'Happy Endings' Television's Top Gainer So Far
PLUS: Find out which show has lost the biggest audience this season
So what is the hottest show on television? Is it "NCIS"? "Dancing With the Stars"? "Modern Family"?
Actually, the hottest show right now is, believe it or not, "Happy Endings" on ABC. The sitcom, created by David Caspe and starring Eliza Coupe and Elisha Cuthbert, has grown the audience from its freshman season by nearly 60 percent. No other show currently on the air has come even close.
What has led to the surge in the show's audience? First, it doesn't hurt that it follows "Modern Family," which won its second comedy Emmy, and itself has grown an audience by more than 20 percent. It's far better than where ABC tried to put it, replacing the low-rated "Off the Map" at 10 p.m. on Wednesdays with a double episode that few stuck around to watch after "Cougar Town."
However, ABC had put its first two episodes on April 13 on right after "Modern Family," and it attracted a 4.2 rating/7 share, according to Fast National overnight ratings from The Nielsen Co. It has since settled in nicely in the spot normally occupied by "Cougar Town."
But life isn't perfect for the show. Despite its huge audience boost, "Happy Endings" is averaging a 4.6/7, which is 10 percent below the timeslot average last season. It's also losing 43 percent of its lead-in audience from "Modern Family," slightly worse than what "Mr. Sunshine" and "Cougar Town" did as lead-outs from the hit comedy did last year. Yet, ABC will have a hard time ignoring its growth.
On the other side of the coin, however, is "Sing-Off" on NBC. That show, which had helped NBC as a special in slower months, came back this season full-time, but forget to bring its audience. In fact, "Sing-Off" is down nearly 47 percent from last year -- a drop that so far hasn't been challenged by any other show. "Fringe" on Fox has the second largest year-over-year drop, but its audience loss is just 26 percent.
NBC has not had a lot of luck in much of anything this year. Even "Biggest Loser" was a big loser, waving good-bye to 24 percent of its audience from last year. Of the top 10 new shows, none of them can be found on NBC. In fact, the network's highest ranking comes from Friday's premiere of "Grimm," which is No. 15 among new shows with a 4.1/7. That show is also NBC's third highest-rated show behind the tied "Harry's Law" and "Law & Order: SVU."
CBS doesn't have a single program outside the top 35. Yet, NBC doesn't have a single program inside the top 35. "Harry's Law" and "Law & Order: SVU" are tied for 36th place. CBS' lowest-rated program is "A Gifted Man," a Friday drama that is No. 34 on the overall charts.
Fox, on the other hand, has only three shows in the top 35 so far. They include "The X Factor" (6.4/10) at No. 27, "Terra Nova" (5.5/8) at No. 33, and "New Girl" (5.4/8) at No. 35. However, surging so far for Fox is "American Dad," which is up nearly 27 percent.
Among the new shows, nothing seems to be topping "Unforgettable" on CBS, which also is in the overall top 10 with a 7.8/13. However, it's just ahead of fellow programs "Person of Interest" and "2 Broke Girls," which got a huge premiere behind "Two and a Half Men." The new ABC series "Once Upon a Time" had a strong debut as well, earning a spot at No. 4 among new shows, just ahead of fellow network comedy "Last Man Standing."
CBS is leading the networks overall with a 7.7/12 followed by ABC with a 6.5/10.
Top Networks, through Oct. 29
| 1. | CBS | 7.7/12 |
| 2. | ABC | 6.5/10 |
| 3. | Fox | 4.9/8 |
| 4. | NBC | 3.5/5 |
| 5. | The CW | 1.2/2 |
Top Network Shows, through Oct. 29 -- [Audience Loyalty Index]
| 1. | NCIS (CBS) | 11.8/18 | [98.9] |
| 2. | Two and a Half Men (CBS) | 11.1/16 | [68.2] |
| 3. | Dancing With the Stars (ABC) | 10.2/15 | [82.6] |
| 4. | NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS) | 9.7/14 | [94.3] |
| 5. | Big Bang Theory (CBS) | 8.6/14 | [96.3] |
| 6. | Mike & Molly (CBS) | 8.3/12 | [73.9] |
| 7. | Criminal Minds (CBS) | 8.2/12 | [94.5] |
| 8. | Modern Family (ABC) | 8.1/12 | [95.1] |
| 9. | The Mentalist (CBS) | 8.0/13 | [95.4] |
| 10. | Unforgettable (CBS) | 7.8/13 | [87.8] |
Top New Shows, through Oct. 29 -- [ALI]
| 1. | Unforgettable (CBS) | 7.8/13 | [87.8] |
| 2. | Person of Interest (CBS) | 7.6/12 | [91.2] |
| 3. | 2 Broke Girls (CBS) | 7.6/11 | [66.3] |
| 4. | Once Upon a Time (ABC) | 7.4/11 | [100.0] |
| 5. | Last Man Standing (ABC) | 7.2/11 | [88.9] |
| 6. | The X Factor (Fox) | 6.4/10 | [87.6] |
| 7. | Revenge (ABC) | 5.7/10 | [84.3] |
| 8. | Suburgatory (ABC) | 5.7/9 | [92.3] |
| 9. | Terra Nova (Fox) | 5.5/8 | [87.6] |
| 10. | A Gifted Man (CBS) | 5.4/10 | [87.7] |
Biggest Gainers, through Oct. 29 -- [% Increase]
| 1. | Happy Endings (ABC) | 4.6/7 | [59.3] |
| 2. | Two and a Half Men (CBS) | 11.1/16 | [28.5] |
| 3. | American Dad (Fox) | 3.6/6 | [26.8] |
| 4. | Rules of Engagement (CBS) | 6.7/11 | [25.5] |
| 5. | Mike & Molly (CBS) | 8.3/12 | [21.8] |
Biggest Losers, through Oct. 29 -- [% Decrease]
| 1. | Sing-Off (NBC) | 2.8/4 | [46.8] |
| 2. | Chuck (NBC) | 2.2/4 | [29.0] |
| 3. | Fringe (Fox) | 2.0/3 | [25.9] |
| 4. | Glee (Fox) | 5.1/8 | [23.9] |
| 5. | Biggest Loser (NBC) | 3.6/6 | [23.8] |
Fast Nationals usually provide a snapshot of what Americans are watching by pulling numbers from the top urban markets that include both live viewing and same-day timeshifted viewing. A rating point generally represents more than 1.1 million households while the share indicates the percentage of televisions turned on that was tuned to the specific program. These numbers typically shift when final ratings are issued.
Data collected from The Nielsen Co., as distributed by Zap2it. GenreNexus tracks non-news, non-event programming, and figures for this story reflect airing of new episodes only. For more information on the Audience Loyalty Index, click here.
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