Still Star-Crossed ratings already in the cellar; The Bachelorette down

Based on the first round of Still Star-Crossed ratings from Monday night, it’s looking already like the show will be a tragedy of its own.

Through one episode, the Shonda Rhimes production generated a 0.5 rating in the 18-49 demographic, which is down from Mistresses last summer and one of the worst starts for a Big 4 scripted series in recent memory. The good news (if you can call it that) is that Still Star-Crossed is being billed to be a limited series, and with that, there are going to be only seven episodes before it goes off into the sunset.

Consider these ratings further evidence as to why ABC didn’t air the show until summer. Also, they hardly promoted it like something that they had a lot of faith in, either.

Somehow, this isn’t the only bad news coming in from the night…

The Bachelorette keeps falling

Is the long-running franchise showing a little bit of wear and tear? The episode last night generated just a 1.5 rating in the demo, and this season is down so far more than 15% from the one starring JoJo Fletcher last summer. For one reason or another, this season and its crop of contestants just aren’t bringing in a lot of viewers in comparison to past seasons. The silver lining is that it was easily still the #1 show on the night other than the Stanley Cup Finals over on NBC — Gotham and Lucifer each drew just a 0.9 rating, which is a sign of some of their own ratings fatigues.

It may be unfair in some ways to attribute the new Bachelorette ratings to anything other than general fatigue. Just look at things from this perspective: The majority of broadcast shows from the past year ended up seeing a drop of more than 10-15% year to year. It’s almost expected that there are going to be some enormous ratings drops at this point, and the only thing that you can do is be all the more prepared for them. The one reason why a show like The Bachelorette may be a little more unfazed by some of them is because it is more appointment-viewing than many other shows out there are.

Reaction Time

What do you think about the ratings for Monday night’s lineup? Be sure to share some of your thoughts in the comments below!

Meanwhile, click here if you didn’t see the full take on the Still Star-Crossed premiere from last night. (Photo: ABC.)