Primetime Ratings: ‘Shades of Blue’ Opens Strong

Shades of Blue, a cop drama starring Jennifer Lopez and Ray Liotta, opened to a promising 1.8 in viewers 18-49, according to Nielsen overnights, on NBC. Fans of Lopez had the option of watching three straight hours of the superstar, a judge on Fox’s American Idol 8-10 p.m., then star of the new NBC series at 10.

Some 8.6 million total viewers took in Shades of Blue.

Among other premieres, CBS comedy Angel From Hell debuted to a 1.6.

The second night of American Idol, meanwhile, dropped a bit to a 2.7. In its final run of episodes, Idol is bringing back past winners, such as Kris Allen and Taylor Hicks, to help celebrate the show's storied run.

Idol was down 7% from its season premiere the night before.

CBS had The Big Bang Theory at 3.8, down 7% from its last fresh episode, then Life in Pieces at 2.2, down 12%. Mom slipped 10% to a 1.8, leading into Angel From Hell. At 10, Elementary rated a flat 1.2.

On NBC, Heroes Reborn posted a 1.0, down 9% from its last original airing, then The Blacklist at 1.6, up 7%, before Shades of Blue.

ABC had Beyond the Tank at 1.0 and two hours of My Diet is Better Than Yours at 0.7.

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.