By Frazier Moore,Television Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --CBS continued to reign in the prime-time ratings race in the second week of the new fall season. And that was even without its new smash hit, “Young Sheldon,” whose Sept. 25 preview was watched by more than 17 million viewers. (“Young Sheldon” won’t be back until November.)
According to Nielsen, CBS’ sitcom “9JKL” was the week’s strongest series premiere, ranking 22nd and drawing 8.2 million viewers (although the Linda Lavin comedy shed nearly 6 million of the 14 million viewers who were tuned to its powerhouse lead-in, “The Big Bang Theory”). In their second airings, CBS’ “SEAL Team” remained strong with 8.39 million viewers, as did its “Wisdom of the Crowd,” with 7.84 million.
ABC’s “The Good Doctor” stayed healthy in its second week with 10.9 million viewers, to seize 10th place. NBC’s revived “Will & Grace” drew a solid 7.1 million viewers in what was likewise its second airing.
But other premiering series didn’t fare so well. Fox’s “The Gifted” debuted with a puny 4.86 million viewers, while on ABC, “Kevin (Probably) Saves the World” scored only 4.17 million and “The Mayor” could claim just 4.09 million viewers.
Overall for the week, CBS averaged 8.61 million viewers, while NBC had 7.36 million viewers. ABC had 5.3 million, Fox had 4.47 million, Univision had 1.48 million, Telemundo had 1.43 million, ION Television had 1.11 million and the CW had 780,000.
ESPN was the most popular cable network, averaging 3.61 million in prime time. Fox News Channel had 2.39 million and TBS had 2.29 million. ABC’s “World News Tonight” remained the top evening newscast with an average of 8.5 million.
NBC’s “Nightly News” had 8.2 million and “CBS Evening News” had 6.5 million.
Below are primetime viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for Oct. 2-8. Listings include the week’s ranking and viewership.
1. NFL Football: Kansas City at Houston, NBC, 16.53 million.
2. NFL Football: New England at Tampa Bay, CBS, 15.43 million.
3. “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 14.04 million.
4. “NCIS,” CBS, 13.51 million.
5. “The OT,” Fox, 12.89 million.
6. NFL Football: Washington at Kansas City, ESPN, 12.03 million.
7. “Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kick,” NBC, 12.56 million.
8. “This is Us,” NBC, 11.06 million.
9. “The Voice” (Monday), NBC, 11.04 million.
10. “The Good Doctor,” ABC, 10.88 million.
11. “Bull,” CBS, 10.79 million.
12. “The Voice” (Tuesday), NBC, 10.42 million.
13. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 10.24 million.
14. “Blue Bloods,” CBS, 9.49 million.
15. “Football Night in America,” NBC, 9.28 million.
16. “NCIS: New Orleans,” CBS, 9.23 million.
17. “Dancing With the Stars,” ABC, 9.01 million.
18. “Thursday Night NFL Pre-Kick,” CBS, 8.98 million.
19. “Hawaii Five-0,” CBS, 8.53 million.
20. “NCIS: Los Angeles,” 8.46 million.
“Heretic” and “Maria” Set As Red Carpet Premieres At AFI Fest
The American Film Institute (AFI) has announced that Heretic, the psychological thriller starring Hugh Grant, and Maria, based on the life of opera singer Maria Callas starring Angelina Jolie, will round out the Red Carpet Premieres section at this year’s AFI Fest. The Heretic Gala Screening will take place on Thursday, October 24, and the Maria Gala Screening will be held on Saturday, October 26. The complete Red Carpet Premieres section includes the world premieres of Music By John Williams, Robert Zemeckis’ Here, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2. All Red Carpet Premieres will take place at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre. The full lineup for AFI Fest 2024 will be unveiled on October 1.
“At the heart of AFI Fest is an unwavering dedication to celebrating the best in global cinema--together,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO. “We look forward to uniting artists and audiences once again to be inspired by the art form in a powerful sense of community.”
Heretic follows two young missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) who are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (portrayed by Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse. The film is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods and produced by Stacey Sher, Beck, Woods, Julia Glausi and Jeanette Volturno. The film will be released nationwide by A24 on November 8.
Directed by Pablo Larraín, Maria presents a tumultuous and beautiful depiction of one of the world’s most renowned artists and reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days in Paris, as Callas (Jolie)... Read More