Bull season 2 ratings rise, as does the show’s season 3 viability
Even though the series may be somewhat under-the-radar, the numbers Tuesday night were the best that they’ve been all season long. For the great Bull holiday episode, one that had the vibe of a classic Christmas movie (read our full review over here), the show tied its season high in the 18-49 demographic (1.3) and also posted over 10.8 million viewers. This marks its largest total audience of the entire season. This puts the show in line with the second half of season 1, which was averaging around this total for the most part.
When you look at the Bull year-to-year fluctuations, they’re not as bad as they may first look. While it may be down more than 15% in the demo, for example, most of the great demo ratings from season were for the first five or six episodes when the show was still finding itself. The same goes for viewers and its down less than 10% in that measurement — very good for any series, let alone one that was getting its sea legs last year.
What benefits Bull at this point in its run is that its a firmly established series and beyond that, season 2 is a vast improvement on season 1. The focus has shifted ever so slightly — while this may still be a case-of-the-week show, there are a few more serialized plotlines and there is much more of a focus on the entire cast. It’s not just about Bull and Bull only anymore. As much as we love Weatherly no show can succeed in 2017 with a paper-thin supporting cast. We now know Marissa, Chunk, Cable, and so many other members of the TAC well. We like them and want to root for them.
When could a Bull season 3 renewal be announced?
Potentially March or April — CBS tends to do bulk renewals for many of their shows at one time. There’s zero reason to worry about its future, given that it remains one of their most-watched series. We’d go ahead and pencil Bull in at this point for at least four seasons to get it to syndication; beyond that, viewer retention will really be key to figuring out its future.
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