RATINGS RECAP: 9/20/16

ABC
8:00 Dancing with the Stars Results
Viewers: 8.6 million, 18-49 demo: 1.5
10:00 Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Viewers: 3.4 million, 18-49 demo: 1.1

CBS
8:00 NCIS
Viewers: 16.0 million, 18-49 demo: 2.2
9:00 Bull
Viewers: 15.6 million, 18-49 demo: 2.2
10:00 NCIS: New Orleans
Viewers: 11.1 million, 18-49 demo: 1.4

NBC
8:00 The Voice
Viewers: 12.3 million, 18-49 demo: 3.4
10:00 This is Us
Viewers: 10.1 million, 18-49 demo: 2.8

FOX
8:00 Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Viewers: 2.4 million, 18-49 demo: 1.1
8:30 New Girl
Viewers: 2.3 million, 18-49 demo: 1.2
9:00 Scream Queens
Viewers: 2.2 million, 18-49 demo: 1.0

CW
8:00 The Flash (Repeat)
Viewers: 0.9 million, 18-49 demo: 0.3
9:00 MADtv
Viewers: 0.6 million, 18-49 demo: 0.2

On the second night of the new season, the new shows continued to impress. CBS had a strong night with its new drama trio. At 8pm, the season premiere of NCIS delivered 16 million viewers and a 2.2 demo. This was down three tenths in the demo from last year's season premiere but still incredibly sturdy for a show now in its 14th season. It led into the series premiere of Bull and CBS has to love the sampling it got with 15.6 million viewers and a 2.2 demo. It's also impressive that it stayed essentially even with its lead-in. Two years ago, NCIS: New Orleans dropped four tenths from the NCIS lead-in for its series premiere as did NCIS: Los Angeles way back in 2009. So that is very encouraging. It will surely end the week as the top new show in total viewers. At 10pm, NCIS: New Orleans premiered in its new timeslot. It was a series low but I think it was an OK performance. It had to face a big premiere on NBC that it won't usually face and it could certainly have been worse. It's early but this looks like a solid lineup from top to bottom for CBS.

NBC had reasons of its own to be thrilled for the night and excited about what their Tuesday lineup might look like. Night two of The Voice was up slightly from Monday's premiere and just a bit behind last year's Tuesday debut. Still a beast. It led into the highly anticipated premiere of This is Us. The social media phenom delivered 10.1 million viewers and a 2.8 demo, which is a fantastic performance. I thought this actually could have possibly been even higher given the summer buzz but make no mistake, this was a huge showing. And given the glowing reviews, reaction from fans, and buzz about the twist, it could easily pick up many more in delayed viewing over the coming days. It will be at 10pm for one more week before taking a week off for a debate and then heading to 9pm on October 11.

It was another night of ABC getting lost in the crowd. A special results edition of Dancing with the Stars mustered only a 1.5 demo and 8.6 million viewers. This is why they trimmed this show to one night a week because these recap shows are too bloated and don't do very well. The season premiere of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was up a little bit from spring episodes but still awfully low. The ABC Tuesday comedy lineup doesn't start until October 11. And then there was FOX, which had a pathetically low night as expected. With their Brooklyn Nine-Nine, New Girl, and Scream Queens lineup, nothing topped 2.4 million viewers or a 1.2 demo. None of the shows hit series lows but these were premiere week numbers so it's only going to get uglier from here. FOX basically punted on this night and a show like Scream Queens did not get renewed because of its same day ratings but it's still going to be a rough fall on Tuesdays for FOX as they could easily get passed by the CW when their shows premiere in a couple weeks.

WINNER OF THE NIGHT: This is Us (NBC)
LOSER OF THE NIGHT: Scream Queens (FOX)