Primetime Ratings: 'Chicago Fire' Premieres Up

The season premiere of Chicago Fire on NBC put up a 1.8, up 17% from the finale’s 1.5 last spring. That and a robust showing from The Voice paced NBC to a win for the night.

It was another ho-hum showing for Fox’s new comedies, as Grandfathered rated a 1.0 in viewers 18-49, according to Nielsen’s overnight numbers, while TheGrinder showed a 0.9. Both were down from a week before: Grandfathered had scored a 1.1 last Tuesday and The Grinder a 1.0.

NBC won a close night on the strength of The Voice, with a 1.8 rating/6 share for the night, ahead of CBS’ 1.6/5, ABC’s 1.2/4, and the 0.9/3 shared by Fox and The CW.  

The shows were up against playoff baseball and the presidential debate, the latter drawing 15.3 million viewers to CNN.

Best Time Ever With Neil Patrick Harris scored a 1.2 in 18-49 on NBC, down 8%, while The Voice registered a 2.5, up 14% from last week’s recap episode.

On CBS, NCIS scored a 2.0, off 5%, while NCIS: New Orleans was off 12% at a 1.5, and Limitless off 18% with a 1.4.

On ABC, The Muppets scored a 1.3, down 19%; Fresh Off the Boat showed a 1.4, down 22%; and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. a 1.4, a 13% drop from last week.

Besides the comedies, Fox’s Scream Queens notched a 1.0, down a tenth of a point from last week.

On CW, The Flash had a 1.3, down a tenth of a point, and iZombie a 0.5, off 29%.   

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.