The Breakdown: ABC Monday in 2015-16 (Dancing with the Stars, The Bachelor, Castle)

It's time for a journey through the ABC Monday schedule in 2015-16...

Spotted Ratings, Monday 5/16/16

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: The Voice (2.1) adjusted up, as did the 8:30 edition of Mike and Molly (1.7) to tie its season high. Houdini and Doyle (0.7) also gained a tenth.

• After its surprisingly huge penultimate week surge, Mike and Molly ended its six-year run with a downtick on series finale night, averaging a 1.4 at 8:00 (down two tenths from last week) and a 1.6 at 8:30 (down a tenth from last week). Though off of last week's highs, it's still better than what it did in its first couple Monday airings this spring.
• In the 9:00 hour, it was yet another 1.5 for The Big Bang Theory (R) and yet another 1.3 for The Odd Couple, while Person of Interest inched down to 0.9 at 10/9c.

• An even longer series run came to an end on ABC, where Castle (1.3) finished its eighth and final season with an outright season high, and pulled into a tie for the 10/9c lead with Blindspot (1.3). Castle was just a tenth behind last season's finale, easily its best trend of the season. The dramas' lead-in reality programs Dancing with the Stars (1.7/1.8) and The Voice (2.0/2.1) were close to even with last week.

• On Fox, Gotham (1.3) inched up to end its four-week streak at 1.2, while Houdini and Doyle remained mired at 0.6.

• And the CW's Jane the Virgin finished season two with a swing back up to 0.4 as it awaits its scheduling fate at the upcoming upfront. Reign also inched back up to 0.3.

Spotted Ratings, Monday 5/9/16

WHAT MATTERS:

• After a couple fairly innocuous weeks to begin its return to Monday, Mike and Molly had a major surge to 1.6/1.7 in the week before the series finale. Though this basically matches the raw numbers of its winter Wednesday run, it is a more impressive showing in a post-DST world.
• Later in the night, The Big Bang Theory (R) (1.5) and The Odd Couple (1.3) both matched last Monday. And Person of Interest began its brief Monday 10/9c run with a new series low 1.0, but it was still not too far a cry from its 1.2 Tuesday premiere last week.

• There was much steadiness elsewhere. In the case of NBC's The Voice (2.1), that meant the show's best point on a year-to-year basis all season. (Its third-to-last Monday last year got just a 2.3.) Blindspot stayed at 1.3 after a downward finals adjustment. 

• On Fox, it got even worse for Houdini and Doyle, which ticked down to 0.6 in week two. Gotham posted its fourth consecutive 1.2.

• ABC's Dancing with the Stars (1.7) inched down, while Castle (1.1) inched up.

• And after a downward adjustment in finals, Reign was down to 0.2, a number it hit just once in its Friday run earlier in the season. Jane the Virgin couldn't bounce back from last week and had another 0.3.

Spotted Ratings, Monday 5/2/16

WHAT MATTERS:

• The week after Scorpion's finale, CBS made a return to its historic two-hour Monday comedy block. It was a fairly significant night for bubble series The Odd Couple (1.3), airing on Monday for the first time. And it did passably enough, dropping by two tenths from its The Big Bang Theory repeat (1.5) lead-in. This is markedly below what it's been doing on Thursday, but that was to be expected. Meanwhile, Mike and Molly had a 1.3/1.4 for two originals in the 8/7c hour. And despite a comedy lead-in, the season finale of NCIS: Los Angeles (1.3) inched up to the high end of its spring results.

• Fox got a head start on summer with the dud premiere of co-production Houdini & Doyle (0.7), which barely managed half of recent Lucifer numbers. It had a steady 1.2 lead-in from Gotham.

• Dancing with the Stars (1.7/1.8) was close to even while The Voice (2.1) was on the upswing. 10/9c dramas Castle (1.0) and Blindspot (1.3) each inched down.

• And the CW had another 0.3 from Reign, while Jane the Virgin preliminarily ticked down to join it at 0.3.

Spotted Ratings, Monday 4/18/16

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: Supergirl (1.3) adjusted up, avoiding its first ever 1.2. NCIS: Los Angeles (1.1) adjusted down, meaning all three CBS shows tied their season lows.

