The second week of The Player airing did not prove very promising for the new show. It dropped from an adult age 18-49 rating of 1.2 to a 1.0. Its number of viewers also dropped from 4.68 million to 4.58 million. On the whole, this does not bode well for The Player. It was fighting against its ABC competitor in How To Get Away With Murder, who surprisingly also fell this week. Starting out on its air date on September 24, it decreased from an adult age 18-49 rating of 2.6 to a 2.3. This means a viewer decrease from 9.06 million to 7.53 million.

I would have initially blamed The Player‘s drop on its ABC counterpart, but now I’m not convinced. My money is now on CBS’s Thursday Night Football which airs from 8pm-11pm. This cuts right into the showtime of both programs, 10pm-11pm. Conversely, Football increases its ratings from week one to week two. Beginning on September 24, it started out with an adult age 18-49 rating of 1.4. October 1 brought that rating up to a 1.6, so I predict that the viewers of both shows went to CBS.

Code Black is set to premiere tonight at 10 pm, up against Nashville and Chicago P.D. Nashville already premiered last week with a 1.2 rating in adult
 18-49 ,which was down from last years premiere rating of 1.5. It wasn’t up against any other premiering shows, but it still had the lowest number of viewers compared to all the other networks that night. These numbers can be beneficial for Code Black because if Nashville didn’t draw in a big audience when it had no competition, it can mean that
viewers are more likely to give Code Black a chance and watch the premiere.

However, Chicago P.D is also premiering its first episode of the season tonight at 10 pm.
The show is in its third season which means it already has an established and loyal fanbase. In last years premiere episode, Chicago P.D had a 1.9 rating in adults 18-49, which was down .10 from the season one premiere, but up from the season 1 finale which earned a 1.6 rating. It also won the hour and beat out ABC, CBS, and FOX, so it poses a potential threat to Code Black’s ratings tonight.

Critics have given Code Black mixed reviews, but as a pilot show, it will hopefully be able to draw in curious viewers that might not be watching television at 10 pm otherwise. I am interested to see how it competes with Nashville, and if it is able to beat Chicago P.D in viewership.

Despite considerable competition, Fox’s two new half-hour series premiered last night during the 8-9 PM slot came out with moderate ratings. Provided by Nielsen, the lead-in, “Grandfathered,” featuring John Stamos finished with 5.3 million overall viewers, a 1.5 rating/5 share (adults 18-49). Although these numbers place the show fourth for its nightly time slot, it is a close second to last season’s high for Fox ratings. The previous season’s Tuesday night comedy “New Girl” racked up a 1.6/5 share (adults 18-49).

“The Grinder,” – Ratings by the Numbers
(http://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/the-grinder-season-one-ratings-38238/)

In the 8:30 slot, “The Grinder,” also a 1.5/5 share in ages 18-49 saw a drop in viewers from the lead-in with overall numbers being 4.9 million.

When taking a closer look at the numbers, it is imperative to note the big winners of the night. CBS’s NCIS (2.1 rating) and NBC’s The Voice (3.1 rating) demonstrate extensive viewership for their time slot. An article from Broadcast & Cable states NCIS did however experience a 13% drop since last week’s 2.4 rating. On another note, the popular series, The Voice dominates the night’s four half-hour time slots from 8-10 PM (adults 18-49).

Can CBS recreate the success of ABC’s Modern Family with Life in Pieces?

The second episode of CBS’s new comedy, Life in Pieces, aired this past Monday. The show saw a 23% decline in viewership from its premiere numbers going from 11.28 million viewers to 8.71 million viewers. Life in Pieces also lost a good chunk of its key demographic, going from a 2.6  rating to a 1.9 ratings in viewers 18 to 49.

This isn’t terribly bad news for the CBS show, however. Back in 2009, the Modern Family premiere episode pulled in 12.6 million viewers before dropping to 9.99 million viewers in its second week which made for a 21% decline. Modern Family just premiered its seventh season to an audience of 9.46 million, proving that a 23% dip is nothing that Life in Pieces should be too worried about.

With that being said, Modern Family’s season one numbers generally remained around the 9 million mark. If Life in Pieces is looking for the same longevity, they’re going to have to retain most of their week two audience.

This past week on September 24th, at 10pm, The Player premiered on NBC. There were plenty of skeptics who didn’t think the show was enough of a powerhouse to compete against How To Get Away With Murder, and others who believed it would be just absurd enough to draw The Blacklist‘s audience to itself. However, when this first week of ratings came through, they fell flat.

TV By the Numbers showed the incredibly stacked line-up on Thursday, and told us who grabbed the audiences. Spoiler alert, it wasn’t The Player. In the adults 18-49 range, The Player had a rating of 1.2, in comparison to How To Get Away With Murder‘s 2.6. This still seems to be low, so we look to CBS and Thursday Night Football (8pm-11pm) as intruding on the 10pm-11pm time slot with a rating of 4.0 in adults 18-49. The audience I assume The Player wanted to grab, was the overflow from NBC’s Heroes Reborn at 8pm-10pm. Unfortunately, the show to show change was sizable drop from a 1.9 to a 1.2. I’m curious to see if The Player‘s ratings will rise as the season goes on, or continue to drop until it’s dropped.

With many medical dramas on tv today, it may be hard for Code Black to compete. There is already Grey’s Anatomy which already has a huge established fan base who may not want to become loyal to another medical show. However, Code Black has been compared to ER since it is set in an emergency room, which may differentiate it from other shows and allow it to be successful with its ratings.  According to The Observer, which gave reviews of all the new Fall TV shows, Code Black falls under the “Watch” category. Entertainment Tonight also listed it as a must watch show because “it’s gritty,inspiring, and at times heartbreakingly realistic.”

The realistic aspect of the show is something creator Michael Seitzman prides himself on. He wanted to give the show a authentic, and realistic feel so that the viewers could better relate and emphasize with the characters and situations. To do so, the show hired real medical staff and required all the main actors to go through training to become familiar with medical jargon and procedures. In addition, it’s filmed in a documentary style which is new for a medical show.

Code Black will premiere next week against Chicago P.D and Nashville, so I look forward to seeing how it competes, and if the audience is receptive to the authentic and documentary style of the show.