NCIS: New Orleans season 4: What should the ratings expectations be?

NCIS: New Orleans season 4 is currently filming, and it’s gearing up for a premiere in just over a month on CBS. Should there be excitement? Absolutely, but we also hope in the process that there is a greater sense of stability.

Last season was a trying one for the show from the perspective of one thing more so than anything else: The ratings. Overall, it averaged a 1.2 in the 18-49 demographic in its new timeslot at 10:00 p.m. Eastern, which is down over 30% from season 2. Granted, season 2 aired immediately after the flagship NCIS, which benefited the show considerably given the fact that these two shows are linked. Bull doesn’t offer up the same connection to the show, and there are naturally fewer people awake after 10:00 p.m. in order to watch television during the week.

Now that New Orleans is airing in the same timeslot for the second straight season, what are we hoping to see from it? Above all else, trying to stay at around a 1.1 at the very least. If the show drops another 30% in the demo, then you’re looking at it averaging only around a 0.9. That is the sort of rating that doesn’t guarantee a renewal for any show — it probably would in this instance given the franchise popularity all around the world, but it’s not a slam dunk by any means.

Luckily, we’d be surprised to see the show fall that far given that it’s figured out at this point who its audience is and there isn’t really a huge influx of new competition for it this season. ABC’s lineup looks lukewarm at best, and while Law & Order: True Crime could pose a threat over at NBC, there are still questions as to whether or not that will be enough to lure anyone away from Pride and the rest of his team. They’ve got familiarity on their side, and also a sense of lightness and fun. You sometimes do want to watch something a little bit more fun late at night before heading off to bed.

One other, completely inconsequential reason for NCIS: New Orleans to get to a fifth season is so that it can make it to 100 episodes. That’s an amazing feat in 2017, a time when there is SO much competition from other shows out there that it’s so much more difficult to stay around longer than a few seasons. Hopefully, the show gets to have a proper celebration and does something big for it — we’d love to see some sort of crossover with some other shows that exist within the greater CBS universe.

What do you think some of the ratings expectations are for NCIS: New Orleans season 4? Share in the attached comments!

Meanwhile, head over to the link here in the event that you do want to get some additional news when it comes to NCIS: New Orleans. That includes some reviews from the third season, in the event that you want to catch up on what happened. (Photo: CBS.)