The Slap premiered last Thursday to less than stellar ratings. It earned a 1.1 rating, with a 4 share in the 18-49 group. Its total viewership was 5.1 million overall. It had a decent amount of competition, which is important to consider. It went up against ratings powerhouse The Big Bang Theory, which got higher numbers despite being a repeat. On Fox and ABC, it was up against American Idol and Grey’s Anatomy respectively, two shows with a loyal and established audience. On the bright side, The Slap was NBC’s second best regular programming timeslot result this season. Time will tell if it get gain an audience in the coming weeks.
As far as reviews for the show, it currently holds a 5.4/10 on IMDb. The reviews themselves are mixed, but most find the characters to be terrible people which could prove to be problematic. They also praise NBC for taking a risk and making a show one would expect to see on Showtime or HBO, not broadcast.