Thursday Overnights: Positive Start for ABC’s ‘A Million Little Things’ Out of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’

THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 2019

Household Rating/Share
CBS: 5.4/ 9, ABC: 3.9/ 7, NBC: 2.7/ 5, Fox: 2.1/ 3, CW: 0.9/ 1

Percent Change from the Year-Ago Evening
NBC: – 7, ABC: – 9, CBS: -11, CW: -18, Fox: -19

-Ratings Scorecard:
In positive news for ABC, freshman drama “A Million Little Things,” now airing in the Thursday 9 p.m. hour, got a boost with a 4.2 rating/7 share in households (#2). Comparably, this was on par with year-ago time period occupant “Scandal,” and the overnight retention out of lead-in “Grey’s Anatomy” (#2: 5.4/ 8 at 8 p.m.) was respectable at 78 percent.

Unfortunately, ABC fell off the overnight map at 10 p.m. with the return of “How to Get Away With Murder” dipping to a third-place 2.2/ 4 in the household overnights. Comparably, that trailed veteran “Law & Order: SVU” on NBC (#1: 3.3/ 6) and an encore telecast of “S.W.A.T.” on CBS (#2: 3.0/ 6) by 33 percent and 27 percent, respectively.

In week two news, CBS sitcom “Fam” scored a 4.2/ 7 (#2) in households, which was 11 percent below the 4.7/ 8 debut last week and was similar to recent time period occupant “Murphy Brown.” Comparably, overnight retention for “Fam” out of “Mom” (#1: 5.7/10 at 9 p.m.) was 74 percent. If you really want to see a series featuring a dysfunctional father, “Shameless” on Showtime is your best option.

Tops for the night was the Eve net’s soon-to-conclude “The Big Bang Theory” (#1: 9.0/15 at 8 p.m.), which led into a 7.5/12 (#1) for “Young Sheldon” at 8:30 p.m.

Elsewhere, week two of sitcom “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” on NBC dropped to a modest 1.9/ 3 (#4) in the 9 p.m. half-hour, which was 24 percent below its week-ago return (2.5/ 4) and 37 percent below lead-in “The Titan Games” #3: 3.0/ 5 at 8 p.m.). Minus the lead-in support, “The Good Place,” now at 9:30 p.m., could only muster a 1.8/ 3 (#4) in the overnights.

Fox has nothing unusual to report with its pairing of the final season of “Gotham” (#4: 1.9/ 3 at 8 p.m.) and “The Orville” (#3: 2.3/ 7 at 9 p.m.). And, The CW featured veteran “Supernatural” (#5: 1.0/ 2 at 8 p.m.) into an encore of the pilot episode of “Roswell, New Mexico” (#5: 0.8/ 1 at 9 p.m.).

What follows is the breakdown by half-hour and by show for Thursday, January 17:

8:00 p.m.
ABC – “Grey’s Anatomy”: 5.6/ 9 (#2)
CBS – “The Big Bang Theory”: 9.0/15 (#1)
NBC – “Titan Games”: 3.0/ 5 (#3)
Fox – “Gotham”: 1.9/ 3 (#4)
CW – “Supernatural”: 1.0/ 2 (#5)

8:30 p.m.
ABC – “Grey’s Anatomy”: 5.1/ 8 (#2)
CBS – “Young Sheldon”: 7.5/12 (#1)
NBC – “Titan Games”: 3.0/ 5 (#3)
Fox – “Gotham”: 1.8/ 3 (#4)
CW – “Supernatural”: 1.0/ 2 (#5)

9:00 p.m.
ABC – “A Million Little Things” (time period premiere): 4.3/ 7 (#2)
CBS – “Mom”: 5.7/10 (#1)
NBC – “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”: 1.9/ 3 (#4)
Fox – “The Orville”: 2.2/ 4 (#3)
CW – “Roswell, New Mexico” (R): 0.8/ 1 (#5)

9:30 p.m.
ABC – “A Million Little Things” (time period premiere): 4.0/ 7 (#2)
CBS – “Fam”: 4.2/ 7 (#1)
NBC – “The Good Place”: 1.8/ 3 (#4)
Fox – “The Orville”: 2.4/ 4 (#3)
CW – “Roswell, New Mexico” (R): 0.7/ 1 (#5)

10:00 p.m.
ABC – “How To Get Away With Murder”: 2.4/ 4 (#3)
CBS – “S.W.A.T. (R)”: 3.1/ 6 (#2)
NBC – “Law & Order: SVU”: 3.2/ 6 (#1)

10:30 p.m.
ABC – “How To Get Away With Murder”: 2.1/ 4 (#3)
CBS – “S.W.A.T. (R)”: 2.9/ 6 (#2)
NBC – “Law & Order: SVU”: 3.3/ 6 (#1)

Source: Nielsen Media Research