2021-2022 TV Season Ratings: CBS Scores 14th Consecutive Viewers Win, NBC Tops Key Demo

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“This Is Us” said goodbye to Mandy Moore’s Rebecca Pearson Tuesday — and so did many, many NBC viewers.The second-to-last episode of the Dan Fogelman-created family drama drew a 0.95 rating in the advertiser-coveted adults 18-49 demographic and 5.3 million viewers, according to Live + Same Day ratings from Nielsen. That is the second-highest rated and second-most watched episode of the sixth and final season of “This Is Us.” The top episode in both categories was the Jan.

CBS has unveiled its fall schedule and while there’s a few changes, it’s largely business as usual.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer(SPOLER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “Starting Over,” the May 16 season finale of “9-1-1.”)“9-1-1” gave its characters a well-deserved break with its Season 5 finale Monday. Almost everyone got a happy ending of sorts, with the exception of Buck (Oliver Stark) and Taylor’s (Megan West) complicated relationship, which came to an end — but that means happier things should come for both of them.The episode, titled “Staring Over,” saw almost everyone doing just that in one way or another, with Bobby (Peter Krause) escaping his almost-relapse thanks to Eddie (Ryan Guzman), Bobby and Athena (Angela Bassett) deciding to take that honeymoon they’ve been waiting many seasons for, Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and Chimney (Kenneth Choi) keeping the door open for each other, and Hen (Aisha Hinds) and Karen (Tracie Thoms) getting treated to a beautiful backyard vow renewal by Hen’s mother Toni (Marsha Warfield), who objected to their first wedding.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“The Resident” has been renewed for Season 6 at Fox.The decision came down to the wire, with both “9-1-1” and “The Resident” without formal renewal announcements on Monday morning when Fox announced their 2022-2023 broadcast season slate. The network made their upfront pitch to advertisers later that same day.CLICK HERE to follow Variety’s coverage of Upfronts 2022Starring Matt Czuchry as Dr. Conrad Hawkins, the medical drama follows the doctors and nurses at Chastain Memorial Hospital as they face personal and professional challenges and fight for their patients’ health.Along with Czuchry, “The Resident” cast includes Bruce Greenwood as Dr.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterAfter a bit of a delay going into Fox’s Monday upfront presentation, the broadcast network has finally renewed “9-1-1” for a sixth season.The Ryan Murphy-produced first-responder drama “9-1-1” stars Angela Bassett as Field Sergeant Athena Grant, Peter Krause as Capt. Bobby Nash, Jennifer Love Hewitt as Maddie Kendall, Oliver Stark as Evan “Buck” Buckley, Aisha Hinds as Hen Wilson, Kenneth Choi as Chimney Han, Ryan Guzman as Eddie Diaz, Corinne Massiah as May Grant, Marcanthonee Jon Reis as Harry Grant and Gavin McHugh as Christopher Diaz.“9-1-1” follows the work and personal lives of the members of Station 118 of the Los Angeles Fire Department, along with those inside the 9-1-1 call center and Los Angeles Police Department field sergeants like Bassett’s Athena Grant.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterThe Paul Feig-produced comedy “Welcome to Flatch” has been renewed for Season 2 at Fox, Variety has learned.Inspired by BBC Studios’ BAFTA-winning BBC format “This Country,” “Welcome to Flatch” is told through the lens of a documentary crew exploring the lives of residents of the midwestern town of Flatch. The crew finds worthy subjects in young-adult cousins and best friends Kelly Mallet (Holmes, a newcomer actor who goes by that single name) and Lloyd “Shrub” Mallet (Sam Straley) who let the production in on their lives and local current events.The rest of the key players in “Welcome to Flatch” include Joseph “Father Joe” Binghoffer (Seann William Scott), the local minister who tries to guide Kelly and Shrub, and his former girlfriend, Cheryl Peterson (Aya Cash), who is the editor of the local newspaper, the Flatch Patriot, as well as Shrub’s obsessive friend Mickey St.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterMayim Bialik’s “Call Me Kat” has been renewed for a third season by Fox.The multi-cam comedy stars Bialik as Kat, an optimistic and fun-loving woman continuously defying societal expectations, and her mother’s wishes, to prove she can live a happy and fulfilling life on her own terms. Her first move? Using her entire savings to open a cat café in Louisville, KY.Along with Bialik, “Call Me Kat” stars Swoosie Kurtz as Sheila, Leslie Jordan as Phil, Kyla Pratt as Randi, Cheyenne Jackson as Max and Julian Gant as Carter.CLICK HERE to follow Variety’s coverage of Upfronts 2022Based on the British series “Miranda,” “Call Me Kat” is created by Miranda Hart.