Did Designated Survivor ratings rise for big Alex Kirkman reveal?
Well, CarterMatt would argue that the news, (upon first glance) is both good and bad. Overall, the ABC drama drew a 0.8 rating in the 18-49 demographic, and that was coupled with 4.39 million viewers. These are the best ratings in both metrics since the third episode of the season on October 11 — isn’t that something worth celebrating?
Here is the caveat: The Designated Survivor ratings had no reason to do anything other than improve. Wednesday night gave the show no competition from Chicago PD or Criminal Minds, as the two series are on hiatus and are not going to be back on the air until we roll around to January. Meanwhile, viewers should have flocked to the show for the winter finale — while the death of Alex Kirkman couldn’t have been predicted by most casual viewers, (even if there were signs that it was coming) the winter finale label alone should have convinced more people to watch. With the nature of this show being so chock full of twists, the immediate response to the words “winter finale” should be “oh, something huge is going to happen that could be spoiled after the fact.”
The truth of the matter right now for Designated Survivor is this — it’s a show that needs more viewership, but it’s also a show that is struggling to find it. For one reason or another, there are a lot of viewers who have found themselves turned off by either last season or the start of this one. Maybe some are still watching via DVR or streaming after the fact, but there are certainly not a wide array of viewers watching it live.
It’s with this in mind that we’re saying that we’re far from optimistic that a Designated Survivor season 3 is going to be coming to ABC in the future. While it’s possible that we’ll get a chance to see it, it’s going to depend heavily on if Alex’s death lights a spark under the series and convinces some people out there to check it out.
What do you think about these current Designated Survivor ratings? Be sure to share in the comments below!
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