Primetime Ratings: ‘Son of Zorn’ Opens Strong

The curiosity factor was strong for Son of Zorn, Fox’s comedic mix of live action and animated, and a big NFL lead-in certainly never hurts. The show opened to a hearty 2.4 rating in viewers 18-49, per Nielsen’s overnights.

Yet NBC won handily on the opening night of Sunday Night Football, scoring a 6.7 and a 21 share from 7:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. Viewers were curious how the New England Patriots, with Tom Brady serving a suspension, would fare without their star QB. The New Englanders defeated the Arizona Cardinals; the game itself did a 7.5.

Last year’s SNF opener game did a 9.2.

Fox, enjoying that football lead-in, did a 3.2/10 from 7 to 11 p.m. An NFL contest led into Fox’s The OT show at 5.8, then Zorn. Repeats followed Zorn.

ABC posted a 1.1/4. Celebrity Family Feud scored a 1.3, up 30%, and two hours of the Miss America competition a 1.3, down 13% from last year.

CBS weighed in at 0.9/3, with Big Brother at 1.8, same as its last airing, and two runs of BrainDead at 0.5 and 0.3. The latter did a 0.3 in its last airing.

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.