Ratings Roundup for the Week of September 24, 2023

It's Premiere Week! (sort of) The Writer's Guild of America (WGA) strike has ended and writer's rooms are in the process of heading back to work with many due to start the scripting process in the next week. That's the good news. The bad news is, The Screen Actor's Guild/American Federation of Television and Radio Artists members (SAG/AFTRA) are still on strike. With writer's rooms opening, the process can begin for pre-production which gives the production companies a little breathing room to wrap up negotiations with SAG/AFTRA. Hopefully, that strike will be resolved in the next couple of weeks. 

If the negotiating committees for SAG/AFTRA and The Alliance of Movie Producers and Television Producers (AMPTP) can hammer out a deal in the next few weeks, there is still hope for a scripted season next spring. If that happens, expect scripted comedy and drama series' to premiere in March for a curtailed ten to twelve-episode season. All assuming IATSE (The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States) works out a deal before their current contract expires in March. 

For now, however, network television will be a sea of game shows, reality shows, competition shows, and imported content from Canada, Europe, and in-house streaming services. 

_____________

ABC premiered yet another entry in its "Bachelor" franchise, this time with The Golden Bachelor, a dating show for the retired set. It opened to good numbers, picking up two million additional viewers over the premiere of The Bachelor in Paradise. The network's stable of game shows opened down from where they were last season. Dancing with the Stars returned to ABC after a season on Disney+. ABC also announced Home Economics was cancelled after hanging fire on the decision for months. 

CBS pulled its blockbuster hit, Yellowstone over from Paramount+ to plug a few schedule holes. The show has had okay numbers, considering most of its audience has already had a chance to watch the series. The only freshman show for the network so far is Buddy Games. The competition series is pulling only a middling audience, repeats of NCIS have higher viewer numbers, and may not be long for the television world. Survivor opened to good numbers, up from where it ended last season. 

NBC is the only network planning to air new scripted content through the fall. The Peacock Network premiered its freshman series The Irrational to low numbers, however. The network plans to premiere its stockpile of episodes for Quantum Leap and Magnum PI this week. That may help the lone scripted show gain some momentum. 

FOX finally premiered Krapopolis last week. The show has already been renewed for an additional two seasons without airing an episode, so time will tell if this was a good decision. The latest entry in the Sunday animation block opened well with back-to-back episodes thanks in part to a hefty NFL overrun. The network also premiered Snake Oil, a competition series where contestants must guess who is selling a genuine product vs a fake. The series opened to okay numbers. Time will tell if viewers stick with the show. 

The CW typically starts its season later than the other four networks. Even without the strikes, the network planned to run a schedule of imported content from Canada and Europe, with a sprinkling of the few shows it had left after cancelling most of its stable of scripted and unscripted programs over the last two years. 

And that's a wrap on the first week of the 2023 Fall season. Are you planning to watch any of the new shows offered this season?