10, Fox: + 7, CBS: – 5, CW: -18, NBC: -29

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Ratings Breakdown:
It was a typical Tuesday overnight sweep for CBS in households with its combination of “NCIS” (#1 for the night: 8.4 rating/14 share), “Bull” (7.1/12) and “NCIS: New Orleans” (5.8/10). With other nights to address next season, my prediction is CBS will leave Tuesday intact next season.

“The Voice,” of course, was the standout on NBC with a 6.0/10 (#2) in the household overnights from 8-9 p.m., which guarantees it time period victory in adults 18-49 (and all the key young demo groups). But two episodes of recently introduced sitcom “Great News” stumbled to a 2.3/ 4 in the 9 p.m. half-hour (#2t) and a 1.8/ 3 at 9:30 p.m. (#2t). Comparably, overnight retention for the 9 p.m. installment of “Great News” was only 38 percent out of “The Voice.” Not so great! But “Chicago Fire” perked up to a 4.0/ 7 at 10 p.m. (#2), which should be enough to win the hour in the key demos.

On ABC, it was the usual scenario: erosion in each half hour out of “The Middle.” “The Middle,” featuring an unusual musical number at the end of the episode, opened with a 3.5/ 6 at 8 p.m. (#3), which led into “American Housewife” at a 2.8/ 5 at 8:30 p.m. (#3). Next was “Fresh Off the Boat” at a 2.3/ 4 at 9 p.m. (#2t), followed by doomed “Imaginary Mary” (#2: 1.8/ 3) and perennially low-rated “Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD” (#3: 1.6/ 3) from 9:30-11 p.m. When it is time for the Emmy voters to hand out the next set of primetime nominations, Katy Mixon from “American Housewife” should absolutely be on the ballot.

Elsewhere, “The Flash” on The CW remains the network’s highest rated series at a fourth-place 2.1/ 3 at 8 p.m. Comparably, that bested two episodes of sitcom “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” on Fox (avg. 1.2/ 2) by a hefty 75 percent. But lead-out ‘iZombie,” which should really end at this point, slipped to a 0.8/ 1 at 9 p.m.

Capping off the evening for Fox was a 1.7/ 3 for “Prison Break” at 9 p.m., which built by 55 percent from the 1.1/ 2 for “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” at 8:30 p.m.

What follows are the household overnight results for Tuesday, May 2 by half-hour:

8:00 p.m.
ABC – “The Middle”: 3.5/ 6 (#3)
CBS – “NCIS”: 8.3/14 (#1)
NBC – “The Voice”: 6.0/10 (#2)
Fox – “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”: 1.3/ 2 (#5)
CW – “The Flash”: 2.1/ 4 (#4)

8:30 p.m.
ABC – “American Housewife”: 2.8/ 5 (#3)
CBS – “NCIS”: 8.6/14 (#1)
NBC – “The Voice”: 6.1/10 (#2)
Fox – “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”: 1.1/ 2 (#5)
CW – “The Flash”: 2.0/ 3 (#4)

9:00 p.m.
ABC – “Fresh Off the Boat”: 2.3/ 4 (#2t)
CBS – “Bull”: 7.1/12 (#1)
NBC – “Great News”: 2.3/ 4 (#2t)
Fox – “Prison Break”: 1.7/ 3 (#4)
CW – “iZombie”: 0.8/ 1 (#5)

9:30 p.m.
ABC – “Imaginary Mary”: 1.8/ 3 (#2t)
CBS – “Bull”: 6.0/11 (#1)
NBC – “The Voice”: 1.8/ 3 (#2t)
Fox – “Prison Break”: 1.8/ 3 (#2t)
CW – “iZombie”: 0.7/ 1 (#5)

10:00 p.m.
ABC – “Agents of SHIELD”: 1.6/ 3 (#3)
CBS – “NCIS: New Orleans”: 5.8/10 (#1)
NBC – “Chicago Fire”: 4.0/ 7 (#2)

10:30 p.m.
ABC – “Agents of SHIELD”: 1.5/ 3 (#3)
CBS – “NCIS: New Orleans”: 5.7/10 (#1)
NBC – “Chicago Fire”: 4.0/ 7 (#2)

Source: Nielsen Media Research