As another television season draws to a close, it’s time to look back on what shows caught your attention and which shows were largely ignored during the 2017-2018 TV season.
CBS’ The Big Bang Theory will finish the 2017-2018 TV season as the country’s most watched series with an average of 18.634 million viewers. This really isn’t a huge surprise as the CBS comedy has been a powerful performer over the years, even if its live demo rating has slipped somewhat in recent seasons.
NBC’s NFL Sunday Night Football is the season’s highest-rated series in the key 18-49 demographic, with a 6.2 rating; it also takes the No. 2 spot in overall audience (18.285 million viewers). In the demo, the second season of This is Us (5.4) follows football, while Big Bang ranks No. 5 (4.4).
Despite not technically being “new”, the Roseanne revival was the most successful “new” series launch, ranking No. 3 in total viewers (17.815 million viewers) and in the demo (5.0). Its mid-March launch made outstripped every scripted series of the season except the post-Super Bowl episode of This Is Us.
If you don’t buy Roseanne being a new series then CBS’ Young Sheldon is the season’s most watched new series, averaging 16.296 million viewers, while ABC’s The Good Doctor is tops among the freshman launches in the demo (3.4), followed closely by Young Sheldon (3.3).
NBC’s The Brave (1.58 in the 18-49 demo) is the highest-rated new series to not score a second season across the networks in the key demo. CBS’ Wisdom of the Crowd (8.508 million viewers) becomes the most watched new series in total viewers not picked up for a season 2. One might argue that this was likely due to the sexual harassment allegations leveled against its star, Jeremy Piven.
ABC’s Child Support (0.86 in the 18-49 demo) is the lowest-rated new series to score a renewal this season but it is a game show and the ratings expectations are far lower when compared to scripted series. ABC’s For the People (1.03 in the 18-49 demo) is the lowest-rated new scripted series but it did score a second season on the network which will premiere midseason. NBC’s A.P. Bio is the least watched freshman series in total viewers (3.538 million viewers) to snag a second season.
| 1 | NFL Sunday Night Football | NBC | 6.2 |
| 2 | This Is Us | NBC | 5.4 |
| 3 | Roseanne | ABC | 5.0 |
| 4 | NFL Thursday Night Football (CBS+NFLN) | CBS | 4.5 |
| 5 | The Big Bang Theory | CBS | 4.4 |
| 6 | NFL Sunday Night Football Pre-Kickoff | NBC | 4.3 |
| 7 | NFL Thursday Night Football (NBC+NFLN) | NBC | 4.0 |
| 8 | The OT | Fox | 3.8 |
| 9 | The Good Doctor | ABC | 3.4 |
| 10 | Young Sheldon | CBS | 3.3 |
| 11 | Grey’s Anatomy | ABC | 3.2 |
| 12 | Football Night In America 3 | NBC | 3.1 |
| 13 | 9-1-1 | Fox | 3.0 |
| 14 | Will & Grace | NBC | 2.8 |
| 15 | Empire | Fox | 2.6 |
| 16 | The Voice | NBC | 2.5 |
| 17 | Survivor | CBS | 2.4 |
| 17 | The Bachelor | ABC | 2.4 |
| 19 | Ellen’s Game Of Games | NBC | 2.3 |
| 19 | The Voice (Tues) | NBC | 2.3 |
| 21 | Chicago PD | NBC | 2.2 |
| 21 | Modern Family | ABC | 2.2 |
| 23 | Law & Order: SVU | NBC | 2.1 |
| 23 | NCIS | CBS | 2.1 |
| 23 | Scandal | ABC | 2.1 |
| 26 | Chicago Fire | NBC | 2.0 |
| 26 | Chicago Med | NBC | 2.0 |
| 26 | Criminal Minds | CBS | 2.0 |
| 26 | Mom | CBS | 2.0 |
| 26 | American Idol (Mon) | ABC | 2.0 |
| 26 | American Idol (Sun) | ABC | 2.0 |
