Ratings Roundup Week of September 25, 2017

Welcome to the opening week of the 2017-18 television season! Ahh, the first week, when every show still has potential, and we're eager to see what the networks have cooked up for this year.

A few things to keep in mind as we start into another television year when it comes to ratings numbers. Firstly, numbers always go down year to year. Always. It's been happening for thirty-five or forty years, and it's not going to change now. The important thing is how shows end up each week on the network's ratings chart. Is your favorite show still in roughly the same chart position as last year? Then it's probably safe from cancellation. If it's made a significant drop from where it usually sat in the previous year, then there may be cause for concern. And while ratings numbers still play the biggest role in if a program gets renewed or not, who makes the show is also now a factor. Several programs were renewed for this season even with low, sometimes very low, numbers but were produced by the network and therefore renewed as the cheaper option.

Lastly, new programs almost always have solid premiere numbers. Viewers are curious about the new shows and will watch the first episode and maybe the second to see if it's something to follow for the season. The numbers to watch are after those first few weeks. Does the new program hold on to that curious audience or are viewers wandering away from it? If a brand new program starts well, it's a bit of wait and see to know what will happen. If however, a brand new show doesn't even get much in the way of the curious, then fans of those shows should start to worry, the numbers will only go down from the premiere.

So let's see how the networks did for Premiere Week:

A few summer show finales mixed in with premiere week for ABC last week. Grey's Anatomy, topped the week and started off it's fourteenth season comfortably. The Good Doctor also started with a fantastic premiere rating, much better than anything ABC had in the same time period last season. Assuming the show doesn't take a hit from curiosity viewing last week, the series is in no danger of cancellation. ABC's other new show, Marvel's Inhumans, was not so lucky. For a two-hour premiere, the network was looking for a better start for the latest Marvel series.

CBS had some help with the NFL running over last week, which not only boosted their prime time numbers, but gave a huge leg up for the rest of the Sunday night programs, including the one night only showing of Star Trek Discovery. CBS also gained big numbers from The Big Bang Theory and its spin-off Young Sheldon. Young Sheldon's regular night is Thursday which means the next episode won't air until the Eye is done with Thursday Night Football in November. Will fans remember to watch the series after two months? CBS is taking the gamble they will. The other two new shows, Me, Myself & I and SEAL Team, both started with respectable numbers, fans can sit back and enjoy them for now.

This is Us picked up right where it left off the end of last season with the premiere episode piling up the highest numbers yet for the series. Will & Grace returned to television screens with impressive numbers. And while fans don't have to worry, the show is already renewed for next season as well, the execs at NBC are just as thrilled to know the show still has fans after eleven years. The Brave opened with average numbers and NBC's other new series, Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders started well, but will it hold viewers interest through the remaining seven episodes?

FOX opened the new season with strong performances from Empire and Star. While Empire took a big dip in the numbers over last season, it opened this year about where it left off, so hopefully the drop has plateaued. Lethal Weapon also had a good opening week. Two surprises for the network are The Orville and Gotham. The Orville has shown real staying power over the course of the first few weeks. The ratings dip from the loss of the Sunday Night Football lead-in was expected, and the series didn't lose as much as some feared (or others hoped). Gotham however started low and will need to find its audience again if it wants to stick around for season five. The Exorcist is proving to be just as low-rated as it was last season, even being produced by FOX may not be enough to save it a second time.

The CW is still running its summer schedule and most shows won't premiere on the network for another two weeks.

So how did your favorites do for the first week of the season? Remember there are twenty-four weeks left, a lot can change!