• Last week's Disney bump didn't do anything for Dancing with the Stars (1.6) long-term, as it collapsed from last week's 2.0 high all the way to a new low. As its cast departures made big news, Castle (1.0) inched down, seemingly ending the show's long 1.1 streak.

• The reality/drama combo on NBC also continued its struggles, with The Voice (2.2) ticking down again and Blindspot (1.3) back down to its low from two weeks ago. (Though with a 1.5 -> 1.2 breakdown, it'd take a big downward adjustment to fall into 1.2 territory.)

• Supergirl dropped to an unfortunate new low 1.2 on its finale night, managing only a tie with Gotham. Scorpion (1.5) and NCIS: Los Angeles (1.2) were also down a tenth.

• If there was a winner last night, it was Fox, where Lucifer (1.3) had a noteworthy surge to its best rating in over a month at 9/8c. Gotham held last week's 1.2, but it might have a shot at an upward adjustment with a 1.3 in the first half-hour.

• And the CW's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend wrapped up a low-rated season one by getting back up to its usual 0.3. Jane the Virgin put up another 0.4.

Spotted Ratings, Monday 4/11/16

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend took a big hit to 0.2 in finals, though Jane the Virgin lost only 0.1 to match last week's 0.4. The big four's only adjustment was an uptick for The Voice (2.3).

• The crossover with The Flash didn't seem to bring any long-term audience to Supergirl (1.3), which gave back the entirety of its four-tenth spike and tied its last two pre-crossover episodes. But Scorpion (1.6) and NCIS: Los Angeles (1.3) were both on the high end of their spring ratings.

• In the 8:00-10:00 reality clash, there was a rough drop for The Voice (2.2) and a big surge for Dancing with the Stars (2.0). DWTS hit a season high by a considerable margin. As for their lead-outs, Blindspot (1.4) saw almost no bounce-back from last week's low against the NCAA championship. (And as always, after finals, it may be no rally.) And Castle logged its sixth consecutive 1.1.  

• After three straight weeks at 1.3/1.2 respectively, Fox's Gotham and Lucifer each edged down to new lows at 1.2/1.1.

• And the CW is pending major preemptions with Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (0.4) and Jane the Virgin (0.5).

Spotted Ratings, Monday 4/4/16

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: The Voice (2.5) adjusted up while Blindspot (1.3) adjusted down along with the 8:00 Big Bang (1.4) and Gotham (0.5). The NCAA game averaged 4.52 on TBS, 1.07 on TNT and 0.31 on TruTV for a total of 5.90.

• For the second straight day, the broadcast networks were overshadowed by a big cable event, this time as the NCAA men's basketball championship moved to cable (TBS) for the first time. Most of the broadcasters ducked the event, but the big reality properties and their lead-outs powered through. NBC got whacked against the game last year, but it was even worse for The Voice this time, with a 2.4 rating that was down four tenths from last week. And Blindspot (1.4) followed it down to a new low.

• ABC's older and more female-skewing lineup held up much better, with Dancing with the Stars (1.7/1.8) unfazed and Castle (1.2) up a tick. (EDIT: Apparently ABC might have been pre-empted, perhaps in the basketball local markets?)

• The other three networks were all in repeats, led by CBS' The Big Bang Theory (1.5/1.6), Scorpion (1.0) and NCIS: Los Angeles (0.8). Fox had Gotham (0.6) and Lucifer (0.6), while CW had iZombie (0.2) and Jane the Virgin (0.2).

Spotted Ratings, Monday 3/28/16

WHAT MATTERS:

• CBS' Supergirl (1.7) got a major charge from a crossover event with The Flash, posting its highest rating since early February. Since we're post-DST, this could be the show's Truly strongest performance since the very early weeks of the show (maybe even week two).
• It may have helped Scorpion (1.6) a touch as well, as that show gained a tenth from last week. But NCIS: Los Angeles (1.2) inched down.

• On NBC, it looks like the six-week streak of declines for Blindspot (1.6) is finally coming to an end, as even a downward adjustment in finals would have it steady week-to-week. The Voice held at 2.8.

