‘Big Bang Theory’ And ‘Young Sheldon’ Return, Give CBS Ratings Win
CBS was No. 1 on Thursday in the key 18-49 age bracket and total viewers as The Big Bang Theory (1.9, 11.93M) and Young Sheldon (1.4, 10.32M) returned to easily beat combined competition and finish as primetime’s most watched shows.
That said, Big Bang hit a series low in its first original in four weeks, after a repeat and two weeks off for NCAA preemption. Ditto Young Sheldon, which previously had not skidded lower than a 1.6 demo rating. Versus their prior originals of four weeks ago, Big Bang dropped two tenths as its series finale looms while Sheldon dropped three tenths.
Related stories
'The Walking Dead' Season Finale Ratings Drop To Lowest Ever; Up From Last Week
CBS’ Mom (1.1,7.78M), Fam (0.7, 4.98M) and S.W.A.T. (0.7, 4.74M) returned after two weeks off. Mom finished first in both metrics at 9 PM. After which, first-year comedy Fam grew in total viewers versus its last original but matched its lowest demo rating to date and lowest yet with a regular Mom lead-in.
At 10 PM, S.W.A.T. was down a tenth compared with its last original of four weeks ago.
NBC’s Abby’s (0.5, 2.06M) becomes the first Big 4 comedy unveiled this season to hang on to its full demo rating from Week 1 to Week 2, though its actual numbers were not rave-worthy. The network’s Will & Grace finale (0.7, 3.01M) lead-in retained 100% week to week in the demo.
Despite the return of Big Bang and Young Sheldon, NBC’s Superstore (0.8, 3.11M) and A.P. Bio (0.5, 1.99M) also repeated their previous week’s demo showings. At 10 PM, NBC’s Law & Order: SVU (0.8, 3.89M) churned up 100% of its prior original’s demo rating after last week’s repeat dip.
On ABC, Grey’s Anatomy (1.5, 6.77M) and Station 19 (0.9, 5.26M) slipped a tenth week to week, while For the People (0.6, 3.08M) maintained its season-best in the demo.
The CW’s In the Dark (0.2, 894,000) debut at 9 PM, following an original Supernatural (0.3, 1.27M) matched the lowest Legacies performance in same slot through its freshman season.
Fox aired repeats of Gotham (0.3, 1.22M) and The Orville (0.3, 1.33M).
CBS (1.1, 7.42M) topped Thursday in both metrics. ABC (1.0, 5.04M) was No. 2 in both. NBC (0.7, 2.99M) came in third. CW (0.3, 1.08M) tied Fox (0.3, 1.28M) for fourth place in the demo.
Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.