When a franchise is popular, a spinoff is often the next logical step. This week, NBC premiered The Blacklist: Redemption in the same timeslot as The Blacklist. The Blacklist has been down in the ratings a bit this TV season, but we did wonder if a fresh take and some familiar characters might entice people to tune in. Unfortunately, it doesn't totally seem to have worked out for the spinoff, at least so far. The first episode of The Blacklist: Redemption only did a .8 rating in the 18-49 advertising demographic.
In terms of total viewers, The Blacklist: Redemption did alright, bringing in 4.2 million total viewers. In addition, NBC reports that the new series retained 100% of last week's The Blacklist audience in terms of millennial viewers, so adults 18-34. Therefore, it's not all bad news. Regardless, a .8 rating on a network TV show isn't exactly good news, either.
Part of the problem may be the Thursday night timeslot that both The Blacklist and Redemption are airing in. The 10 p.m. timeslot is a later one, and a lot of fans of the show don't stay up late enough to catch the episode when it airs live. Although The Blacklist itself has been dealing with ratings issues all TV season, the show still puts up good DVR numbers in the days following the premiere of each episode. We'll have to wait and see if the same holds true of The Blacklist: Redemption. Besides, the show has a few more weeks to prove itself.
When NBC signed on for The Blacklist: Redemption, the network decided to give the new show an eight-episode order, and then air the episodes in The Blacklist's regular timeslot. When Redemption reaches the end of its first season, the original series will come back. This is a format that other networks have tried before. Once Upon A Time In Wonderland aired in the gap between episodes of the regular Once Upon A Time and Agent Carter famously aired while Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was on break. Again, we didn't say these were all success stories.
Oftentimes shows lose viewers in the weeks after they premiere, but occasionally shows do surprise us and improve in the ratings. If not, we'll have to wait and see whether The Blacklist: Redemption ends up being a one-season experiment or manages to get a second season with the numbers it is currently pulling. For now, you can catch new episodes of Redemption on Thursday nights at 10 p.m. ET, only on NBC. In addition, you can see what is headed to TV soon with our midseason TV premiere schedule.
