The SAG/AFTRA strike ended last week. The SAG board voted 86% on Friday to approve the new contract, and actors will have their opportunity to weigh in starting Tuesday. Eligible actors will have until the first week of December to cast their votes for or against the new contract terms.
As of now, the SAG/AFTRA strike is tentatively over, and barring any shocks with the vote, production will finally begin on the 2023-24 television season in the coming weeks. Writers have been working on scripts since the WGA strike ended on October 2, but without an actor deal, no pre-production could occur. Now, with a tentative deal in place, the hope is some shows could begin principal filming immediately following the Thanksgiving holiday. If all goes to plan, networks should begin announcing January 2024 premiere dates in December, and most network shows will have a ten to thirteen-episode strike-shortened season.
The shorter season also meant some freshman series' were shelved, and a few bubble shows from last season will not move forward. The latest victims were The Rookie: Feds and The Good Lawyer, a proposed spinoff series of The Good Doctor. ABC announced last week that both shows were cancelled.
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The CW premiered two more shows last week. Masters of Illusion returned about even with its last season. World's Funniest Animals opened up from where it ended last season. Penn & Teller: Fool Us was up a rating hundredth as it picked up a few tens of thousands of viewers over the previous week. FBoy Island was even.
| Program | Rating | Millions of Viewers | Renew/Cancel |
| Penn & Teller: Fool Us | 0.08 | 0.68 | |
| World's Funniest Animals (premiere) | 0.07 | 0.31 | |
| Saturday Movie: Men In Black | 0.06 | 0.56 | |
| The Chosen | 0.05 | 0.56 | Import |
| Sulivan's Crossing | 0.05 | 0.41 | Import |
| Son of a Critch | 0.05 | 0.32 | Import |
| Penn & Teller: Fool Us (rerun) | 0.05 | 0.31 | |
| Masters Of Illusion (premiere) | 0.05 | 0.27 | |
| FBoy Island | 0.05 | 0.25 | |
| Whose Line Is It, Anyway (rerun) | 0.04 | 0.35 | |
| The Spencer Sisters | 0.04 | 0.33 | Import |
| Whose Line Is It, Anyway (rerun) | 0.04 | 0.32 | |
| Inside the NFL | 0.04 | 0.3 | |
| Run the Burbs | 0.03 | 0.18 | Import |
| Sullivan's Crossing (rerun) | 0.03 | 0.16 | |
| Everyone Else Burns | 0.03 | 0.15 | Import |
| Whose Line Is It, Anyway (rerun) | 0.02 | 0.20 | |
| Children Ruin Everything | 0.02 | 0.16 | Import |
ABC filled much of its schedule last week with specials. Dancing with the Stars and The Golden Bachelor each picked up one hundred thousand additional viewers last week. Bachelor In Paradise was even.
| Program | Rating | Millions of Viewers | Renew/Cancel |
| Monday Night Football | 1.38 | 7.63 | |
| 57th Annual CMA Awards | 0.88 | 6.84 | |
| The Golden Bachelor | 0.54 | 4.89 | |
| Dancing with the Stars | 0.51 | 4.87 | |
| College Football | 0.45 | 2.45 | |
| America's Funniest Home Videos | 0.41 | 3.85 | |
| Bachelor In Paradise | 0.34 | 1.93 | |
| 20/20 | 0.27 | 2.77 | |
| Sunday Movie: Coco | 0.27 | 1.73 | |
| Dolly Parton: From Rhinestones to Rock & Roll | 0.24 | 3.27 | |
| After the Blast: The Will To Survive | 0.17 | 2.35 | |
| Generation Gap (rerun) | 0.14 | 1.07 |
CBS did not have an NFL overrun last week, however, the regular football schedule did result in a healthy bump for 60 Minutes. Survivor was down three hundred thousand viewers. Raid the Cage picked up two hundred thousand viewers. Additional reruns of NCIS propped up the Monday night schedule, bringing in more than a million viewers over Loteria Loca in the same slot. Big Brother wrapped up its fall season, pulling in an additional million viewers over the previous week.
