The CW joined the rest of the broadcast networks by premiering their regular season last week. No real surprise that Walker garnered one of the biggest audiences the network has seen in years. The question is, now that the looky-loos have had a taste of Jared Padalecki's new series, will they be back? Batwoman premiered its second season to low numbers. The cast change does not appear to have gone well. All American and Legacies both had a good opening, about even with where they ended last season. Riverdale and Nancy Drew both lost a tenth from their last episodes before the COVID shutdown. They were up against inauguration coverage on the other networks, which likely didn't help.
| Program | Rating | Millions of Viewers | Renew/Cancel |
| Walker (premiere) | 0.4 | 2.4 | |
| All American (premiere) | 0.4 | 1.0 | |
| Whose Line Is It, Anyway? | 0.2 | 0.9 | |
| Legacies (premiere) | 0.2 | 0.7 | |
| Whose Line Is It, Anyway? (rerun) | 0.1 | 0.8 | |
| Penn & Teller Fool Us | 0.1 | 0.7 | |
| Batwoman (premiere) | 0.1 | 0.6 | |
| Two Sentence Horror Stories | 0.1 | 0.6 | |
| Riverdale (premiere) | 0.1 | 0.6 | |
| Batwoman (rerun) | 0.1 | 0.5 | |
| Nancy Drew (premiere) | 0.1 | 0.5 | |
| Two Sentence Horror Stories | 0.1 | 0.4 | |
| Trickster | 0.1 | 0.4 | Import |
| All American Stories (rerun) | 0.0 | 0.1 |
FOX premiered its 9-1-1 franchise last week, with both programs airing on the same night instead of the staggered schedule from last season. Parent show, 9-1-1 was down a tenth from its average last season. 9-1-1 Lone Star was about even. The Great North followed the NFC division playoffs and picked up a huge audience as a result. Too bad the next new episode won't air for a month, any audience gains are likely to be lost with the delay. Call Me Kat was steady.
| Program | Rating | Millions of Viewers | Renew/Cancel |
| NFL: NFC Divisional Playoffs | 9.9 | 35.5 | |
| The Great North | 2.1 | 6.1 | |
| 9-1-1 (premiere) | 1.2 | 7.2 | |
| Family Guy | 1.1 | 3.2 | |
| 9-1-1 Lone Star (premiere) | 0.9 | 6.0 | |
| The Masked Dancer | 0.7 | 2.9 | |
| Hell's Kitchen | 0.7 | 2.5 | |
| Name That Tune | 0.6 | 2.7 | |
| WWE: Friday Night Smackdown | 0.6 | 2.3 | |
| The Resident | 0.5 | 3.4 | |
| Prodigal Son | 0.5 | 2.4 | |
| Call Me Kat | 0.5 | 2.4 | |
| Last Man Standing | 0.4 | 2.5 | Final Season |
| 911 Lone Star (rerun) | 0.1 | 1.2 | |
| 911 (rerun) | 0.1 | 1.0 |
ABC had a workmanlike week last week. Call Your Mother lost a rating tenth and a million viewers off its premiere. If it wants to see a second season, it can't afford any more losses. The Rookie gained a tenth. The Good Doctor was steady.
| Program | Rating | Millions of Viewers | Renew/Cancel |
| The Bachelor | 1.4 | 5.0 | |
| Celebrity Wheel Of Fortune | 0.8 | 6.1 | |
| ABC News: The Inauguration | 0.8 | 4.4 | |
| The Chase | 0.7 | 4.2 | |
| Shark Tank | 0.7 | 4.0 | |
| Celebrating America | 0.7 | 3.8 | |
| The Good Doctor | 0.6 | 4.0 | |
| The Conners | 0.6 | 3.2 | |
| America's Funniest Home Videos | 0.5 | 4.2 | |
| The Rookie | 0.5 | 3.8 | |
| Movie: Cinderella | 0.5 | 3.2 | |
| The Hustler | 0.5 | 2.7 | |
| 20/20 | 0.5 | 2.7 | |
| Who Wants to be a Millionaire | 0.4 | 2.8 | |
| Call Your Mother | 0.4 | 2.4 | |
| Celebrity Wheel Of Fortune (rerun) | 0.3 | 2.4 | |
| Card Sharks | 0.3 | 2.0 | |
| Call Your Mother (rerun) | 0.3 | 1.9 | |
| The Conners (rerun) | 0.3 | 1.6 | |
| The Chase (rerun) | 0.2 | 1.8 | |
| Big Sky (rerun) | 0.2 | 1.2 |
CBS may be seeing the end of the NCIS heyday. Back-to-back episodes did manage to gain a tenth from the last new episode that aired in December, however, it may be safe to say that gone are the days of a 1.0 or better rating for the veteran program. The Thursday comedy block returned after a month off. Young Sheldon, Mom, and B Positive all gained a tenth from their last new episodes. The Unicorn was steady but low. Its chances for another season are dwindling. Magnum PI and Blue Bloods gained a tenth. MacGyver was even.
