TV Ratings: ‘This Is Us,’ ‘Bull’ See Solid Gains in L3 Numbers
Two of this season’s high-profile new dramas — NBC’s “This Is Us” and CBS’ “Bull” — pulled in notable gains over three days of delayed viewing, according to Nielsen’s just released live-plus-3 ratings for the Tuesday premieres.
“This Is Us” saw its 18-49 number swell to 4.2, from 2.8 in live-same-day viewing. That’s the biggest L3 jump for any network premiere since the dawn of Fox’s “Empire” in January 2015. The Tuesday 10 p.m. drama also added more than 3.4 million viewers to hit 13.5 million.
CBS’ “Bull” grew to a 2.9 in 18-49, up from a 2.2, and added 3.9 million viewers to hit 19.4 million. The Tuesday 9 p.m. drama had a big lead-in from its 8 p.m. companion “NCIS,” which was home to “Bull” star Michael Weatherly for 13 years. “NCIS” also saw an L3 lift to 2.9 in 18-49 and added 3.2 million viewers to hit 19.2 million.
The L3 ratings for last week’s Monday premieres also improved the picture for NBC’s new comedy “The Good Place.” The special Monday debut for the Ted Danson-Kristen Bell starrer grew to a 3.6 in 18-49 (from a 2.6) and added more than 3.2 million viewers to reach 12.3 million. NBC gave the comedy a post-“Voice” launch pad in order to generate sampling before it settled into its Thursday 8:30 p.m. berth behind “Superstore.”
The other big Monday comedy premiere, CBS’ Kevin James starrer “Kevin Can Wait,” grew to a 3.3 in 18-49 in L3, from a 2.6, and it added 2.1 million viewers to reach 13.2 million.
Perhaps the best news of the week for CBS was the continuing strength of “The Big Bang Theory.” The Monday season premiere of the top-rated sitcom plumped to a 5.4 in 18-49 (from a 3.8) and added 4.4 million viewers. That lift put “Big Bang’s” total audience just over the 20 million viewer-mark, a benchmark that few regularly scheduled weekly series are able to achieve these days.
(Pictured: “This Is Us,” “Bull”)
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