Ratings Clack – Finale bonanza

The 2008-2009 television season is quickly coming to a close. Last week saw some 30 season/series finales hitting our screens. The resulting numbers were all over the place. Some shows took advantage of the situation, pulling out all the stops and hitting numbers they hadn’t seen in some time. Others held steady. And a few signed in with troubling drops.

I’ve mentioned before that these final numbers could hold sway as the networks prepare to release the fall schedules this week. That does still apply, although, after all the shenanigans over the weekend, with Dollhouse and Better Off Ted being renewed, just how much sway becomes a little more cloudy.

ABC - Kind of a good news/medium news week for the network. Things started off a bit rocky on Sunday. Desperate Housewives (12.29m/4.1) was off a bit, but that is still the highest rated show on Sunday night, so it’s not a big worry. That led to the finale of Brothers & Sisters (8.74m/3), which remains a solid solution for Sundays at 10. There was a similar drop with the Dancing With The Stars (18.55m/4.2) performance show on Monday. But I think much of that can be chalked up to the first half hour being nothing but a rehash of the season. Tom and the gang were followed by the season finale of Castle (9.96m/2.4) which made the best out of getting the cushy time slot. It was enough to garner a second season for the show.

Tuesday brought more good numbers for the DWTS Results (14.01m/3.1) and some bad ones for the finale of Cupid (5.05m/1.5), which was better news for Castle than anyone else. The writers at Lost (9.43m/4.4) delivered one of those ‘pull out all the stops’ finales on Wednesday. We’ll save the debate about whether it was a good finale for Bob’s post. For our purposes here, while it’s pretty clear the show is never going to return to the 20 million viewer level, the 4.4 demo score means it’s still a legitimate hit show. The news was even better on Thursday. Grey’s Anatomy (16.53m/5.9) also went big with the finale, and it paid with numbers the show hasn’t seen in a long time.

CBS - Going a bit out of order, CSI (14.81m/3.4) was the polar opposite of Grey’s. Forget pulling out all the stops, it was as if there was a directive assuring that all the stops would be pushed as far in as they would go. Really, that episode could have been dropped in anywhere in the season, as if they didn’t even care that it was the finale. Worse yet, those are the worst numbers of the season. For the finale. That’s a problem.

Elsewhere, the news was better. Sunday was solid, as The Amazing Race (10.49m/3.1), Cold Case (11.84m/2.6), and The Unit (9.64m/2.4) called it a season. Early reports say that those numbers were enough to get another season for Cold Case. Monday, The Big Bang Theory (9.76m/3.7) finale led into How I Met Your Mother (8.78m/3.6), 2 ½ Men (13.11m/4.5), Rules Of Engagement (10.14m/3.6), and CSI: Miami (13.59m/3.9). Those numbers are slightly down for Men and Engagement, and it marks a rare demo win for Miami over big brother CSI. Crime continued to pay on Tuesday, with NCIS (16.19m/3.3), The Mentalist (16.21m/3.3), and Without A Trace 13.4m/2.8). Finally, the CBS Friday wrapped up the season with Ghost Whisperer (8.93m/2), Flashpoint (8.42m/1.8), and Numb3rs (9.6m/2.1).

NBC – It was an up and down week for the network. Celebrity Apprentice (8.81m/3.1) and The Biggest Loser (11.85m/4.7) held up their ends on Sunday and Tuesday, both bringing 3 hour finales. That Biggest Loser number is especially impressive, facing Idol, NCIS, The Mentalist, DWTS Results, and Fringe. On the other hand, Monday and Wednesday remain troubled. Deal Or No Deal (4.23m/1.1) really needs to end. It’s not offering any help to Medium (7.3m/2.3), which remains solid, if not impressive.  Law and Order Wednesday isn’t doing much for the numbers either. The reruns are being ignored, and the original Law & Order (7.89m/2.2) was a distant third for the night.

