Thursday Overnights: ‘The Big Bang Theory’ Series-Ender Rules

Thursday, May 16, 2019

Household Rating/Share
CBS: 8.1/15, ABC: 3.4/ 6, NBC: 1.9/ 3, Fox: 1.0/ 2, CW: 0.4/ 1

Percent Change from the Year-Ago Evening:
CBS: +96, ABC: -11, NBC: -17, Fox: -47, CW: -64

Ratings Breakdown:
It was all about the series finale of CBS landmark sitcom “The Big Bang Theory,” which concluded after 12 seasons with a 12.3 household rating/22 share in the 8:30 p.m. half-hour. An earlier episode at 8 p.m. scored a 12.0/22. Personally, I found this ending completely satisfying and “The Big Bang Theory” goes down in the record books as the second longest running live action comedy in TV history (tied with “My Three Sons” and “Two and a Half Men,” and behind the 14-season run of “The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet.”).

The season finale of “Young Sheldon,” which will anchor the evening for CBS next season, scored a season-high 8.8/15 in the 9 p.m. half-hour. The promos did not lie: that was quite a surprising season-ender.

Next on CBS was 9:30 p.m. special, “Unraveling the Mystery: A Big Bang Farewell,” at a 7.6/13 (#1) in the household overnights. Crime solver “S.W.A.T.,” which moves into the Wednesday 10 p.m. hour next fall (out of “SEAL Team”) closed season two with a dominant 4.1/ 7 at 10 p.m. Comparably, that bested the season finale of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” on NBC (2.9/ 6) and the series finale of “The Fix” on ABC (1.9/ 4) by 41 percent and 116 percent, respectively.

Also concluding their seasons last night was “Grey’s Anatomy” (#2: 4.6/ 6 at 8 p.m.) and spin-off “Station 19” (#2: 3.6/ 6 at 9 p.m.), and NBC sitcoms “Superstore” (#3: 1.5/ 3 at 8:30 p.m.) and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” (#3: 1.2/ 2).

Elsewhere, Fox and The CW fared as follows:

8:00 p.m.
ABC – “Grey’s Anatomy” (season finale): 4.7/ 9 (#2)
CBS – “The Big Bang Theory”: 12.0/22 (#1)
NBC – “Superstore”: 1.8/ 3 (#3)
Fox – “Paradise Hotel”: 1.1/ 2 (#4)
CW – “iZombie”: 0.5/ 1 (#5)

8:30 p.m.
ABC – “Grey’s Anatomy” (season finale): 4.5/ 8 (#2)
CBS – “The Big Bang Theory” (series finale): 12.3/22 (#1)
NBC – “Superstore” (season finale): 1.5/ 3 (#3)
Fox – “Paradise Hotel”: 0.9/ 2 (#4)
CW – “iZombie”: 0.4/ 1 (#5)

9:00 p.m.
ABC – “Station 19″ (season finale): 3.6/ 6 (#2)
CBS – “Young Sheldon” (season finale): 8.8/15 (#1)
NBC – “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”: 1.3/ 2 (#4)
Fox – “Paradise Hotel”: 0.9/ 2 (#4)
CW – “In the Dark”: 0.4/ 1 (#5)

9:30 p.m.
ABC – “Station 19″ (season finale): 3.6/ 6 (#2)
CBS – “Unraveling The Mystery: A Big Bang Farewell”: 7.6/13 (#1)
NBC – “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” (season finale): 1.2/ 2 (#3)
Fox – “Paradise Hotel”: 1.0/ 2 (#4)
CW – “In the Dark”: 0.4/ 1 (#5)

10:00 p.m.
ABC – “For the People” (series finale): 2.0/ 4 (#3)
CBS – “S.W.A.T.” (season finale): 4.3/ 8 (#1)
NBC – “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (season finale): 2.8/ 5 (#2)

10:30 p.m.
ABC – “For the People” (series finale): 1.8/ 4 (#3)
CBS – “S.W.A.T.” (season finale): 3.9/ 7 (#1)
NBC – “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (season finale): 2.9/ 6 (#2)

LATE NIGHT

11:30 p.m.
ABC – “Jimmy Kimmel Live”: 1.8/ 4 (#2)
CBS – “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”: 4.2/ 7 (#1)
NBC – “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”: 1.7/ 4 (#3)

12:00 a.m.
ABC – “Jimmy Kimmel Live”: 1.2/ 4 (#2)
CBS – “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”: 3.5/10 (#1)
NBC – “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”: 1.1/ 3 (#3)

12:30 a.m.
ABC – “Nightline”: 1.1/ 4 (#2t)
CBS – “The Late Late Show with James Corden”: 1.8/ 6 (#1)
NBC – “Late Night with Seth Meyers”: 1.1/ 4 (#2t)

1:00 a.m.
CBS – “The Late Late Show with James Corden”: 1.2/ 5 (#1)
NBC – “Late Night with Seth Meyers”: 0.8/ 3 (#2)

1:30 a.m.
NBC – “Last Call with Carson Daly”: 0.6/ 3

Source: Nielsen Media Research