Ratings: ‘American Idol’ series finale strong as ‘Rush Hour’ drops, ‘The Catch’ rises

Going into last night’s series finale for “American Idol,” it was almost a given that we were going to see larger ratings as a result of it. However, there was still some element of mystery as to just how high some of these ratings would go.

Well, we’re now pleased to have an answer: A 3.0 rating in the 18-49 demographic. It’s an impressive ending for the show, and its best finale number in years; with that said, it’s still leagues below the ratings for some of the finales during the show’s heyday. At one point, there were more than 30 million people watching; this finale failed to draw 13 million in the preliminary numbers. It’s still great, but not necessarily earth-shattering.

As for some other ratings news of the day…

The good news – “The 100” (0.5) managed to stay fairly solid, “Legends of Tomorrow” (0.7) stabilized at its most-recent rating, and “The Catch” (1.1) is finally showing some impressive retention a few weeks in. We’re not sure that rating justifies another season or not, but it at least has a chance if it stays around there the rest of the way.

The bad news – It was a rough night to be a CBS comedy. “The Big Bang Theory” (3.0) posted what may its lowest number in years; we don’t have data readily available from the early seasons of the show, but it is the lowest rating it’s had since really becoming a syndication beast. Meanwhile, “The Odd Couple” (1.6) premiered down, and “Mom” (1.5) and “2 Broke Girls” (1.4) each dropped. Clearly, the “Idol” finale killed CBS. “Rush Hour” (0.9) also declined in its second week.

Finally, “The Blacklist” (1.2) fell in its return to TV, and while we’re intrigued about the spin-off concept, we also wonder why it’s worthwhile given the current numbers.

You can see more of our “American Idol” finale coverage just by heading over to the link here right away. Also, sign up over here to get some additional TV news on almost everything we cover, sent right over to you via our official CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: Fox.)