• ABC saw Dancing with the Stars (1.7) inch down from last week's premiere, while The Catch (0.7) got a pilot encore at 10/9c.

• Fox's Gotham (1.3) and Lucifer (1.2) were unfazed despite the CBS upswing, while the CW rebounded from last week with Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (0.3) and Jane the Virgin (0.4).

Spotted Ratings, Monday 3/21/16

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: The Voice (2.8) adjusted up and Blindspot (1.5) adjusted down.

• ABC welcomed back Dancing with the Stars (1.8), as usual a significantly weaker player among adults 18-49 than its midseason filler The Bachelor. This was a low-teens decline from last year's spring premiere (2.1) as well as the last fall premiere. But since it's already facing The Voice, it should hold pretty close to this moving forward if last spring was any indication.
• Castle had its usual 1.1 at 10/9c.

• Most of the competitors were very close to even in A18-49 against the new competition, though the older-skewing DWTS tended to take away some out-of-demo viewers. The biggest exception was NBC's The Voice (2.6/2.9), which continued its demo slippage. Blindspot (1.6) matched last week's final number but could be a threat to adjust down to a new low.

• CBS' Supergirl (1.3), Scorpion (1.5) and NCIS: Los Angeles (1.3) as well as Fox's Gotham (1.3) and Lucifer (1.2) all matched last week's prelims (though Scorpion later adjusted up in finals).

• And the CW was back from a week off with Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (0.2) and Jane the Virgin (0.3) both inching down.

Spotted Ratings, Monday 3/7/16

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: Jane the Virgin (0.4) adjusted up and Blindspot (1.7) adjusted down.

• Week two of The Voice (3.2) began with a two-tenth decline from last Monday, keeping its year-to-year slippage in the high teens. Blindspot was able to hold last week's 1.8, which would be at least a slightly encouraging result... but with a 1.9 -> 1.6 breakdown it could be close to a downward adjustment.

• ABC's The Bachelor (2.2) also slumped, as is typical of the penultimate "The Women Tell All" episode. It was a couple tenths behind the same episode last year.

• Elsewhere, CBS went into repeats and there was a ton of steadiness otherwise. ABC's Castle (1.1) and Fox's Gotham (1.5) and Lucifer (1.3) all matched last week, with Gotham clearly emerging as one of the very few shows to hold up well across a long hiatus this season. CW's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (0.3) and Jane the Virgin (0.3) were also even.

• The CBS repeats included an hour of The Big Bang Theory (1.5/1.7), followed by Scorpion (1.2) and NCIS: Los Angeles (1.0).

Spotted Ratings, Monday 2/29/16

WHAT MATTERS:

• NBC's The Voice returned to the airwaves with a dominant 3.4 rating, nearly matching the fall 2015 premiere (3.5) but noticeably behind the year-ago premiere in February 2015 (4.1).
• Its fall lead-out Blindspot limped back onto the scene with a new series low 1.8... it's not good news, as even the poster child for big hiatus drops, Revolution three years ago, was able to tie its previous low after the long hiatus. Blindspot should be able to remain an improvement on what The Night Shift did here last year, but it may not be a whole lot more than that long-term.

• Gotham (1.5) had an OK return on Fox, down a tenth from its fall premiere and fall finale. The new lead-in sent Lucifer (1.3) down by two tenths, almost exactly what would be expected with this lead-in drop. So even with the reduced lead-in, Lucifer seems like a passable player.

• CBS was the only network that really seemed to suffer against The Voice's return, with Supergirl (1.4), Scorpion (1.5) and NCIS: Los Angeles (1.2) all declining even more from their mediocre results a week ago. It was a new low for both Supergirl and Scorpion.

• Like last year, ABC's female-skewing lineup was totally unfazed against the return of The Voice, with The Bachelor (2.5) and Castle (1.1) both matching last week.

• CW's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (0.3) and Jane the Virgin (0.3) were also even.

Spotted Ratings, Monday 2/22/16

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: The Bachelor (2.5) adjusted up. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend went back down to 0.3 after a couple weeks with 0.4 finals.

