Ratings: ‘Modern Family’ beats ‘American Idol’; ‘Survivor Caramoan’ rises
There are a few things that we can really learn from the ratings that are coming in for Wednesday night: viewers are tired of singing competitions, “Survivor” has the most dedicated fanbase out of any show on TV, and that for whatever reason, “Chicago Fire” has emerged as more of a hit at the moment than the critically-acclaimed “Nashville.”
Let’s start with what to us is the most shocking news: “Modern Family” (3.9) actually managed to beat “American Idol” (3.8) on the night. The singing competition has been shedding viewers left and right since the show began, and save for Simon Cowell coming back and canceling “The X Factor,” we’re not sure that anything can really stop the bleeding here. The contestants are pretty solid this year, but there’s simply no buzz around it anymore. “The Voice” seems to be the new king … but who knows how well it will do when it returns next month with new coaches.
As for “Survivor,” the latest episode of “Fans vs. Favorites” rose two-tenths to a 2.6, which serves as a lovely reminder that this really is a show that you can never count out. Not only that, but the popularity of this season is likely to only increase from here as we get deeper and deeper into what is being hyped up as a very strong season.
As for the shocking news to us, “Chicago Fire” took over the 10:00 slot with a 1.9, and we hope that this leads NBC to try and re-program the rest of their lineup. Imagine how good this show could be doing if there were stronger series around it, since right now it is a rare example of a 10:00 show that actually builds on its two previous hours. This is the only show on NBC that does this, and the only one of them that we can think of offhand that really does the same right now is “The Mentalist” over on CBS.
What surprises you the most about these figures? If you want to look ahead to Wednesday night’s “American Idol” (which will hopefully bring with it better ratings), you can do so here.
Photo: ABC