| 26 | How To Get Away With Murder | ABC | 2.0 |
| 26 | The Orville | Fox | 2.0 |
| 34 | The Good Place | NBC | 1.9 |
| 34 | Bull | CBS | 1.9 |
| 34 | The Middle | ABC | 1.9 |
| 37 | The Amazing Race | CBS | 1.8 |
| 37 | NFL Thursday Night Kickoff (CBS + NFLN) | CBS | 1.8 |
| 37 | The Goldbergs | ABC | 1.8 |
| 37 | Splitting Up Together | ABC | 1.8 |
| 41 | Football Night In America 2 | NBC | 1.7 |
| 41 | Law & Order: True Crime | NBC | 1.7 |
| 41 | S.W.A.T. | CBS | 1.7 |
| 41 | SEAL Team | CBS | 1.7 |
| 41 | Saturday Night College Football (8:07 PM) | ABC | 1.7 |
| 41 | Station 19 | ABC | 1.7 |
| 41 | Family Guy | Fox | 1.7 |
| 41 | Gifted | Fox | 1.7 |
| 41 | The Resident | Fox | 1.7 |
| 41 | The Simpsons | Fox | 1.7 |
| 41 | Star | Fox | 1.7 |
| 52 | The Blacklist | NBC | 1.6 |
| 52 | The Brave | NBC | 1.6 |
| 52 | Superstore | NBC | 1.6 |
| 52 | Kevin Can Wait | CBS | 1.6 |
| 52 | Life In Pieces | CBS | 1.6 |
| 52 | NCIS: New Orleans | CBS | 1.6 |
| 52 | American Housewife | ABC | 1.6 |
| 52 | Black-ish | ABC | 1.6 |
| 52 | Dancing With The Stars | ABC | 1.6 |
| 52 | Ghosted | Fox | 1.6 |
| 62 | Good Girls | NBC | 1.5 |
| 62 | 60 Minutes | CBS | 1.5 |
| 62 | Blue Bloods | CBS | 1.5 |
| 62 | Hawaii Five-0 | CBS | 1.5 |
| 62 | Scorpion | CBS | 1.5 |
| 62 | Designated Survivor | ABC | 1.5 |
| 62 | Shark Tank | ABC | 1.5 |
| 69 | Ellen’s Game Of Games (Enc) | NBC | 1.4 |
| 69 | NCIS: Los Angeles | CBS | 1.4 |
| 69 | Speechless | ABC | 1.4 |
| 69 | The Four | Fox | 1.4 |
| 69 | The X-Files | Fox | 1.4 |
| 74 | The Big Bang Theory (Enc) | CBS | 1.3 |
| 74 | Me, Myself & I | CBS | 1.3 |
| 74 | Young Sheldon (Enc) | CBS | 1.3 |
| 74 | Fresh Off The Boat | ABC | 1.3 |
| 74 | Bob’s Burgers | Fox | 1.3 |
| 74 | Lethal Weapon | Fox | 1.3 |
| 80 | Better Late Than Never | NBC | 1.2 |
| 80 | Blindspot | NBC | 1.2 |
| 80 | Rise | NBC | 1.2 |
| 80 | The Wall | NBC | 1.2 |
| 80 | 9JKL | CBS | 1.2 |
| 80 | MacGyver | CBS | 1.2 |
| 80 | Man With A Plan | CBS | 1.2 |
| 80 | Wisdom Of The Crowd | CBS | 1.2 |
| 80 | Marvel’s Inhumans | ABC | 1.2 |
| 80 | Shark Tank (Sun 10 PM) | ABC | 1.2 |
| 80 | Brooklyn Nine-Nine | Fox | 1.2 |
| 80 | Gotham | Fox | 1.2 |
| 80 | Hell’s Kitchen | Fox | 1.2 |
| 80 | LA To Vegas | Fox | 1.2 |
| 80 | The Last Man On Earth | Fox | 1.2 |
| 80 | MasterChef Jr | Fox | 1.2 |
| 80 | The Mick | Fox | 1.2 |
| 97 | A.P. Bio | NBC | 1.1 |
| 97 | Dateline (Fri) | NBC | 1.1 |
| 97 | Timeless | NBC | 1.1 |
| 97 | Instinct | CBS | 1.1 |
| 97 | Superior Donuts | CBS | 1.1 |
| 97 | America’s Funniest Home Videos | ABC | 1.1 |
| 97 | Deception | ABC | 1.1 |
| 97 | Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. | ABC | 1.1 |
| 97 | The Mayor | ABC | 1.1 |
| 97 | NBA Saturday Primetime | ABC | 1.1 |
| 97 | Lucifer | Fox | 1.1 |
| 97 | The Flash | CW | 1.1 |
| 109 | Dateline Classic (Fri) | NBC | 1.0 |
| 109 | Little Big Shots | NBC | 1.0 |
| 109 | Code Black | CBS | 1.0 |
| 109 | Madam Secretary | CBS | 1.0 |
| 109 | Alex, Inc | ABC | 1.0 |
| 109 | America’s Funniest Home Videos (7 PM Alt) | ABC | 1.0 |
| 109 | The Crossing | ABC | 1.0 |
| 109 | For The People | ABC | 1.0 |
| 109 | Kevin Probably Saves The World | ABC | 1.0 |
| 109 | New Girl | Fox | 1.0 |
| 109 | Black Lightning | CW | 1.0 |
| 120 | Great News | NBC | 0.9 |
| 120 | The Big Bang Theory (9-9:30 PM) | CBS | 0.9 |
| 120 | Living Biblically | CBS | 0.9 |
| 120 | Child Support | ABC | 0.9 |