• For the shows that faced the Grammys last week, it was a big rebound Monday, and most of those shows were pretty much back to their levels from two weeks ago. That included The X-Files (2.4), whose season finale tied for the lead at 8/7c and seems to have stayed solidly within "back the truck up to get it back" territory.
• A notable exception to the bounce-back rule was X-Files lead-out Lucifer. After holding up well against the Grammys, it actually dipped again this week to a new low 1.5, and a tougher lead-in situation looms with the return of Gotham next week.

• Among the shows that bounced all the way back post-Grammy were NBC's finales of Superstore (1.4), Telenovela (0.9) and The Biggest Loser (1.1/1.2), with Superstore making one last case for a renewal that curiously still hasn't come yet.

• Coming off of last week's preemption, CBS actually took the biggest hit by far. Supergirl (1.5) was on the low end, and Scorpion (1.7) and NCIS: Los Angeles (1.3) each had easily their worst showings since the new year.

• Also getting back to normal were ABC's The Bachelor (2.4/2.5) and Castle (1.1). CW's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (0.4) and Jane the Virgin (0.3) stayed flat after sitting out against the awards last week.

Spotted Ratings, Monday 2/15/16

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: The Grammys averaged a 7.7, down just 7% from last year. The Biggest Loser adjusted down to 0.8.
• And on AMC, the return of Better Call Saul (1.06) re-established itself as one of the top cable dramas, but it went a bit behind the series low from season one.

• Event season made a rare stop on Monday as the Grammy Awards moved to the night and averaged a preliminary 7.4 rating from 8:00 to 11:00. In last year's Sunday telecast the show went from an 8.8 prelim to an 8.5 time zone-adjusted prelim to an 8.3 final.

• Everybody dropped at least a little bit with the added Grammy competition, and almost everybody by multiple tenths. Among the hardest hit was Fox's The X-Files (2.1), down by four tenths, but its lead-out Lucifer (1.6) did pretty well by comparison to only drop a single tenth.

• Despite its heavy female skew, The Bachelor (2.2) didn't take a particularly abnormal hit, and it was the biggest of the Grammy opponents, reverting to its early season ratings. Castle (0.9) edged its Sunday episode but hit a new Monday low.

• And NBC also lost multiple tenths across the board, with Superstore (1.2) staying well ahead of Telenovela (0.7) and The Biggest Loser (0.8/0.9).

• The only network to duck the Grammys was the CW, where a special on the video game Mortal Kombat X (0.3) and a repeat of Legends of Tomorrow (0.2) filled in for the usual female-skewing dramedies.

Spotted Ratings, Sunday 2/14/16

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: The Bachelor (1.1), Cooper Barrett's Guide (0.8) and the 7:00 The Simpsons (0.8) adjusted up.
• The Walking Dead returned with a 6.75, down 15% from the last spring premiere.
  

• After a nearly a month off, Fox's comedies made rough if not disastrous returns to the schedule, as The Simpsons (1.3), Cooper Barrett's Guide (0.7), Family Guy (1.2) and Bordertown (0.7) were all down about a half point from their last eps in mid-January. This marked a new season low for The Simpsons and a tie for Family Guy, while Cooper and Bordertown basically fell off the competitive map. (By comparison, Bob's Burgers (1.0) held up swimmingly at 7:30, matching its January 17 ep.)

• ABC had America's Funniest Home Videos (1.2), a two-hour The Bachelor 20th season special (1.0), and a new series low for Castle (0.8) in a special Sunday original.

• NBC won the evening with Dateline (0.9) and Valentine's Day specials from Saturday Night Live (0.9) and The Tonight Show (1.3/1.6).

• On CBS, 60 Minutes (1.2) and Madam Secretary (1.2) were up a tenth, but The Good Wife (1.0) was steady and CSI: Cyber (0.9) was down a tenth.

• In addition to Valentine's Day, which usually depresses viewing a bit, the broadcast offerings were further overshadowed by the return of The Walking Dead on AMC, plus the NBA All-Star Game on TNT. More after finals!

