Cable ratings: ‘The Last Ship’ season 3 down; ‘Devious Maids,’ ‘UnREAL’ drop
The summer of sadness continues for broadcast and cable TV ratings. Other than maybe “Game of Thrones” and staples like reality shows, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to keep everything else on the air and performing well. The latest example of that can certainly be seen in the numbers from earlier this week.
“The Last Ship” – After being pushed back a week out of sensitivity for the terrible tragedy in Orlando, the first two episodes averaged a 0.4 rating on TNT. This is down significantly from last year’s premiere, and it is also down a whopping 0.3 from the season 2 average. This isn’t good; there’s no other way around it. We don’t think that the tragedy impacted anything here; however, it is very likely that the NBA Finals did. Those of you looking for a silver lining can cite the game between the Warriors and the Cavaliers, but we’d caution you from thinking that it will automatically reverse course on Sunday. History shows that often we tend to overestimate the role of competition on ratings.
“Devious Maids” – There was no such competition for the soapy Lifetime drama, which held steady in terms of the demo versus last week (0.3) but dropped under a million total viewers. It doesn’t have the excuse of basketball, either.
“UnREAL” – This show needs a win, and soon. It kept its 0.2 demo, but dropped down to just 480,000 viewers. Sure, the reviews are good, but we’ve found season 2 so far a letdown and without that sort of positive buzz, we’re not sure it will last beyond its already-renewed season 3.
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mgc94520
July 2, 2016 @ 7:28 am
Could it be that the last ships ratings are down because they killed Dr Scott? I have not watched season 3 for that reason.
shulkman
June 23, 2016 @ 11:16 pm
I watched the episodes on the night they were supposed to start, and even though I was well aware of the shooting in Orlando, I did not think about it, connect it, be upset by it… nothing. The tragedy in Orlando is just that… a tragedy… It’s real life. The Last Ship is television…. make believe. Don’t mix up the two. If the rating went down, it’s probably because people watched it online a week before it aired on TV due to the delay.
Disappointed Fan
June 23, 2016 @ 6:54 pm
Could it be that the fans of The Last Ship, hearing the disappointing and pointless fate of Dr. Scott, are showing their displeasure by tuning out? Hmmmm, I know I did.
3lbisivni
June 27, 2016 @ 3:42 pm
We nearly missed the fact that she even died, it was so quickly glossed over. Season 3 has clearly just gone off the rails into complete Michael Bay ridiculousness. The show is nothing now but a collection of redundant stereotypes.
anna2556
July 29, 2016 @ 9:00 pm
Dr Scott’s death really bothered me, especially as it was rushed through so quickly that it also affected my perception of Eric Dane’s character. The nonchalant attitude he had towards the death of not only someone that pretty much saved the world but he showed a strong romantic attachment to made Chandler unlikeable to me. Then they took this great scifi premise and made it into a political intrigue and I checked out. I was looking forward to more adventures on the Nathan Jane. New places, new faces, new problems…perhaps an adventure each episode or a two story arc. Not this convoluted mess. Plus, I loathe who they got to replace Rhona.