| 120 | Once Upon A Time | ABC | 0.9 |
| 120 | Supergirl | CW | 0.9 |
| 126 | Chicago PD (Enc) | NBC | 0.8 |
| 126 | Law & Order: SVU (Enc) | NBC | 0.8 |
| 126 | Running Wild With Bear Grylls | NBC | 0.8 |
| 126 | 60 Minutes Presents | CBS | 0.8 |
| 126 | Elementary | CBS | 0.8 |
| 126 | NCIS (Enc) | CBS | 0.8 |
| 126 | SEAL Team (Enc) | CBS | 0.8 |
| 126 | Saturday Night Football Primetime Pre-Game | ABC | 0.8 |
| 126 | Match Game Primetime | ABC | 0.8 |
| 126 | College Football Primetime | Fox | 0.8 |
| 126 | So You Think You Can Dance | Fox | 0.8 |
| 126 | DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow | CW | 0.8 |
| 126 | Riverdale | CW | 0.8 |
| 126 | Supernatural | CW | 0.8 |
| 140 | Champions | NBC | 0.7 |
| 140 | Dateline Classic (Sun) | NBC | 0.7 |
| 140 | Dateline (Sun) | NBC | 0.7 |
| 140 | Genius Jr | NBC | 0.7 |
| 140 | SNL Primetime (Sat) | NBC | 0.7 |
| 140 | Taken | NBC | 0.7 |
| 140 | 48 Hours | CBS | 0.7 |
| 140 | Criminal Minds (Enc) | CBS | 0.7 |
| 140 | Hawaii Five-0 (Enc) | CBS | 0.7 |
| 140 | S.W.A.T. (Enc) | CBS | 0.7 |
| 140 | 20/20 (Fri) | ABC | 0.7 |
| 140 | Quantico | ABC | 0.7 |
| 140 | 9-1-1 (Enc) | Fox | 0.7 |
| 140 | Showtime At The Apollo | Fox | 0.7 |
| 140 | UFC On Fox Primetime | Fox | 0.7 |
| 155 | Dateline Mystery | NBC | 0.6 |
| 155 | Superstore (Enc) | NBC | 0.6 |
| 155 | 48 Hours Presents | CBS | 0.6 |
| 155 | Bull (Enc) | CBS | 0.6 |
| 155 | NCIS: New Orleans (Enc) | CBS | 0.6 |
| 155 | Undercover Boss | CBS | 0.6 |
| 155 | Ten Days In The Valley | ABC | 0.6 |
| 155 | The Exorcist | Fox | 0.6 |
| 155 | Arrow | CW | 0.6 |
| 155 | The Originals | CW | 0.6 |
| 155 | Chicago Fire (Enc) | NBC | 0.5 |
| 155 | Chicago Med (Enc) | NBC | 0.5 |
| 155 | Little Big Shots (Enc) | NBC | 0.5 |
| 155 | Will & Grace (Enc) | NBC | 0.5 |
| 155 | Will & Grace (Sat) | NBC | 0.5 |
| 155 | Blue Bloods | CBS | 0.5 |
| 155 | NBA Countdown Primetime (Sat) | ABC | 0.5 |
| 155 | Toy Box | ABC | 0.5 |
| 155 | 9-1-1 (Fri) | Fox | 0.5 |
| 155 | Bob’s Burgers (Sun 7 PM) | Fox | 0.5 |
| 155 | Family Guy (Enc) | Fox | 0.5 |
| 155 | LA To Vegas (Enc) | Fox | 0.5 |
| 155 | The Mick (Enc) | Fox | 0.5 |
| 155 | The Simpsons (Enc) | Fox | 0.5 |
| 155 | The 100 | CW | 0.5 |
| 155 | iZombie | CW | 0.5 |
| 155 | Jane The VIrgin | CW | 0.5 |
| 155 | Penn & Teller: Fool Us | CW | 0.5 |
| 183 | Crimetime Saturday (8 PM) | CBS | 0.4 |
| 183 | Crimetime Saturday (9 PM) | CBS | 0.4 |
| 183 | Ransom | CBS | 0.4 |
| 183 | 20/20 (Fri) | ABC | 0.4 |
| 183 | 20/20 (Sat) | ABC | 0.4 |
| 183 | Bob’s Burgers (Enc) | Fox | 0.4 |
| 183 | Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Sun 7 PM) | Fox | 0.4 |
| 183 | Ghosted (Enc) | Fox | 0.4 |
| 183 | LA To Vegas (Enc) | Fox | 0.4 |
| 183 | The Resident (Enc) | Fox | 0.4 |
| 183 | Whose Line Is It Anyway? | CW | 0.4 |
| 194 | Superstore (Sat) | NBC | 0.3 |
| 194 | American Idol (Sat) | ABC | 0.3 |
| 194 | MasterChef Jr | Fox | 0.3 |
| 194 | Premier Boxing Champions | Fox | 0.3 |
| 194 | The Resident (Sat) | Fox | 0.3 |
| 194 | Showtime At The Apollo (Sat) | Fox | 0.3 |
| 194 | Crazy Ex-Girlfriend | CW | 0.3 |
| 194 | Dynasty | CW | 0.3 |
| 194 | Penn & Teller: Fool Us (Enc) | CW | 0.3 |
| 194 | Valor | CW | 0.3 |
| 194 | Whose Line Is It Anyway? (Enc) | CW | 0.3 |
| 206 | Life Sentence | CW | 0.2 |
| 207 | Masters Of Illusion | CW | 0.2 |
| 208 | Masters Of Illusion (Enc) | CW | 0.2 |
