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Thursday Overnights: Fox Wins; Unimpressive Return for ‘Murphy Brown’ on CBS

ABC Springs a Leak with 'How to Get Away With Murder' at 10 p.m. ET

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2018

Household Rating/Share
Fox: 7.5/13, CBS: 5.7/10, ABC: 4.2/ 7, NBC: 3.3/ 6, CW: 0.4/ 1

-Percent Change from the Year-Ago Evening:
Fox: +200, ABC: -11, CBS: -19, NBC: -28, CW: -56

-Ratings Scorecard:
Fox, as expected, topped the Thursday household overnights care of the Minnesota Vikings/Los Angeles Rams match-up on Thursday Night Football. But keep in mind that the 7.3 rating/13 share in households is based on 8-10 p.m. ET only (which includes the pre-game and excludes the 10-11:30 p.m. portion). The final ratings from Nielsen will incorporate the complete game and the telecast on the NFLN.

In season premiere news, the return of CBS sitcom “Murphy Brown” after a 20-year absence scored a second-place 5.6/ 9 in the household overnights at 9:30 p.m. Comparably, that fully held its “Mom” lead-in (season premiere: #2: 5.5/ 9 at 9 p.m.) and it was a marked improvement over former time period occupant “Life in Pieces.” So, traditionally, this would be considered a positive return. However, given the anticipation and heavy promotion, I would personally label a 5.6 rating in the household overnights for “Murphy Brown” as “disappointing.”

“Murphy Brown” led into the second season premiere of crime drama “S.W.A.T.,” which at a 3.9/ 7 was tied for first in the 10 p.m. hour with the second half of the two-hour season-premiere of “Law & Order: SVU” on NBC. Concerning for “S.W.A.T.” was erosion in the second half-hour of 30 percent (4.6/ 8 to 3.2/ 6). “Law & Order: SVU,” meanwhile, scored a 3.7/ 6 overall from 9-11 p.m. and increased from the one-hour season-opening installment of critically acclaimed sitcom “The Good Place” (#4: 2.4/ 4 from 8-9 p.m.) by 54 percent. Congrats to “SVU” for now tying “Gunsmoke” and parent “Law & Order” as the longest running scripted drama in the history of television.

Third overall in the 10 p.m. hour was the season premiere of ABC’s “How to Get Away With Murder” at an alarming 2.4/ 4 in households. Comparably, that was 23 percent below the year-ago season opener (3.1/ 5 on 9/18/17) and 50 percent below the 9:30 p.m. portion of the season premiere of lead-in “Grey’s Anatomy.” Overall, the veteran Shonda Rhimes medical drama scored a 5.2/ 9 from 8-10 p.m., which was close to the 5.6/ 9 year-ago also expanded opener.

Tops for the night was CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory” at an 8.4/14 in the 8 p.m. half-hour, which led into a second-place 6.9/11 for sophomore “Young Sheldon” at 8:30 p.m. (#2).

The CW, meanwhile, ducked the competition with encore telecasts of “Supernatural” (#5: 0.5/ 1) and “The Originals” (#5: 0.3/ 1).

What follows are the household overnight ratings for Thursday, September 27 broken out by half-hour.

8:00 p.m.
ABC – “Grey’s Anatomy” (season premiere): 5.5/ 9 (#2)
CBS – “The Big Bang Theory”: 8.4/14 (#1)
NBC – “The Good Place” (season premiere): 2.5/ 4 (#4)
Fox – Thursday Night Football (Minnesota Vikings at Los Angeles Rams): 5.3/10 (#2)
CW – “Supernatural” (R): 0.5/ 1 (#5)

8:30 p.m.
ABC – “Grey’s Anatomy” (season premiere): 5.3/ 9 (#2)
CBS – “Young Sheldon”: 6.9/11 (#2)
NBC – “The Good Place” (season premiere): 2.3/ 4 (#4)
Fox – Thursday Night Football (Minnesota Vikings at Los Angeles Rams): 7.5/13 (#1)
CW – “Supernatural” (R): 0.5/ 1 (#5)

9:00 p.m.
ABC – “Grey’s Anatomy” (season premiere): 5.0/ 8 (#3)
CBS – “Mom” (season premiere): 5.5/ 9 (#2)
NBC – “Law & Order: SVU” (season premiere): 3.3/ 5 (#4)
Fox – Thursday Night Football (Minnesota Vikings at Los Angeles Rams): 8.3/14 (#1)
CW – “The Originals” (R): 0.3/ 1 (#5)

9:30 p.m.
ABC – “Grey’s Anatomy” (season premiere): 4.8/ 8 (#2)
CBS – “Murphy Brown” (season premiere/return): 5.6/ 9 (#2)
NBC – “Law & Order: SVU” (season premiere): 3.6/ 6 (#4)
Fox – Thursday Night Football (Minnesota Vikings at Los Angeles Rams): 8.9/15 (#1)
CW – “The Originals” (R): 0.3/ 0 (#5)

10:00 p.m.
ABC – “How To Get Away With Murder” (season premiere): 2.6/ 5 (#3)
CBS – “S.W.A.T. (season premiere): 4.6/ 8 (#2)
NBC – “Law & Order: SVU” (season premiere): 4.0/ 7 (#2)

10:30 p.m.
ABC – “How To Get Away With Murder” (season premiere): 2.3/ 4 (#3)
CBS – “S.W.A.T. (season premiere): 3.2/ 6 (#2)
NBC – “Law & Order: SVU” (season premiere): 3.9/ 7 (#1)

Source: Nielsen Media Research