Thursday Overnights: Respectable Start for ‘Fam’ on CBS

Thursday, January 10, 2019

Household Rating/Share
CBS: 6.0/10, NBC: 3.0/ 5, ABC: 2.6/ 5, Fox: 2.1/ 4, CW: 0.6/ 1

Percent Change From the Year-Ago Week:
NBC: + 7, CBS: – 5, Fox: -16, ABC: -33, CW: -45

Ratings Breakdown:
In series premiere news, CBS sitcom “Fam,” starring Nina Dodrev, opened with a dominant 4.7 rating/8 share in the household overnights at 9:30 p.m. ET. Comparably, this was on par with former time period occupants “Murphy Brown” and “Life in Pieces,” and the overnight retention out of lead-in “Mom” (#1: 6.1/10 at 9 p.m.) was 77 percent. While certainly not a bad start, the initial curiosity was not necessarily all that strong for “Fam.” Keep in mind that most new series drop 10 to 20 percent in week two.

“Fam” led into crime solver “S.W.A.T. at a 4.0/ 7 at 10 p.m., which bested competing “Law & Order: SVU” on NBC and the second half of ABC News’ “Truth and Lies: Bill and Monica” (3.1/ 6 each) by 29 percent.

Overall, the two-hour ABC News special was uneventful at a 3.0/ 6 from 9-11 p.m.

In network debut news, former Fox comedy “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” opened on NBC with a third-place 2.5/ 4 in the 9 p.m. half-hour. Comparably, this was 22 percent below year-ago time period occupant “Will & Grace” (3.2/ 5). On the flipside, however, it was a marked improvement over the season-finale on Fox on May 20, 2018 (1.1).

“Brooklyn Nine-Nine” led out of a 3.5/ 6 in households for lead-in “The Titan Games” from 8-9 p.m., which is a notable increase over the recent time period average for comedies. And it led into a 2.1/ 4 (#4) for the time period premiere of critical favorite “The Good Place” at 9:30 p.m.

Tops for the night, as always, was “The Big Bang Theory” on CBS (9.1/15 at 8 p.m.), which led into a 7.9/13 for “Young Sheldon” at 8:30 p.m. The Eye net, no doubt, will certainly miss adult Sheldon and company.

Elsewhere, Fox featured the final season of “Gotham” (#4: 1.9/ 3 at 8 p.m.) and sophomore “The Orville” (#3: 2.4/ 4 at 9 p.m.), which increased by 26 percent. And The CW aired 9 p.m. special, “Roswell: Mysteries Decoded” (#5: 0.7/ 1 at 9 p.m.) out of an encore telecast of “Supernatural” (#5: 0.6/ 1 at 8 p.m.).

What follows are the metered market (overnight) results in households for Thursday, January 10, 2019:

8:00 p.m.
ABC – “Modern Family” (R): 2.3/ 4 (#3)
CBS – “The Big Bang Theory”: 9.1/15 (#1)
NBC – “The Titan Games”: 3.4/ 6 (#3)
Fox – “Gotham”: 2.0/ 3 (#4)
CW – “Supernatural” (R)” 0.6/ 1 (#5)

8:30 p.m.
ABC – “The Goldbergs” (R): 1.6/ 3 (#4)
CBS – “Young Sheldon”: 7.9/13 (#1)
NBC – “The Titan Games”: 3.5/ 6 (#2)
Fox – “Gotham”: 1.8/ 3 (#3)
CW – “Supernatural” (R)” 0.5/ 1 (#5)

9:00 p.m.
ABC – ABC News – “Truth and Lies: Bill and Monica”: 2.8/ 5 (#2)
CBS – “Mom”: 6.1/10 (#1)
NBC – “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” (season premiere, network debut): 2.5/ 4 (#3)
Fox – “The Orville”: 2.3/ 4 (#4)
CW – “Roswell: Mysteries Decoded”: 0.7/ 1 (#5)

9:30 p.m.
ABC – ABC News – “Truth and Lies: Bill and Monica”: 3.1/ 5 (#2)
CBS – “Fam” (series premiere): 4.7/ 8 (#1)
NBC – “The Good Place” (new time period): 2.1/ 4 (#4)
Fox – “The Orville”: 2.4/ 4 (#3)
CW – “Roswell: Mysteries Decoded”: 0.7/ 1 (#5)

10:00 p.m.
ABC – ABC News – “Truth and Lies: Bill and Monica”: 3.2/ 6 (#2)
CBS – “S.W.A.T.”: 4.1/ 7 (#1)
NBC – “Law & Order: SVU”: 3.0/ 5 (#3)

10:30 p.m.
ABC – ABC News – “Truth and Lies: Bill and Monica”: 3.0/ 6 (#2)
CBS – “S.W.A.T.”: 3.8/ 7 (#1)
NBC – “Law & Order: SVU”: 3.1/ 6 (#3)

Source: Nielsen Media Research