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterComedy “Pivoting” has been canceled after just one season at Fox, Variety has confirmed.The midseason single-cam sitcom starring Eliza Coupe, Ginnifer Goodwin and Maggie Q, concluded its 10-episode first season March 10.Set in a small, middle-class town in Long Island, NY, “Pivoting” follows close-knit childhood friends Amy (Coupe), Jodie (Goodwin) and Sarah (Q) as they cope with the death of the fourth member of their group. When faced with the reality that life is short, these women pivot, and alter their current paths, by way of a series of impulsive, ill-advised and self-indulgent decisions.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterYaya DaCosta-led drama “Our Kind of People” has been canceled after just one season at Fox, Variety has confirmed.Based on Lawrence Otis Graham’s book “Our Kind of People: Inside America’s Black Upper Class” and produced by Lee Daniels and Karin Gist, the series takes place in the aspirational world of Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard, a historical stronghold where the rich and powerful Black elite have come to play for more than 50 years.“Our Kind of People” follows strong-willed, single mom Angela Vaughn (DaCosta) as she sets out to reclaim her family’s name and make an impact with her revolutionary haircare line that highlights the innate, natural beauty of Black women. But she soon discovers a dark secret about her own mother’s past that will turn her world upside-down and shake up this community forever.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterABC has passed on placing series orders for the “LA Law” sequel and Jo Koy comedy “Josep” after both pilots were reviewed by the network, Variety has learned.The Disney-owned broadcaster is interested in potentially redeveloping the Koy project in the future, but “LA Law” will not be moving forward. On Friday, ABC picked up dramas “Alaska” and “The Rookie” spinoff “The Rookie: Feds” to series, as well as comedy “Not Dead Yet.” Four other drama pilots, “Will Trent,” “The Company You Keep,” the Untitled Kay Oyegun drama and an untitled National Park Service project, are all still in contention and will be up for consideration going into July.Starring returning cast members Blair Underwood and Corbin Bernsen reprising their original roles as Jonathan Rollins and Arnie Becker, the pilot for the new iteration of the Emmy-winning series “LA Law” features familiar characters working alongside new ones on the most hot button issues of the day.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterNBC has opted not to move forward with its comedy pilot “Hungry,” which originally starred Demi Lovato who pulled out of the project and was replaced by “Modern Family” star Ariel Winter, Variety has learned.The multi-cam follows friends who belong to a food-issues group as they help each other look for love, success and the perfect thing in the fridge that’s going to make it all better.Lovato had been attached to the Universal television-produced “Hungry” as executive producer and star for almost a year while it was in development at NBC, but exited for scheduling reasons just as the pilot was about to start shooting in March. She was quickly replaced by Winter.Along with Winter, the “Hungry” pilot also starred Valerie Bertinelli, Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias, Ryan McPartlin, Alex Brightman and Ashley D.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterNBC drama “The Endgame” starring Morena Baccarin and Ryan Michelle Bathé has been canceled after one season, Variety has learned.Described as “a pulse-pounding high-stakes two-hander,” the series follows Elena Federova (Baccarin), a recently captured international arms dealer and brilliant criminal mastermind who orchestrates a number of coordinated bank heists throughout New York City for a mysterious purpose. Her antagonist is Val Turner (Bathé), the principled, relentless and socially outcast FBI agent who will stop at nothing to foil her ambitious plan. The heist drama ”reveals how far some people will go for love, justice and the most valuable commodity in the world: the truth,” per NBC.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“Somebody Feed Phil” has been renewed for Season 6 at Netflix ahead of its fifth season premiere, Variety has learned exclusively.The five-episode “Somebody Feed Phil” Season 5, which debuts May 25, was filmed back to back with Season 6, which also consists of five episodes.“We filmed 10 episodes in the sweet spot between Delta and Omicron. Remember that? So from August to January, we pretty much filmed everything,” Rosenthal told Variety.