Now that all the new TV shows for Fall 2013 have been on the air a few weeks, it's time to look back at this season's biggest winners and losers. Here is a list of all the new dramas, ranked by the ratings of their most recent episodes. (Keep in mind that ratings are different from total number of viewers: ratings reflect the portion of the audience that was in the ideal 18-49-year-old demographic, which is the only part of the population advertisers care about and is, as such, the generally-accepted measurement for success on television. Total viewers are also provided.)
1. The Blacklist (NBC) - 3.1 (10.5 million viewers)
2. Sleepy Hollow (FOX) - 2.7 (7.6 million) - RENEWED
3. Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. - 2.7 (7.4 million)
4. Dracula (NBC) - 1.8 (5.3 million)
5. Hostages (CBS) - 1.2 (4.9 million)
6. Once Upon A Time In Wonderland (ABC) - 1.1 (4.4 million)
7. Betrayal (ABC) - 0.9 (3.3 million)
8. The Originals (CW) - 0.9 (2.0 million)
9. The Tomorrow People (CW) - 0.7 (1.9 million)
10. Reign (CW) - 0.6 (1.8 million)
-- Ironside (NBC) - CANCELED
-- Lucky 7 (ABC) - CANCELED
Though the Peacock might be tanking in the comedy category this Fall, they are (shockingly) dominating the dramas. NBC, the lowest-rated of the Big Four networks, had the highest-rated new show of the season (drama OR comedy): the James Spader thriller "The Blacklist". To be sure, the show has thus far been benefiting from airing immediately after NBC's reality juggernaut "The Voice" and it remains to be seen whether "The Blacklist" can sustain its ratings momentum after that show finishes its current rotation. (NBC's "Revolution" had the same slot last year, premiered to excellent numbers, and now nobody even remembers that it exists.) But the network isn't hanging all of its hopes on just the one show, either. This past week, NBC's rebooted "Dracula" premiered to solid numbers, especially considering the first episode aired at 10pm on a Friday night, which is usually considered a death slot. Sure, NBC's cop drama "Ironside" has already been canceled, but the network's successes with "The Blacklist" and "Dracula" are so impressive -- and so welcome -- that it's easy to forgive them one misstep.
Speaking of "Dracula", it hasn't been the only supernatural winner this season. The "Twilight" franchise may be over, but the otherworldly are still dominating the airwaves. FOX's "Sleepy Hollow" is #2 in the ratings this season, and did so well that they gave the show a second-season pickup before other shows even know if they were getting a whole first season or not. ABC's superheroic "Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D." premiered to legitimately marvelous numbers last month with a 4.7 rating, the highest for any new show in four years. And over on The CW, the Little Network That Could is having great success thus far with "The Originals" (a spinoff of "The Vampire Diaries") and with "The Tomorrow People" (about super-powered mutants). It's important to remember that The CW is the newest of the five networks and focuses unapologetically on teen audiences. As such, a 0.9 rating is excellent for the network.
ABC had the dubious distinction this year of being the home of the season's first canceled show, the lottery drama "Lucky 7". It lasted all of two episodes before being yanked unceremoniously off the air. ABC's soapy adultery drama "Betrayal" is on the verge of cancellation, as it continues to pull in horrifically low CW-level ratings. The fantasy spinoff "Once Upon A Time In Wonderland" failed to capture audiences with its trippy story and cheesy effects, and also seems destined for the chopping block. And even "Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.", the network's one bright spot this season, is darkening rapidly. The show has already declined significantly from its 4.7 premiere rating to a still-good-but-not-stellar 2.7. That's two whole points down in just five episodes. It's still probably good enough to earn the show a second season, but it's nowhere near the bragging rights of its unprecedented premiere.
CBS hedged their bets this season, only premiering one new drama for the fall, the political thriller "Hostages". Too bad for the network, then, that its one show turned out so terribly. Though the promotional videos looked promising due to a high stakes plot and the presence of great actors like Toni Collette and Dylan McDermott, the show turned out to be a disappointing misfire hampered by absurd subplots. "Hostages" is only the fifth-highest-rated drama for the fall, an unacceptable statistic for the most-watched network on television. Expect CBS to put this one out of its misery soon.
Like rival CBS, FOX also only premiered one new drama this fall. Unlike CBS, FOX's show, the awesomely spooky "Sleepy Hollow", was a massive hit. From the writers of the dearly departed sci-fi drama "Fringe", the show sounds absolutely absurd on paper: Ichabod Crane wakes up in modern-day Sleepy Hollow to help fight the Headless Horseman, who's actually one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. But somehow the crazy plotting, the mix of procedural and mythology, the playful interaction between its two leads, and the creepy-cool creature designs all blend together to create a surprisingly fun cocktail of supernatural weirdness. "Sleepy Hollow" is truly lightning in a bottle: it's a success story impossible to recreate...which means you can count on there being at least two horrible knock-offs of it next year.
Make sure to check out our Winners/Losers of Fall 2013 TV -- the Comedy Edition -- here: https://stagebuddy.com/film-tv/winnerslosers-of-fall-2013-tv-comedy-edition/
