FOX’s Ratings Report Card: Best and Worst Shows at Midseason

After the first half of the 2017-2018 TV season, FOX came in second place overall behind NBC, but it was a very distant silver finish. Its midseason report card reflects that, showing Thursday nights keeping it afloat.

FOX airs Seth MacFarlane‘s breakout freshman hit The Orville on Thursdays, with Gotham as a lead-in. Both shows have helped the network save a day that was disastrous for it last year. It was home to Rosewood and Pitch, two shows cancelled at the end of the 2016-2017 season.

Gotham is up 18 percent over Rosewood, but still down 18 percent from last season when it aired at 8 p.m. on Mondays. It has averaged a 0.9 18-49 rating.

As for The Orville, which already picked up a season two renewal, averaged a 1.0 18-49 rating. That’s 25 percent better than Pitch, which aired in the 9 p.m. Thursday slot last year.

However, as TVLine notes, FOX is hurting elsewhere. Empire is down 30 percent from last season. It is still the top-rated scripted show on the network with a 1.9 18-49 average. Fox’s top-rated show overall is The OT, a post-game NFL show.

Even The Simpsons is off by 23 percent from last season. That’s probably due to the lower ratings for NFL football. Fox’s Sunday night shows are down across the board, except for Bob’s Burgers.

Overall, FOX averaged a 1.8 18-49 demographic rating for the first half of the season. NBC was first with a 2.4 average.

Here’s a look at how Fox’s 17 primetime shows did in the first half of the season, based on Live+Same Day averages in the 18-49 demographic. New shows are marked with an asterisk.

1. The OT – 3.8, -17 percent

2. Empire – 1.9, -30 percent compared to last season

3. The Simpsons – 1.6, -23 percent compared to last season

4. Star – 1.4, +8 percent compared to last season

5. Bob’s Burgers – 1.3, +13 percent compared to last season

6. Family Guy – 1.2, -17 percent compared to last season

7. The Gifted* – 1.1, +10 percent compared to Lucifer‘s performance in the same timeslot last season

8. Ghosted* – 1.1, -15 percent compared to Son of Zorn in the same timeslot last season

9. The Orville* – 1.0, +25 percent compared to Pitch in the same timelsot last season

10. Lethal Weapon – 1.0, +18 percent compared to Brooklyn Nine-Nine and New Girl in the same timeslot last season; -38 percent from season one

11. Gotham – 0.9, +18 percent compared to Rosewood in the same timeslot last season; -18 percent from season three

12. Lucifer – 0.9, -18 percent compared to Gotham in the same timeslot last season; -10 percent compared to last season

13. Hell’s Kitchen – 0.8, -27 percent compared to last season

14. Last Man on Earth – 0.8, -18 percent compared to last season

15. The Mick – 0.8, +13 percent over Scream Queens and Bones in the same timeslot last season, -27 percent compared to last season

16. Brooklyn Nine-Nine – 0.7, +13 percent over Scream Queens and Bones in the same timeslot last season; -27 percent compared to last season

17. The Exorcist – 0.4, -43 percent compared to last season

Photo credit: Fox