CBS Dramas ‘The Equalizer,’ ‘East New York’ and ‘FBI’ Lead This Fall’s Nielsen Ratings Among African American Viewers

BreAnna Bell
·2 min read

CBS dramas “The Equalizer,” “East New York,” and “FBI” lead the primetime broadcast competition among African American audiences so far this fall, according to Nielsen ratings through November 6.

Excluding all sports programming, the Queen Latifah-led “Equalizer” sits atop the chart at No. 1 with an average of 2.01 million Black people after four episodes of Season 3.

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“East New York” follows closely behind, averaging 1.56 million African Americans, making it the most-watched new series among Black audiences. The show, which is currently six episodes into Season 1 following its Oct. 2 premiere, follows the recently promoted police captain of East New York, Regina Haywood (Amanda Warren), who leads a diverse group of officers and detectives, some of whom are hesitant to deploy her creative methods of serving and protecting. Richard Kind, Elizabeth Rodriguez, and Ruben Santiago-Hudson are also featured among the cast.

“FBI” sits just under that, with an average of 1.39 million African Americans. The show is now in its fifth season.

NBC’s “Chicago PD” ranked fourth among the shows, just slightly under the other Dick Wolf series, with 1.36 million African Americans. “Chicago Fire,” NBC’s other franchise within the Dick Wolf universe also made the top 10 ranked programs among African American viewers, with 1.3 million viewers.

Overall, CBS’s programming slate takes up 19 of the top 30 series among African American viewers, including “60 Minutes,” “FBI: Most Wanted,” “FBI: International,” “NCIS: Los Angeles,” “S.W.A.T.,” “Blue Bloods,” “NCIS,” “NCIS: Hawaii,” as well as new drama “Fire Country,” and encores of “FBI,” “The Neighborhood,” “FBI: Most Wanted,” “Bob Hearts Abishola,” and “FBI: International.”

Here’s this fall’s Nielsen ratings chart among African American viewers so far.

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