Ratings: CBS’ ‘Scorpion’ Rises As it Wraps Strong First Season

CBS drama “Scorpion,” one of the biggest new hits of the television season, wrapped its rookie campaign with nice week-to-week gains on Monday as the Eye pulled closer to the night’s demo leader NBC, whose “The Voice” fell to a season low but remained the top program in young adults.

According to preliminary national estimates from Nielsen, CBS opened its night with comedies “2 Broke Girls” (1.9 rating/7 share in adults 18-49, 7.4 million viewers overall) and “Mike & Molly” (1.9/6 in 18-49, 8.0 million viewers overall), with both up a tenth from last week (and poised to round up to a 2.0 in the nationals). They were followed by “Scorpion” (2.1/6 in 18-49, 10.4 million viewers overall), which was up across the board including by 11% in 18-49 for its best score since March 23. It also logged its highest 25-54 rating (2.9/7) since Feb. 23.

Original episodes of “Scorpion” are averaging a 3.6 rating in adults 18-49 in Nielsen’s Live+7 estimates, making it the No. 3 new show of the season in the demo — behind only Fox’s “Empire” and ABC’s “How to Get Away With Murder.” And in total viewers, its 15.3 million viewers places it second among new shows to fellow CBS rookie “NCIS: New Orleans.”

Despite the strong “Scorpion” finish, “NCIS: Los Angeles” (1.4/4 in 18-49, 8.7 million viewers overall) dropped 0.2 from last week and hit a season low. It won its timeslot in 18-49 among the Big Four (tied with ABC’s “Castle”) and edged ahead of the Alphabet veteran in total viewers.

At NBC, “The Voice” (2.5 rating/8 share in adults 18-49, 10.3 million viewers overall) was down 0.4 from last week, though it figures to rise to at least a 2.6 in the nationals; the show saw a similar decline on the comparable week a year ago. It was again Monday’s No. 1 series in key demos. And at 10 p.m., “The Night Shift” (1.3/4 in 18-49, 5.5 million viewers overall) was on par with last week and close behind “NCIS: Los Angeles” and “Castle” among adults 18-49.

ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” (2.0/6 in 18-49, 13.1 million viewers overall) was down 0.2 from last week but remained the night’s most-watched show overall, and “Castle” (1.4/4 in 18-49, 8.4 million viewers overall) was down a tenth from its prior original. ABC tied with CBS for second place on the night in 18-49 while winning easily as usual in total viewers.

Fox’s “Gotham” held steady (1.5/5 in 18-49, 4.3 million viewers overall) while “The Following” (1.2/3 in 18-49, 3.4 million viewers overall) edged up for a second straight week with a firstrun lead-in. Starting next week, “The Following” will go up against another dark Kevin Williamson drama, “Stalker” on CBS.

At CW, “The Originals” (0.5/2 in 18-49, 1.3 million viewers overall) was up across the board, while “Jane the Virgin” (0.4/1 in 18-49, 1.1 million viewers overall) was steady.

Preliminary 18-49 averages for the night: NBC, 2.1/7; ABC and CBS, 1.8/6; Fox, 1.3/4; Univision, 0.9/3; Telemundo, 0.6/2; CW, 0.5/1.

In total viewers: ABC, 11.5 million; CBS, 9.0 million; NBC, 8.7 million; Fox, 3.8 million; Univision, 2.5 million; Telemundo, 1.5 million; CW, 1.2 million.

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