Fox’s building of a comedy block got off to an OK start, as both Grandfathered and The Grinder raised their curtains to a 1.5 rating in adults 18-49. Both were up against NCIS on CBS and The Voice on NBC.
Both comedies feature familiar comedic names in the top-line role. John Stamos plays what Fox calls “the ultimate bachelor” on Grandfathered, who finds out he’s a father—and a grandfather. Rob Lowe stars in The Grinder and as a lawyer and former TV star who goes back to his roots.
Speaking of familiar figures in TV comedy, ABC’s The Muppets was off in its second week, with a 2.0 rating, down from its 2.8 debut.
According to preliminary Nielsens, NBC won the night easily with a 3.1 rating and 10 share in 18-49, ahead of CBS’ 1.9/6, while ABC and Fox had twin 1.5/5s and The CW a 0.3/1. CW traditionally waits until the Big Four have premiered the bulk of their new offerings before taking its turn next month.
The Voice scored a 3.6 in that key demo, with 13.3 million total viewers. It was up 6% from last Tuesday’s installment’s 3.4. That led into Best Time Ever With Neil Patrick Harris, which had a 2.0 rating from 10-11 p.m., down 9% from the previous week’s 2.2.
On CBS, NCIS came out to a 2.1, down 13% from the previous week’s 2.4. NCIS: New Orleans scored a 1.7, flat with the prior week, while Limitless showed a 1.9, up 5% over last week’s 1.8.
ABC’s Muppets was at 2.0, down 29% from last week’s 2.8, while Fresh Off the Boat showed a 1.7, down 11% from the previous week’s 1.9. The season-three premiere of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. had a 1.7, up 24% from its season finale’s 1.3, while a repeat of Quantico ran at 10.
Following Fox’s debutant comedies, Scream Queens tallied a 1.5, down 6% from the previous week’s 1.6.
The CW had the iHeartRadio Music Fest, which averaged a .3 across its two hours.
