Bubble TV Watch: Which Shows Are—and Aren't—Making Their Case for Renewal?

A look at the recent TV ratings trends for Touch, Missing, Hart of Dixie and more

By Joal Ryan May 08, 2012 8:00 PMTags
Touch, Hart of Dixie, MissingFOX, CW, ABC

Does Touch still have the touch? Is Missing finding an audience? Does Hart of Dixie even have an audience? 

With the broadcast network upfront announcements scheduled for next week, here's an updated look at how some of TV's bubblier bubble shows have fared in the TV ratings over the last month:

MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

GCB: A miracle? Three weeks ago, it had fallen to 4.4 million viewers; on Sunday night, it was up to 5.6 million.

• Hart of Dixie: Rachel Bilson faithful, take heart. Prior to last night, her show had been inching upward, from 1.2 million viewers to 1.4 million last week. In CW-land, that's substantial growth. (Last night, it slipped to 1.3 million, per the early ratings.) 

• The Secret Circle: After holding steady for a couple of weeks, it moved up the CW charts, and edged past Nikita with 1.23 million viewers.

MOVING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION

• Missing: This Ashley Judd series has been on a one-way ride to down, from 7.9 million a few weeks ago to 6.7 million for its latest episode.

• Touch: Not too long ago, this Kiefer Sutherland vehicle looked like a sure thing. But April was a rough month. Even with an American Idol lead-in, its audience was about as big, or not, as Missing's. Still, Touch has a lot more pull among young adults than most bubble shows, the Judd series included.

• Nikita: The opposite of Hart of Dixie, over its last three new episodes, the CW vet went from 1.4 million viewers to 1.2 million.

THEY ARE WHAT THEY ARE

• Community: This show has never been about the ratings, so let's not start citing them now.   

• Cougar Town: Its most recent line—4.8 million viewers, 1.3 rating in the 18-to-49-year-old demographic—is about where the Courteney Cox comedy has been of late. 

• CSI: NYLast week, it was at 9.1 million viewers. The week before that, it was at 9.1 million viewers. 

• Gossip Girl: Does the fact that it's fallen below 1 million viewers three times in its last five outings mean anything? Does the fact that it fell below 900,000 viewers last night mean anything? Only the CW knows for sure where this show's bar for success is set.

Elsewhere, here's a look at some more ratings winners—and losers:

The Voice (10.5 million estimated viewers): Last night's final performance show was good for a boost, albeit not enough to put a scare into Idol.

Two and a Half Men (11.3 million estimated viewers): Even opposite The Voice and Dancing With the Stars (16 million estimated viewers), the comedy managed to tie The Voice for Monday bragging rights in the 18-to-49 demo.

The Amazing Race (9.4 million viewers): Went out bigger than it did last spring. 

The Biggest Loser (7.1 million viewers): On one hand, this bubble show hit a season high with its season closer. On the other hand, it shed a ton of younger viewers versus its spring 2011 finale.

Here's a complete look at the top 10 most-watched broadcast shows, per the latest Nielsen rankings:

  1. NCIS, 17.6 million viewers
  2. American Idol (Wednesday), 16.7 million viewers
  3. Dancing With the Stars (Monday), 16.2 million viewers
  4. American Idol (Thursday), 15.6 million viewers
  5. NCIS: Los Angeles, 15.2 million viewers
  6. The Big Bang Theory, 13.9 million viewers
  7. Dancing With the Stars (Tuesday), 13.89 million viewers
  8. Person of Interest, 13.3 million viewers
  9. The Mentalist, 12.9 million viewers
  10. 60 Minutes, 11.7 million viewers