The real worries came on Thursday. It is the networks most successful scripted night. And, sadly we do have to qualify that with ‘scripted’ because The Biggest Loser kicks the hell out of the prized comedies. In a night of comedy finales, My Name Is Earl (4.84m/2) and Parks & Recreation (4.29m/2) were both off the pace. That’s bad, but not exactly surprising. What is surprising, the numbers for The Office (6.77m/3.5). That’s the lowest rating the show has seen in two years, for a finale, with a big Jim & Pam reveal. That, of course, didn’t do any favors for 30 Rock (5.69m/2.8) which was also below par. To cap it all off, the shine is most definitely off of Southland (4.65m/1.6). The network might have been a little hasty pulling the trigger on renewing that one.

FOX - After a bumpy start on Sunday that saw The Simpsons (5.19m/2.5), Family Guy (6.35m/3.2), and American Dad (4.88m/2.4) all down week to week, things picked up Monday. House (12.74m/4.7) is still a hit, besting DWTS and Men for the highest demo of the night. 24 (9.79m/3.2) followed, with usual results. American Idol, of course, won everything on Tuesday (22.71m/8) and Wednesday (24.67m/8.7), but the more interesting story is probably the shows it is paired with.

The Fringe (9.28m/3.9) finale remained reasonably steady, wrapping up what has been a very successful first season. The interesting bit is that reported schedules for the fall have Fringe stepping out on its own, without the protection of House and Idol. Has the show developed an audience all its own? It will be fascinating to find out. Lie To Me (8.46m/2.6) also remained steady, compared to its recent 8 o’clock numbers. It does remain the most puzzling scheduling question of the season though. Why Idol at 9? The numbers would be virtually identical at 8, and Lie To Me would be averaging a good two million more viewers and better than a point more in the demo.

Thursday, Bones (8.88m/2.6) remains somewhat down on Thursdays, when compared to itself on another night. But the move has been a success, giving FOX a presence on the night that it hasn’t had in years. That alone made the renewal a no-brainer. Hell’s Kitchen (7.37m/3.2) continues to surprise, and very nearly edged CSI in the demo. Finally, Friday brought the series finale of the already canceled Prison Break (3.33m/1.2). Yes, that did top the finale of Dollhouse, making that whole renewal just that much more strange.

CW - It was business as usual down at the CW this week. Gossip Girl (2.3m/1.2), and One Tree Hill (2.3m/1.1) remain at their mid-season levels. Likewise, Reaper (1.97m/.9) seems to have settled in at a number. 90210 (2.08m/1.2) did show some small gains. On Wednesday, the finale for Next Top Model (4.31m/1.9) set the show apart as easily the highest rated program on the network, while again asking the question, “Why do they only show 90210 repeats after their highest rated show?” Finales for Smallville (3.13m/1.4) and Supernatural (2.89m/1.3) solidified Thursday as the strongest scripted night for the network. And finally, an odd one hour dramedy episode served as the finale for The Game (1.86m/.9). It finished things off so it will work as a series ender, but there are rumors that the show’s value in syndication could bring an ATJesque renewal.

Coming up this week … everything else wraps up. Sunday sees a couple of the big hitters call it a season when Desperate Housewives and Survivor call it quits. Monday brings finales for Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, How I Met Your Mother, 2 ½ Men, and CSI: Miami. We’ll aslo get the final performance show from Dancing With The Stars, the premiere of The Bachelorette, and a two hour 24 event. Tuesday finds NCIS, The Mentalist, Without A Trace, DWTS and 90210 airing finales. In addition, Idol has the final performances, followed by a sneak peek at the Glee pilot. Old Christine, Gary Unmarried, Criminal Minds, and Idol all have finales on Wednesday. Thursday, Ugly Betty finishes the season with two episodes, facing off against the premiere of So You Think You Can Dance. Finally, Don’t Forget The Lyrics returns to Friday, so we can have yet another number to compare against Terminator, Dollhouse, and Prison Break.

Clacked by Brett Love
on May 18, 2009 @ 10:00 EST5EDT