Ratings: ‘The Following’ season 3 starts off okay, but will it last?

As of right now, we have some good news and bad news when it comes to “The Following.” The good news? The ratings are up just a smidgen from where they were at the end of last season.

The season 3 premiere on Monday night started things off with a 1.6 rating in the 18-49 demographic, which for some reason feels like a huge improvement from the season 2 finale. The reality here, though, is that it is only an increase of only a tenth. The reason that we suspect this feels like a little bit more of an increase is simply because of the fact that the numbers are somewhat skewed by how Fox is doing. This has not been a great year for the network, save for maybe “Gotham” and “Empire.” This is better than some recent “Sleepy Hollow” episodes, and if it keeps this number, it could get a fourth season.

On the flip side, this number is down from a 2.0 from the season premiere, which is a drop that we mostly blame on the quality of season 2. This was not the greatest season of the show in the world, and we’re feeling the result of that. Ultimately, Kevin Bacon and company are going to have to work to earn back the trust of some of their former viewers. Maybe they will figure that out, but only time is going to tell when it comes to that.

We are going to have some further news when it comes to “The Following” throughout the week, so be on the lookout for that!