Ratings: ‘Chicago Fire’ keeps burning; ‘Arrow’ hits series low despite ‘Vertigo’

January is traditionally an interesting month of the year to watch when it comes to television, as the shows that typically fare well here are the ones that we will see around for another season in the fall. There have been some surprises this year, but also some disappointments based on what the networks were expecting out of them.

Surprise #1 – “Chicago Fire.” We had all but written this show off as yet another predictable Dick Wolf drama before it even premiered. Now, it is routinely drawing 2.0 ratings in the 18-49 demographic and is pretty much a lock to be renewed. After all, this is NBC’s highest-rated show, and it has been given an extra episode already for the season.

Surprise #2 – “Supernatural.” Did you think that this show would be pulling close to 1.0 ratings after being around a 0.7 for almost all of last season on Friday nights? This just goes to show the power of a lead-in, as putting this show behind “Arrow” was a blessing.

Surprise #3 – “Arrow.” Even though the show dropped below a 1.0 for the first time all season Wednesday with “Vertigo,” it is one of only two shows on The CW to draw more than 3 million viewers.

Disappointment #1 – “The Neighbors” and “Suburgatory.” Yes, the two shows had no lead-ins as ABC put them on with “The Middle” and “Modern Family” as lead-ins. Even still, the network had to be hoping that these two shows would capitalize better on the success around them.

Disappointment #2 – “Guys with Kids” and “Whitney.” Maybe we should just apply this to most first and second-year comedies in general. “2 Broke Girls” and “New Girl” seem to be the only ones that actually have an audience.

What show on Wednesday night has been the biggest surprise to you? If you want to read more on the “Chicago Fire” pickup, you can do so over at the link here.

Photo: NBC