These New Fall TV Shows Are Already Crushing the Competition

Now that October is upon us, we’re entering the third full week of the fall TV season. Most new and returning shows have already premiered, ratings have been tallied, and we’re starting to get a good picture for how the rest of the fall will go.

While returning juggernauts like Big Bang Theory, Grey’s Anatomy and others have been doing well, as was expected, there are a few new programs that are already proving to be fairly popular with fans, and a formidable force in the ratings.

ABC, NBC, Fox and CBS each have at least one new show that’s already posting some really strong numbers, and looking to be shoo-ins for early renewal. In fact, two of these have already been picked up for full season orders less than two full weeks into the season.

If you aren’t watching these new shows yet, you should get on board before too long, because they’re already becoming the talk of the town.

Young Sheldon (CBS)

Many expected Young Sheldon to be one of the biggest now shows of the season, given the fact that Big Bang Theory already has such a massive following and that the mothership series offered a strong lead-in.

What people didn’t expect though, is how well the spinoff would perform in its premiere.

Young Sheldon‘s premiere brought in 16.6 million viewers, making it the most-watched comedy debut since 2011. When you factor in the plus-seven day numbers, that total is brought to a whopping 22.5 million.

Not long after the first episode, CBS made sure to reward the freshman series by quickly ordering a full season.

If you haven’t watched Young Sheldon yet, there’s no need to worry about catching up, as the second episode won’t air until November 2 when the show moves to Thursdays with Big Bang Theory.

SEAL Team & Wisdom of the Crowd (CBS)

CBS is off to a winning start this season. In addition to Young Sheldon, the network also has two new dramas that have performed incredibly well in the first two weeks.

SEAL Team, starring David Boreanaz, has brought in 14.3 million viewers per episode, with 9.9 million tuning in to watch live. The series is dominating Wednesday nights, topping both long-running bookends Criminal Minds and Survivor.

On Sunday nights, the Jeremy Piven-starring Wisdom of the Crowd has been an unexpected winner for CBS. The crime-meets-technology series won its premiere night with 8.9 million viewers and took only a slight hit in week two, where 8 million people tuned in.

Neither have been ordered for season pick-ups yet, but they shouldn’t be far off. Winning Sunday and Wednesday nights is never an easy feat, and CBS has been stealing victories with these freshman dramas.

The Good Doctor (ABC)

Along with Young Sheldon, The Good Doctor remains the only new series to get picked up for a full season so far.

The medical drama, which follows a brilliant young physician with autism, was expected to do well, given that it comes from the same creative team behind House. Those high expectations were easily shattered.

The series premiere of The Good Doctor brought in 19.2 million viewers once live-plus-seven day lifts were factored in, and it boasted a shocking 4.4 rating in the 18-49 demo. What’s even more impressive is that the freshman series kept those numbers up in its second week, something no other show has done this season.

10 p.m. shows can have trouble gaining viewers, but The Good Doctor has certainly broken that mold.

Will & Grace (NBC)

NBC knew it had a winner on its hands with the Will & Grace revival, so much so that that the network ordered a second season before the first had even premiered.

The premiere of the revival brought in nearly 15 million viewers, and posted a 4.6 rating among adults 18-49. 

While these numbers dropped a bit in the second week, the series still competed for the top spot on Thursday nights.

Not only are the ratings solid with this sitcom revival, but the critics can’t get enough of present-day Will & Grace. The series, along with This Is Us, is really helping NBC push for a season of victory. 

The Gifted & Ghosted (FOX)

While none of the new shows on Fox have been posting numbers similar to the shows we’ve already mentioned, there are a couple of programs that are certainly performing well for the network.

On Sunday nights, Ghosted has been solid in the middle of Fox’s comedy line-up. Lovable leads Adam Scott and Chris Robinson helped bring in 4.8 million viewers to the premiere in live-plus-three ratings. The second episode held steady with 3.6 million viewers watching live.

New X-Men series, The Gifted, has given Fox’s Monday nights a much-needed boost. When the live-plus-three numbers are factored in, The Gifted brought in 7.3 million viewers.