Posted on 09/28/2018 8:22:14 AM PDT by EdnaMode
Murphy Brown made its primetime return Thursday night and delivered surprisingly modest ratings for CBS, and considerably softer numbers than premieres of similarly hyped yesteryear sitcom revivals in recent seasons (such as NBC’s Will & Grace and ABC’s Roseanne).
The newsroom sitcom starring Candice Bergen (and included a Hillary Clinton cameo) was seen by 7.4 million viewers and had only a 1.1 rating among adults 18-49 — the lowest of the network’s two-hour comedy block, slipping from its Mom lead in.
Yet Murphy Brown arguably has the highest name recognition among viewers of any “new” show this fall (along with the revamp of Magnum P.I.), so one would have expected to see far more sampling for its premiere episode.
By comparison, 2017’s return of Will & Grace on NBC after 11 years off the air had more than 10 million viewers and a strong 3.0 rating in the demo. Earlier this year, Roseanne stunned with a massive 18 million viewers and a 5.1 rating in the demo after 20 years off the air.
Murphy Brown — which was likewise off the air for 20 years — returned following a dramatic day of live Senate Judiciary Committee hearing testimony from Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused him of sexual assault. The timing might have inspired some viewers to tune into Murphy Brown‘s brand of topical progressive humor, but some would-be fans might have also been drawn to watch primetime cable news coverage of the hearings instead.
More to come…
Sand Pebbles,,,
We’ll catch it,
"The Sand Pebbles" is my top favorite movie and should be number one on any all-time greatest movie lists ...
I hope so.
Murphy Brown: Hate TV.
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