Ratings: ‘Undercover Boss’ sinks ‘Malibu Country’; ‘Nikita,’ ‘Grimm’ drop

After last night’s stellar Friday across the board for TV, you knew that those numbers were not going to be able to stay that strong forever. With that in mind, we now have some not-so-great news to share for a number of the programs that were on the schedule.

But why not start things off here with the one network that has something to be excited about? Out of nowhere “Undercover Boss” rose to a 2.0 rating and nine million viewers for its second episode this season, a sign that this show more than any other is the sort of thing that can fluctuate depending on whatever it is put around. “Blue Bloods” later in the night also rose to its highest rating in weeks in a 1.5, which helps out its season 4 chances by quite a bit despite some of the turmoil behind the scenes.

Now, the bad news. ABC’s comedy lineup took a steep hit this week, with “Malibu Country” losing over 25% of its viewing audience for its premiere by sinking to a 1.6. “Last Man Standing” finished with the same number, while “Shark Tank” topped the night with a 2.1 that was still down from the 2.3 rating the show drew last week.

Over on NBC, “Grimm” dropped to a 1.7 rating that makes us ask a very important question: why isn’t this show getting a proper lead-in? Everyone else on the schedule has one, but it feels almost like the network is not giving what is a major success story more help. On a different note, the only help “Nikita” needs at this point is help getting off of the stretcher.