Spotted Ratings, Monday 2/8/16

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: The Bachelor (2.5) and Scorpion (2.1) adjusted up.

• Week three of the new Fox Monday saw a slowed decline for The X-Files (2.5), still clearly a big hit in this landscape. However, Lucifer (1.7) took another relatively steep step downward at 9/8c.

• Lucifer may have suffered a bit from the return of CBS competition, as CBS had a reasonably solid day after the Super Bowl. Supergirl (1.8) bounced all the way back from last week's drop and Scorpion (2.0) and NCIS: Los Angeles (1.6) were also on the upswing.

• ABC saw The Bachelor (2.4/2.5) continue its usual mid-season surge, but didn't get much at 10/9c as Castle (1.1) returned from a long hiatus. This was about what it usually did in the fall, but just barely beat last week's Bachelor Live in the hour.

• And NBC's Superstore (1.4) stayed at last week's low, but Telenovela (0.9) and The Biggest Loser (1.1/1.2) rebounded a bit.

• On the CW, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is trying to make things interesting with its second straight 0.4, and it actually beat Jane the Virgin (0.3) this time.

Spotted Ratings, Monday 11/23/15

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: After removing football pre-emptions on ABC, Castle was at its usual 1.1 while Dancing with the Stars had a 2.1. That tied a season high, but was still 16% behind last fall's performance finale as the show has not gotten quite as red-hot as it did at the end of fall 2014. Also, The Voice went up to 2.6 (matching the year-ago evening) while Minority Report somehow found yet another new low by going down to 0.5. (Worth noting this was a high-end night for Monday Night Football (5.12), which was up almost a full point from last week.)

• Thanksgiving week began in pretty rough fashion for broadcast TV, with Supergirl (1.5) crashing down to a new low (now basically on par with a typical episode of CW's The Flash) in week five. Its CBS companions Scorpion (1.7) and NCIS: Los Angeles (1.2) were closer to even.

• Most notable elsewhere was the fall's final head-to-head clash between The Voice (2.4/2.7) and Dancing with the Stars (2.2/2.5). DWTS and lead-out Castle (1.5) will adjust down in finals due to Monday Night Football pre-emptions, but it seems that the beginning of DWTS finale week took a chunk out of The Voice. (It happened last year as well, so The Voice should be very close to even with the year-ago evening again.) On a lower Voice night, Blindspot (1.9) also took a hit, finally ending its long run above 2.0.

• Fox and CW also saw some minor declines with Gotham (1.4), Minority Report (0.6) and Jane the Virgin (0.4). 

Spotted Ratings, Monday 11/16/15

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: After removing MNF preemptions, The Voice went down a tick to a 3.0, still a very healthy late-season number, while Blindspot went down two tenths to 2.1. The CW's shows each lost just a tenth, putting Jane the Virgin at a new season high 0.5. Scorpion (1.7) adjusted up to dodge a new low, while NCIS: Los Angeles was up to its fourth consecutive 1.3. Gotham went down to 1.5 on Fox.

• CBS' Supergirl (1.8) got some much-needed stabilization in week four, ticking up from last week. But much of that good news was offset by a series low night from Scorpion (1.6) at 9/8c, and NCIS: Los Angeles (1.2) was down a notch as well.

• On Fox, Gotham continued its very consistent fall by ticking back up to 1.6, while Minority Report (0.7) returned from a week off and inched up as it nears the end.

• ABC saw Castle (1.1) mercifully rebound by a tenth from last week's low, but Dancing with the Stars (1.8) swung down. 

• NBC (The Voice (3.1) and Blindspot (2.3)) and the CW (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (0.4) and Jane the Virgin (0.6)) are both pending Monday Night Football preemptions. 

Spotted Ratings, Monday 11/9/15

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: NCIS: Los Angeles (1.3) adjusted up.

• Week three of Supergirl (1.7) was down another half point for CBS. This is a considerably more disappointing result than the week two drop, since week two came with a lot of timeslot-related disadvantages, and it's now looking pretty unlikely that this will be a hit. If there's a silver lining, it's that these big drops are making a relatively steady Scorpion (1.8) look better; this was the first time all season Scorpion has built on its lead-in. NCIS: Los Angeles (1.2) inched down at 10/9c.

