Ratings: ‘Criminal Minds’ improves season 12 odds; ‘Law & Order: SVU,’ ‘Chicago PD’ return down

Wednesday night was not exactly a great one for primetime network TV, as it seems that many shows were ultimately buried under the weight of all the competition. This is the first night in at least a month where every program was new across the board, and few shined through the rubble.

The good news – One who did was “Criminal Minds,” which with its 1.8 rating in the 18-49 demographic was the #2 drama of the night behind only “Empire” (which of course won with a 3.6). This rating ends the show on a solid note, and in turn probably helps to a certain extent the show’s odds of being renewed for a 12th season. We never really thought it was in much danger before that, but this just further cements its placement.

Elsewhere, “Nashville” (0.9) is the only other show to show an sort of decent improvement, but honorable mentions are in order for “Survivor” (2.1) and “The Middle” for staying steady. “Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders” also did with a 1.2, but we think it hurts the show to not improve given that last week’s rating followed a repeat of “Criminal Minds.”

The bad news – “Law & Order: SVU” and “Chicago PD” were hit hard by their long hiatus, with the former getting a 1.1 and the latter a 1.2. “Arrow” also fell earlier in the night to a 0.7, while “Heartbeat” also did the same. “Supernatural,” despite finally revealing the truth about Chuck (the rumors are true!), also declined down to a 0.6.

The silver lining here is that other than “Heartbeat,” all the shows we just mentioned are coming back. We’re not putting much hope in that show given its recent performance, especially compared to how “The Mysteries of Laura” fared.

(Photo: NBC)