| Program | Rating | Millions of Viewers | Renew/Cancel |
| 60 Minutes | 1.2 | 10.6 | |
| NCIS | 0.8 | 9.6 | |
| NCIS | 0.8 | 8.7 | |
| Young Sheldon | 0.8 | 7.1 | |
| The Neighborhood | 0.8 | 6.1 | |
| Bob (Hearts) Abishola | 0.7 | 5.5 | |
| FBI: Most Wanted | 0.6 | 5.8 | |
| Magnum PI | 0.6 | 5.7 | |
| NCIS: Los Angeles | 0.6 | 5.6 | |
| B Positive | 0.6 | 5.0 | |
| Mom | 0.6 | 4.9 | |
| Blue Bloods | 0.5 | 6.6 | |
| NCIS: New Orleans | 0.5 | 5.0 | |
| MacGyver | 0.5 | 4.9 | |
| Bull | 0.5 | 4.7 | |
| CBS News: The Inauguration | 0.5 | 3.8 | |
| Let's Make A Deal | 0.5 | 3.3 | |
| Celebrating America | 0.5 | 3.1 | |
| NCIS Classics | 0.4 | 3.5 | |
| The Unicorn | 0.4 | 3.4 | |
| 48 Hours | 0.4 | 2.9 | |
| SWAT (rerun) | 0.3 | 2.1 | |
| NCIS Los Angeles (rerun) | 0.2 | 2.2 | |
| Magnum PI (rerun) | 0.2 | 1.9 | |
| Star Trek: Discovery | 0.2 | 1.7 | Import |
NBC saw the return of The Blacklist last week after taking a two-month break. Red and Company were even with their last episode new episode in November. Mr Mayor and Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist were both steady.
| Program | Rating | Millions of Viewers | Renew/Cancel |
| Celebrating America | 0.8 | 4.0 | |
| NBC News: The Inauguration | 0.7 | 4.0 | |
| Ellen's Game of Games | 0.7 | 3.2 | |
| Law & Order: SVU | 0.6 | 3.6 | Renewed (through 2023) |
| Mr Mayor | 0.5 | 3.1 | |
| The Wall | 0.5 | 2.7 | |
| The Weakest Link | 0.5 | 2.7 | |
| The Blacklist | 0.4 | 3.2 | |
| Dateline (Friday) | 0.4 | 2.7 | |
| Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist | 0.4 | 2.4 | |
| Superstore | 0.4 | 2.1 | Final Season |
| Dateline (Thursday) | 0.3 | 3.0 | |
| Chicago PD (rerun) | 0.3 | 2.6 | Renewed (through 2023) |
| This Is Us (rerun) | 0.3 | 2.0 | Renewed (through 2022) |
| Vintage SNL | 0.3 | 2.0 | |
| Ellen's Game of Games (rerun) | 0.3 | 1.8 | |
| Weakest Link (rerun) | 0.3 | 1.5 | |
| The Wall (rerun) | 0.3 | 1.5 | |
| American Ninja Warrior (rerun) | 0.3 | 1.3 | |
| Nurses | 0.2 | 1.9 | Import |
| Law & Order SVU (rerun) | 0.2 | 1.5 |
Lots of premieres this week, and the CW will be trickling out more premiere episodes over the coming weeks. So what new shows are you watching?
Written by LadyShelley on Jan 25, 2021
The actual inauguration ceremony was earlier in the day. The primetime features were the news coverage of the day's events and the celebration and fireworks.
Wait, people actually watched the inauguration?