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterComedies and dramas traditionally make up a large portion of the broadcast TV landscape between September and May, but networks don’t deny the continuous draw of hit reality TV and competition shows. Each season, ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox, the so-called “Big 4” broadcasters, bring back old staples and add in new unscripted content in hopes of topping each other outside of their sitcoms and procedurals.While there could always be slight adjustments to season-long averages by the end of the traditional broadcast season in a few weeks, Variety has gathered Nielsen’s “most current” data through May 8 to rank ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox’s highest and lowest-rated unscripted series among adults 18-49. Below are the lists, which count 33 completed weeks of the soon-ending season.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterWhile measuring the success of broadcast series has largely been a job for the TV ratings among the advertiser-coveted adults 18-49 demographic, that total viewer tally is still powerful and not to be ignored.With the end of the 2021-2022 season fast approaching, Variety has looked at 33 weeks of complete Nielsen data from September to May to assess what the most and least-watched primetime scripted series have been across NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox.The below total viewer averages are season-long for each show and include persons over the age of 2, which is what Nielsen counts as a viewer. The totals are based on Nielsen’s “most current” data stream through May 8, which includes a week’s worth of delayed viewing where available. For the “most” list, it is ranked beginning with the top show.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterVice TV’s “Dark Side of the 90’s” returns with its second season next month, featuring new twisted tales from the era. In the Season 2 trailer, which is exclusive to Variety, Mary Jo Buttafuoco breaks down the infamous 1992 incident in which she was shot in the face by Amy Fisher, a teenager that her husband, Joey Buttafuoco, had committed statutory rape against.Labeled by the tabloids as “The Long Island Lolita,” 17-year-old Fisher served seven years on first-degree aggravated assault charges for the attack.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterThe traditional September to May broadcast TV season is coming to a close in a few weeks. Though there are still several finales left to air during that period, including the series closer for NBC’s tearjerker “This Is Us,” it’s pretty clear at this point what the highest and lowest rated shows are that have aired across the so-called “Big 4” broadcast networks throughout the 2021-2022 season.Keeping in mind there could always be slight adjustments to these season-long averages by the end of the month, Variety has sorted through Nielsen’s “most current” data through May 8 to rank ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox’s best and worst performers among adults 18-49.Below are the lists, which count 33 completed weeks of the soon-ending season. These ratings are averages across the shows’ respective seasons and based on a week’s worth of delayed viewing.

CBS’ FBI franchise will be continuing to solve crimes for the next few years after the network handed all three shows a two-season pick up.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterMonday’s Met Gala red carpet was the highest-viewed ever for “Live From E!” when counting all platforms, Variety has learned exclusively.Per NBCU, “Live from E!: Met Gala” scored the biggest multiplatform-viewing for “Live from E!” in the brand’s history, drawing 444 million total multiplatform engagements across linear TV, digital and social views and social post responses via E! News handles and E! Online platforms.That’s up +146% from what “Live From E!” saw for last year’s Met Gala coverage and +390% from 2019. The Met Gala event wasn’t held in 2020 due to COVID-19.There were 151 million video minutes watched across platforms, up +68% from last year, according to E!.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterHBO Max picked up “Julia” for a second season on Thursday, the same day its Season 1 finale dropped on the streamer. With that good news, fans of the Julia Child scripted series can rest assured they will be learning more about The French Chef herself (played by Sarah Lancashire) and the people who made her the icon she is in Season 2, including Judith Light’s Blanche Knopf.And there will be plenty to uncover about Blanche, the publisher of Child’s best-selling “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” books, in particular. The finale episode, titled “Chocolate Soufflé,” revealed the powerful co-founder and leader of publishing house Knopf is going blind, and only her mentee Judith Jones (Fiona Glascott), who was editor for Child, as well as novelists like John Updike at Knopf, knows about the dire situation.