How CBS faces an early Instinct season 2 dilemma

Even though we’re only a handful of episodes into the run at the moment, one thing definitely feels clear: CBS is in quite the pickle when it comes to Instinct and its future. In one way, the show is struggling mightily when it comes to the adults 18-49 demographic. However, in another it is performing very well in total viewers.

Take, for example, this past episode from Sunday night. The Alan Cumming led crime series ended up drawing in total over 7 million viewers for the episode, but also just a 0.6 rating in the demo. This demo is extremely important when it comes to determining whether or not a show gets brought back, given that this is often the thing that most advertisers court. While CBS does tend to favor older viewers more than some other networks do, there is this perception — whether it be correct or incorrect — that adults 18-49 dominate the airwaves. (Personally, we’ve never known too many 18-year olds with massive amounts of disposable income.)

Yet, it’s really hard for anyone to ignore some of the total viewers that Instinct has accumulated. It has performed better through its first five episodes here than Wisdom of the Crowd did in this same timeslot this past fall, and that’s a pretty valuable thing given that there are typically more total viewers around in the fall. It’s also performed better in viewers than many of the network’s other series, including some that have already been renewed for additional seasons.

When the dust settles, we could see an interesting dilemma with Instinct since it feels like a show that could’ve been a bigger hit if CBS had aired it in the fall and allowed it, in turn, to have a stronger timeslot. It’s very much of the right vein for some of the shows they like to air. If it’s not renewed for another season in the spring, we certainly would mind seeing a situation in the future where the series and Elementary ended up airing together — two smart, fascinating mystery shows that aren’t about trying to hook their main characters up. There should really be more of that.

Related – Be sure to check out some other insight at this very moment when it comes to the series

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