TV didn't take it easy during the week of February 23. Zombies swarmed back to the small screen, a crisis came to NBC's Windy City dramas, a superhero hit a major milestone, and much more. There were no awards shows or election coverage to interrupt primetime on the broadcast networks this week, and some of the biggest shows on television went head-to-head for the first time in a while. So, join me in looking back at the biggest and most exciting events in TV ratings from the week of February 23!
Note: all calculations are Live+Same day in the 18-49 age demographic.
One Chicago Crushes With Killer Crossover
The three shows of One Chicago returned from a brief break to deliver a crossover between Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D. that crushed in the ratings, and the much-hyped two-parter event may be responsible for the Chicago Med boosts in the February 26 broadcasts. Although Med started the One Chicago block, let's jump into Fire and P.D. first with their crossover numbers.
Chicago Fire kicked off the crossover at 9 p.m. ET with the return of former P.D. regular Brian Geraghty as Sean Roman, and the result was Fire's biggest audience since February 20, 2019. With an audience size of 8.56 million (via TV Series Finale), Fire was actually the most-watched show of February 26, and it was a jump of 3% from the previous week. Fire experienced a bigger boost in the ratings, rising 8% for a 1.2.
Chicago P.D. closed the crossover at 10 p.m., and the broadcast delivered some jaw-dropping numbers... if you're somebody who pays attentions to ratings trends, anyway. The One Chicago series that almost never matches the other two in the ratings and is often well below in the viewership also hit a 1.2 rating thanks to a boost of more than 16%. Remarkably, P.D. also rose more than 16% in viewership for 8.16 million. Honestly, I don't even know why other networks bother going up against P.D. in the 10 p.m. slot, even when it's below Fire and Med.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention Chicago Med as well, though it wasn't part of the crossover. Med jumped almost 15% in the ratings for a 1.2, meaning that One Chicago was even in the ratings throughout the entire night, which is remarkable for three hours of primetime. It also rose 4% for 8.53 million viewers. These numbers are particularly impressive considering Med is up against Fox's juggernaut The Masked Singer and CBS' Survivor, both of which beat One Chicago in the ratings.
That said, Fire, Med, and P.D. were the top three most-watched network TV broadcasts of the night and tied for third behind The Masked Singer and Survivor in the ratings. Way to deal with those crises, One Chicago!
The Walking Dead Shows Signs Of Life
The Walking Dead was once all but unbeatable in the ratings, but the numbers have consistently dwindled in recent seasons, and Season 10 hasn't been going well with an average rating of 1.16 and audience of 3.4 million. That said, the midseason finale on February 23 at 9 p.m. ET (sort of) paid off on the fall finale's cliffhanger, and it received a much-needed boost in the process.
In the February 23 broadcast on AMC, The Walking Dead scored a rating of 1.2 and audience of 3.5 million, according to TV Series Finale. This marks a 17% boost in audience size and nearly 10% boost in ratings, and marks the highest-rated Season 10 episode since October 13 and the most-watched since the Season 10 premiere on October 6. That's the good news.
Unfortunately, there is bad news. Deadline reports the 1.2 rating and 3.5 million audience make the February 23 broadcast the lowest midseason premiere in the entire run of The Walking Dead. This is due to a 40% drop from the Season 9 midseason premiere on February 10, 2019, which was up against the Grammys. The Walking Dead shows signs of life, but it's a long way from thriving.
Supergirl Hits 100 Episodes
Also on February 23, Supergirl became the third Arrow-verse series after Arrow and The Flash to hit 100 episodes. While it didn't hit the milestone by breaking records, winning the night, or even winning the night on The CW in its 9 p.m. slot, the 100th episode didn't plummet like a Kryptonian under the effects of a red sun. Before I share the numbers, bear in mind that this is a CW series in a TV season of poor numbers for CW series.
With its 100th episode, TV Series Finale reports Supergirl remained even in the demo ratings with 0.2 and attracted a slightly larger audience than the week before, up 2% to hit 0.67 million. Although this does make it the least-watched primetime broadcast of the night, Supergirl was at least even in the ratings with Batwoman at 8 p.m. ET. It's worth noting that Supergirl experienced some significant drops after it was moved to The CW's Sunday night lineup.
The week of February 23 was actually not too shabby for the entire Arrow-verse, by CW ratings standards. Batwoman remained steady in the ratings on Sunday night, Black Lightning was up 5% for 0.2 on Monday (via TV Series Finale), and both The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow remained even, with Flash's 0.4 and Legends' 0.2. Supergirl's numbers weren't altogether super, but it was a decent showing in a rough season.
The Voice Starts On The Wrong Note
Not too long after its ABC rival American Idol returned to the airwaves, The Voice premiered Season 18 on NBC with a new judge who put up a good showing in his first outing. What weren't so good with The Voice's February 24 premiere and then February 25 follow-up were the numbers, compared to the previous season.
In the two-hour Monday night premiere, The Voice dropped a whopping 26% from the end of Season 17 to the Season 18 premiere in the ratings, with TV Series Finale reporting a 1.6 in the key demo. The audience dip was less extreme, with a drop of almost 17% for 8.96 million.
The episode that followed on Tuesday night fared even worse, according to TV Series Finale, with a nearly 32% drop from the previous night for 1.4 rating and nearly 20% for 8.53 million. Like some of the contestants, The Voice Season 18 started on the wrong note in following up on its Season 17 numbers.
That said, The Voice's numbers were solid compared to its competition. The Voice was first in viewership and second in ratings (behind ABC's The Bachelor) on February 23 in the 8 p.m. slot. With the exception of the CBS News Democratic Primary Debate, The Voice won its Tuesday 8 p.m. slot easily. The Voice didn't get off to the greatest start in its grand scheme, but the competition should still be wary of The Voice unless the drops get much more drastic.
So, there you have some of the biggest twists, trends, and outliers in the ratings from the week of February 23! Be sure to check back with CinemaBlend for more in ratings news, as well the latest in TV and Movies news.