• NBC dominated broadcast primetime with another round of The Voice (3.2) and Blindspot (2.2). Though it looks like nothing special for The Voice on a week-to-week basis, it's worth noting that this is a time of year when the show is usually fading. It's holding up a good bit better than usual as the calendar moves into November, kind of reminiscent of what America's Got Talent did in the second half of the summer.

• ABC's Dancing with the Stars (2.0) was back into the twos for the first time since the season premiere, beginning to pick up a little of its usual late-season steam, but absolutely none of it translated to 10/9c where Castle (1.0) bombed out with another new series low.

• And Fox had Gotham (1.5), then a repeat of Bones (0.5) stepped in for Minority Report. There has been a ton of ink spilled about how nothing has gotten pulled this fall, but "lack of repeat replacements" usually doesn't get enough credit in the reasoning. This was a textbook example, as a drama repeat couldn't even match what is likely the biggest megabomb of the fall.

• CW was as usual with Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (0.3) and Jane the Virgin (0.4).

Spotted Ratings, Monday 10/19/15

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: The Big Bang Theory (3.9) got its two-tenth bump, while everything else on CBS held, putting the entire lineup even or better week-to-week. The only other adjustments came on the CW, where Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (0.3) and Jane the Virgin (0.4) each dropped just 0.1 after the NYC preemption. That put them flat week-to-week rounded to the nearest tenth, but both shows were down double digits in total viewers (meaning they are likely down in un-rounded demo ratings).
  

• On the last Monday before the Supergirl premiere, CBS had a relatively positive night as Life in Pieces (2.1), Scorpion (1.8) and NCIS: Los Angeles (1.3) were all on the upswing in the prelims. (And The Big Bang Theory (3.7) could get to even week-to-week if it can get a 0.2 bump in finals.) It would be a new season high for the struggling LA, perhaps benefiting from...

• ...a sizable week five drop for Blindspot (2.1) on NBC. It likely suffered in part because The Voice (3.0) began its usual late October downswing.

•  ABC was good news/bad news as Dancing with the Stars (1.9) had its best rating since the premiere but Castle (1.1) was stuck at last week's low. And Fox saw Gotham (1.3) and Minority Report (0.6) both down, not the result they were hoping for on the Monday before Supergirl enters the competitive mix.

• The CW is pending a New York City preemption for Monday Night Football, meaning Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (0.4) and Jane the Virgin (0.5) would be happy to drop just a tenth in the finals.

Spotted Ratings, Monday 10/12/15

WHAT MATTERS:

• FINALS UPDATE: The Big Bang Theory only went up 0.1 this week, tying last week's 3.9, while Life in Pieces (1.8) and Scorpion (1.7) were down for CBS. Removing ABC's preemptions took a tenth away from Castle (1.1), dropping it to a new low, while The Voice (3.3) picked up a tenth and Blindspot didn't drop.

• The CW got off to a very slow start with its critically-beloved Monday lineup as Crazy Ex-Girlfriend could only muster up a 0.3 rating and not even a million viewers out of the gate. Sophomore Jane the Virgin (0.4) fared only a little better at 9/8c, merely tying its low point from season one. Early on, this is shaping up like a very top-heavy CW network with depth issues.

• NBC had an encouraging fourth Monday as Blindspot (2.5) went a tenth above last week's finals (meaning it'll be steady even if it adjusts down). The Voice (3.2) was down a tenth, but similarly could adjust up to steady.

• CBS' The Big Bang Theory (3.8), Life in Pieces (1.9) and Scorpion (1.8) were all close to last week's finals, with NCIS: Los Angeles (1.1) ticking down to a new low. We'll see if TBBT can get another 0.2 adjustment to return to the fours, but it may be tough since the number includes the tail end of the local Monday Night Football preemption in San Diego.

• The other two networks were exactly even across the board with Dancing with the Stars (1.7), Castle (1.2), Gotham (1.5) and Minority Report (0.7). ABC would be happy if those hold up since it was preempted for MNF in Pittsburgh.