Welcome to the start of the 2025-26 season, and the tenth season of Ratings Roundup!
A few changes from previous years. Premiere week for networks typically follows the Emmy Awards in mid-September. However, with reduced episode orders for scripted content, most scripted shows now premiere in October. Also, as noted at the end of last season, Ratings Roundup no longer tracks ratings information for the CW.
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ABC premiered Shifting Gears and Abbott Elementary last week. The Tim Allen-led Shifting Gears opened its second season up over its finale, thanks in large part to the Home Improvement "cast reunion". Abbott Elementary benefitted from the strong lead-in. It was up seven hundred thousand viewers over its finale last April. High Potential remained in a good position last week. The Golden Bachelor fell a bit of a ratings cliff. It will be interesting to see if the network continues with the idea past this season. In contrast, Dancing with the Stars had one of its biggest ratings nights in five years.
| Program | Rating | Millions of Viewers | Renew/Cancel |
| NFL Monday Night Football | 3.21 | 13.39 | |
| Dancing with the Stars | 1.22 | 5.82 | |
| Shifting Gears (premiere) | 0.35 | 4.37 | |
| High Potential | 0.32 | 4.24 | |
| Abbott Elementary (premiere) | 0.29 | 2.84 | |
| America's Funniest Home Videos (premiere) | 0.26 | 3.76 | |
| The Golden Bachelor | 0.16 | 2.05 | |
| 9-1-1 (rerun) | 0.14 | 2.04 | |
| Shark Tank | 0.13 | 1.60 | |
| 9-1-1 (rerun) | 0.13 | 1.59 | |
| Sunday Disney Movie: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 | 0.12 | 1.26 | |
| 9-1-1 (rerun) | 0.09 | 1.18 |
CBS feasted on an NFL overrun last Sunday, which helped ratings for the rest of the night. Big Brother wrapped its latest season, taking the top spot on a schedule still dominated by reruns. The network's scripted content will premiere this week.
| Program | Rating | Millions of Viewers | Renew/Cancel |
| NFL Football (overrun) | 5.49 | 24.55 | |
| 60 Minutes (premiere) | 1.37 | 10.03 | |
| Big Brother (finale) | 1.02 | 4.25 | |
| Survivor | 0.59 | 4.03 | |
| Celebrity Wheel Of Fortune | 0.27 | 3.24 | |
| The Amazing Race | 0.25 | 2.27 | |
| Matlock (rerun) | 0.24 | 1.46 | |
| The Neighborhood (rerun) | 0.22 | 1.91 | |
| The Neighborhood (rerun) | 0.18 | 2.06 | |
| FBI (rerun) | 0.15 | 1.99 | Renewed (through 2026-27 season) |
| Elsbeth (rerun) | 0.14 | 2.04 | |
| Elsbeth (rerun) | 0.13 | 1.74 | |
| NCIS (rerun) | 0.11 | 2.46 | |
| Elsbeth (rerun) | 0.09 | 1.67 | |
| Fire Country (rerun) | 0.10 | 1.79 | |
| Fire Country (rerun) | 0.09 | 1.58 | |
| Watson (rerun) | 0.09 | 1.22 | |
| NCIS (rerun) | 0.08 | 2.10 | |
| NCIS: Origins (rerun) | 0.06 | 1.40 |
NBC premiered On Brand with Jimmy Fallon to middling numbers. The One Chicago shows all returned at about where they ended last season. Brilliant Minds has struggled so far this season. If there isn't some improvement soon, the show won't be back for a third season.
| Program | Rating | Millions of Viewers | Renew/Cancel |
| NFL Sunday Night Football | 5.89 | 24.66 | |
| Football Night In America | 2.13 | 9.61 | |
| The Voice | 0.40 | 4.50 | |
| Chicago Fire (premiere) | 0.39 | 5.34 | |
| Chicago Med (premiere) | 0.36 | 5.36 | |
| Chicago PD (premiere) | 0.34 | 4.39 | |
| The Voice (recap) | 0.32 | 3.46 | |
| The Voice | 0.31 | 5.12 | |
| Law & Order SVU | 0.26 | 3.89 | |
| On Brand with Jimmy Fallon (premiere) (Tuesday) | 0.22 | 2.04 | |
| Law & Order | 0.21 | 3.65 | |
| Law & Order: Organised Crime | 0.20 | 2.93 | Import |
| On Brand with Jimmy Fallon (Friday) | 0.18 | 1.88 | |
| Brilliant Minds | 0.15 | 2.32 | |
| Dateline: NBC | 0.15 | 2.06 |
FOX premiered its Sunday animated block last week. The Simpsons opened well. Universal Basic Guys started in an okay position, just ahead of Bob's Burgers. Krapopolis remained a bit of an albatross around the network's ratings neck. All four shows are already renewed for the next season. The Great North, however, will not be back next year. The network announced last week that the show was cancelled.
| Program | Rating | Millions of Viewers | Renew/Cancel |
| Krapopolis (rerun) | 0.30 | 1.13 | |
| The Simpsons (premiere) | 0.27 | 1.10 | Renewed through 2028-29 season |
| The Simpsons (rerun) | 0.26 | 1.05 | |
| 99 To Beat | 0.24 | 1.76 | |
| The Floor | 0.22 | 2.13 | |
| Hell's Kitchen | 0.22 | 1.73 | |
| Women's College Volleyball | 0.18 | 0.94 | |
| Doc | 0.17 | 2.40 | |
| Universal Basic Guys (premiere) | 0.17 | 0.69 | Renewed through 2026-27 season |
| Celebrity Weakest Link | 0.16 | 1.43 | |
| Special Forces: World's Toughest Test | 0.16 | 1.30 | |
| Bob's Burgers (premiere) | 0.16 | 0.63 | Renewed through 2028-29 season |
| Name That Tune | 0.14 | 1.24 | |
| Murder in a Small Town | 0.12 | 2.22 | |
| Krapopolis (premiere) | 0.12 | 0.54 | Renewed through 2028-29 season |
We are off and running with a new season! What new or returning shows are you excited to watch this season?
Written by LadyShelley on Oct 8, 2025
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