It's always been intriguing to me the way Elementary's viewership falls of before each season's finale. Traditionally, a season finale is a climax of sorts, a destination for fans of a show to rally around. And yet, for two seasons, that last climactic episode has a million or so less viewers than it did a month or two before. Perhaps it's the way mainstream shows go, and not following same, I just haven't encountered this before. It does seem to imply a certain lack of commitment in the average viewer of the show, though.
I bring this up, because those same uncommitted folk seem to be wandering away from Mr. Elementary and Joan Watson, Crime Doctor, this fall. Last week's ratings hit an all time low of 6.53 million, part of a sinking trend that's been going on since last spring. The show's pilot was a ratings champ of 13.41 million, only bested by the post-Super Bowl spike of 20.8 million, so it's now at about half of its debut viewers.
Elementary's ABC competitor, How To Get Away With Murder, posted 9.25 million viewers last week, so one can see where those folks might be headed . . . unless of course they simply are getting around to reading the Sherlock Holmes stories, one by one, and going "Hey! This is . . . ."
You can fill in the blank there.
One might even say that more people "Get Away With Murder" since Joan Watson became NYPD's primary consulting detective. But I won't . . . no, I won't . . .
The ongoing investigation of Sherlock Holmes, reported from the Peoria, Illinois outpost of Baker Street's dirtiest half a dozen.
"Last week's ratings hit an all time low of 6.53 million..."
ReplyDeleteIt was pre-empted in many markets, which may be part of the reason for the low numbers.
fill in the blank, "Hey! This is . . . . crap.
DeleteIt's self-pre-empted in my market every week, and there ain't nothing anonymous about that!
DeleteThe numbers only matter because it might influence the writers/producers to deviate from the planned narrative arch. Network TV is a dangerous business.
ReplyDeleteBy the way I think that you have done good scholarship in the field of Elementary study and I too really like Dirda piece In the Company of SH.