Thursday Overnights: Mixed Results for Quartet of Returnees

Thursday, March 7, 2019

Household Rating/Share
CBS: 5.7/10, ABC: 3.7/ 7, Fox: 2.0/ 3, NBC: 1.9/ 3, CW: 0.8/ 1

-Percent Change From the Year-Ago Evening:
Fox: + 5, CBS: + 2, ABC: -10, CW: -20, NBC: -34

Ratings Breakdown:
There were two season premieres (NBC sitcom “A.P. Bio” and ABC legal drama “For the People”) and two series returns from this past fall (“Superstore” on NBC and “Station 19” on ABC). “Station 19” topped the quartet, with a respectable 3.7 rating/6 share in the metered market households from 9-10 p.m. ET. Comparably, it held 73 percent of the “Grey’s Anatomy” lead-in (#2: 5.1/ 9 at 8 p.m.). And “Station 19” was on par with recent overnight levels for time period occupant “A Million Little Things.”

At 10 p.m. on ABC, the season two opener of “For the People” slipped to a 2.2/ 4 (#2), which trailed competing “S.W.A.T.” on CBS (#1: 3.9/ 8) by 44 percent. Comparably, “For the People” dropped by 39 percent from lead-in “Station 19.”

On NBC, “Superstore” returned with a 2.3/ 4 (#4) in households in the 8 p.m. half-hour, which opposite soon-to-conclude “The Big Bang Theory” on CBS (#1 for the night: 9.0/16) was the sitcom’s best household overnight average since its season opener last September. But season two of “A.P. Bio” dropped to a fourth-place 1.5/ 3 at 8:30 p.m., which was 12 percent below the 1.7/ 3 on the year-ago evening. And it led into an also 1.5/ 3 for “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” in the 9 p.m. half-hour.

At 9:30 p.m., NBC’s “Will & Grace,” which is confirmed to return next season, rose by 47 percent to a 2.2/ 4 (#3t) at 9:30 p.m.

Elsewhere, CBS 8:30-10 p.m. comedies “Young Sheldon” (#2: 7.6/13), “Mom” (#2: 5.7/10) and “Fam” (#1: 3.9/ 7) were all at typical overnight levels. NBC’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (#3: 1.9/ 3 at 10 p.m.) was a repeat telecast. And Fox and The CW were at typical Thursday overnight levels as follows:

8:00 p.m.
ABC – “Grey’s Anatomy”: 5.2/ 9 (#2)
CBS – “The Big Bang Theory”: 9.0/16 (#1)
NBC – “Superstore” (return): 2.3/ 4 (#3)
Fox – “Gotham”: 1.8/ 3 (#4)
CW – “Supernatural”: 0.9/ 2 (#5)

8:30 p.m.
ABC – “Grey’s Anatomy”: 4.9/ 8 (#2)
CBS – “Young Sheldon”: 7.6/13 (#1)
NBC – “A.P. Bio” (season premiere): 1.5/ 3 (#4)
Fox – “Gotham”: 1.6/ 3 (#3)
CW – “Supernatural”: 0.9/ 2 (#5)

9:00 p.m.
ABC – “Station 19” (return): 3.7/ 6 (#2)
CBS – “Mom”: 5.7/10 (#1)
NBC – “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”: 1.5/ 3 (#4)
Fox – “The Orville”: 2.2/ 4 (#3)
CW – “Legacies”: 0.6/ 1 (#5)

9:30 p.m.
ABC – “Station 19” (return): 3.7/ 6 (#2)
CBS – “Fam”: 3.9/ 7 (#1)
NBC – “Will & Grace”: 2.2/ 4 (#3t)
Fox – “The Orville”: 2.2/ 4 (#3t)
CW – “Legacies”: 0.6/ 1 (#5)

10:00 p.m.
ABC – “For the People” (season premiere): 2.4/ 4 (#2)
CBS – “S.W.A.T.”: 4.0/ 7 (#1)
NBC – “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (R): 1.9/ 3 (#3)

10:30 p.m.
ABC – “For the People” (season premiere): 2.1/ 4 (#2)
CBS – “S.W.A.T.”: 3.8/ 8 (#1)
NBC – “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (R): 2.0/ 4 (#3) (#3)

Source: Nielsen Media Research