| Program | Rating | Millions of Viewers | Renew/Cancel |
| Survivor | 0.71 | 4.53 | |
| Big Brother (Thursday) (finale) | 0.70 | 3.43 | |
| 60 Minutes | 0.49 | 7.39 | |
| Big Brother (clip show) (Tuesday) | 0.45 | 2.83 | |
| Big Brother (Sunday) | 0.37 | 2.49 | |
| The Amazing Race | 0.36 | 2.62 | |
| Yellowstone | 0.29 | 4.49 | Import |
| Yellowstone | 0.26 | 3.90 | Import |
| Raid The Cage | 0.24 | 2.30 | |
| Let's Make A Deal Primetime | 0.23 | 2.74 | |
| NCIS (rerun) | 0.17 | 2.90 | |
| Blue Bloods (rerun) | 0.16 | 2.32 | |
| NCIS (rerun) | 0.16 | 2.12 | |
| NCIS (rerun) | 0.15 | 2.30 | |
| FBI True | 0.15 | 1.83 | Import |
| NWSL Soccer | 0.15 | 0.57 | |
| SEAL Team | 0.14 | 1.32 | Import |
| FBI (rerun) | 0.13 | 2.03 |
NBC was the only over-the-air network covering the Republican debate last week. The debate coverage saw a four million-viewer increase over the normal Wednesday night slate of Quantum Leap and Magnum PI. The Irrational picked up two hundred thousand viewers, while Found was even.
| Program | Rating | Millions of Viewers | Renew/Cancel |
| Sunday Night Football | 4.89 | 18.36 | |
| Football Night In America | 1.45 | 5.86 | |
| NBC News: Republican Presidential Primary Debate | 0.71 | 6.86 | |
| College Football | 0.55 | 3.18 | |
| The Voice (Monday) | 0.47 | 6.58 | |
| The Voice (Tuesday) | 0.45 | 5.82 | |
| The Voice (clip show) | 0.40 | 4.17 | |
| Republican Debate Analysis | 0.39 | 3.20 | |
| The Irrational | 0.28 | 3.74 | |
| Found | 0.25 | 2.80 | |
| Law & Order (rerun) | 0.25 | 2.54 | |
| Dateline NBC (Thursday) (rerun) | 0.25 | 2.40 | |
| The Wall | 0.24 | 2.35 | |
| Dateline NBC | 0.22 | 2.25 | |
| Transplant | 0.20 | 2.10 | Import |
FOX enjoyed an NFL overrun that pulled up all of the Sunday animated shows. The rest of the schedule returned to normal viewing numbers with the end of the World Series. The Masked Singer was down four hundred thousand viewers after the break. Snake Oil dropped another two hundred thousand viewers. Its chances of renewal are fading. Special Forces: World's Toughest Test lost one hundred thousand viewers after a three-week break. Its future is not looking good.
| Program | Rating | Millions of Viewers | Renew/Cancel |
| NFL Overrun | 6.72 | 27.14 | |
| The OT | 3.87 | 14.25 | |
| The Simpsons | 1.48 | 4.64 | Renewed |
| Krapopolis | 0.63 | 1.99 | Renewed |
| College Football | 0.57 | 2.64 | |
| Bob's Burgers | 0.53 | 1.56 | Renewed |
| WWE Smackdown | 0.52 | 2.09 | |
| Family Guy | 0.48 | 1.37 | Renewed |
| The Masked Singer | 0.43 | 3.15 | |
| Hell's Kitchen | 0.36 | 1.99 | |
| Kitchen Nightmares | 0.25 | 1.49 | |
| Snake Oil | 0.24 | 1.41 | |
| Celebrity Name That Tune | 0.24 | 1.30 | |
| LEGO Masters | 0.23 | 1.71 | |
| Special Forces: World's Toughest Test | 0.20 | 1.17 | |
| 9-1-1: Lone Star (rerun) | 0.14 | 0.79 |
With the conclusion of the strikes, networks should have more scripted dramas and comedies premiering after the holiday break. What returning shows are you most eager to see?
Written by LadyShelley on Nov 13, 2023
Most of the shows I was looking forward to returning are not actually on the “major” networks. Some have already returned like Expedition Unknown, Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch & Loki. Some I am looking forward to returning soon are Doctor Who, Outer Range,The Rig, UFO Witness, Ratched, Cobra Kai, Stranger Things and particularly From. Some were canceled or shelved either pre Strikes or during the Strike(and because of it) like The Peripheral, Der Schwarm & Kindred. Perhaps now that the Strikes are over, some of these shows will get “shopped around” and find a reprieve.
As for the main network shows, Quantum Leap is already back and La Brea is due back Jan 9th. Neither were largely Strike affected other than causing some question as to when La Brea’s final season would actually air. I really can’t think of anything else worth looking forward to coming from the main networks largely “brain numbing” lineup. LOL
I am also hopeful now that the Strikes are resolved, we can see some shows getting their renewals for another season. I’m hoping to see renewals for The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch, Beyond Skinwalker Ranch, Foundation & Invasion to name a few.