How Are The New Fall Dramas Performing

The 2016-2017 TV season got underway in mid-September with the major networks introducing at least 12 new dramas to date with more expected to debut during mid-season.

But how are those new dramas performing in the ratings? And which one will be the first casualty of the season?

Ironically, none of the major networks have made a cancellation decision where any of their new dramas are concerned, but that doesn’t mean that pink slips won’t be issued soon. On the other hand there are several new dramas that have already been given a full season order by their respective networks.

Let’s take a look at those dramas and how they are performing so far this season. They are featured below in order of their ratings:

Bull – The Michael Weatherly-led drama debuted on September 20. To date, it has aired five episodes, averaging 13.1 million viewers. Despite the show’s ratings decreasing each week, CBS recently gave it a full season order.

This Is Us – The most-buzzed about new drama of the season also debuted on September 20 on NBC, airing five episodes so far. The show opened well in the ratings, experienced a decline in week two, rallied with higher ratings over the next weeks and then fell slightly for its fifth episode, averaging 9.4 million viewers. NBC gave the series a full season order.

MacGyver – The CBS reboot of the 1980’s classic debuted on September 23, airing six episodes to date. Much like Bull, this new drama has seen a decline in its ratings each week, but it is averaging 8.5 million viewers, and it has been given a full season order.

Designated Survivor – The Kiefer Sutherland-led drama debuted on ABC on September 21, airing four episodes to date. Much like This Is Us, this series opened well, but each week its ratings have declined, but it’s averaging 7.5 million viewers, and been given a full season order.

Lethal Weapon – The small screen adaptation debuted on FOX on September 21, and may not have broken records in the ratings over the course of the five episodes it has aired so far, but it has averaged 6.9 million viewers. And it also received a full season order.

Timeless – The time-travel-themed NBC drama debuted on October 3, airing four episodes to date. Like nearly all of the other new dramas this fall, this series has seen its numbers decline each week, but it has averaged 6.5 million viewers. The network has yet to give it a full season order, but its touting the show as the number one new Monday night drama.

Conviction – The Hayley Atwell-led drama also debuted on October 3 on ABC, airing four episodes to date. Unfortunately, the ratings started out low and have not improved, averaging 4.9 million viewers to date. The show has yet to be given a full season order.

Notorious – The new ABC series about an LA-based news producer and attorney debuted on September 22, airing six episodes to date. Much like Conviction, the series started out with low ratings and has consistently fallen each week, averaging only 4.4 million viewers. In fact, ABC recently announced they were reducing the episode order for the series.

Pitch – The FOX baseball-themed drama debuted on September 22, and while it should have started off strong, sadly, it didn’t. It has aired five episodes so far to date, losing viewers each week. It has averaged only 3.5 million viewers.

The Exorcist – Another small screen adaptation of a film, this FOX thriller debuted on September 23, airing five episodes to date. Unfortunately, the show has never scored over 3 million viewers since its debut, averaging only 2.2 million viewers.

Frequency – Just one of a handful of small screen adaptations of a film, this new CW series debuted on October 5, airing four episodes so far. The show is currently averaging 1.2 million viewers; and given that it is a CW series, these numbers are fairly decent for the network.

No Tomorrow – The other new series on The CW is an unusual dramedy that debuted well on October 4, earning 1.6 million viewers, but the three other episodes that have aired to date garnered very low numbers, giving the show an average of only 1 million viewers.

Lastly, the new medical series Pure Genius debuted on October 27, earning 6.6 million viewers. This new drama will need to air a few more episodes before a prediction can be made on its future with CBS.

Needless to say, there are several dramas that are on the cusp of being cancelled, but it will be a matter of which one goes first. Which new dramas are you enjoying most and which one do you think will be cancelled first? Please share your thoughts below.