The majority of Americans remain cooped up inside their homes on a nightly basis, as a way of curbing the threat of the coronavirus pandemic. It's obviously not the most ideal situation for everyone, but primetime TV has experienced some huge growth in recent weeks. In several ways, NBC dramas such as New Amsterdam and the Chicago series are standing out in a big way, along with The Voice and This Is Us.
Below, we'll go over how all of the aforementioned shows are doing in the ratings, with the Live + 7 delayed viewing ratings being the most prominent area of success.
New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam, which recently postponed a flu outbreak episode, is currently on a mini-hiatus, along with many other network shows, but its most recent episode, which aired March 17, scored the biggest audience (5.20 million) since the midseason finale that aired in November (5.46 million). And things got even better once the Live + 7 delayed viewing totals were added in.
The total viewership jumped up to 9.91 million viewers after the DVR numbers were brought into the mix, according to Variety, which marked a 4.71 million increase, which was the biggest total gain in all of network TV. That 91% jump was also the fourth-biggest percentage boost of any broadcast series, with only Stumptown, Supergirl, and Legacies getting higher percentages. No one needs to call a doctor to diagnose just how successful New Amsterdam is doing during the self-quarantine. What's more the episode's on-par 18-49 demographic rating of 0.8 jumped up to a 1.6 rating for a mightily impressive 100% increase.
Chicago Fire, P.D. & Med
Both Chicago Fire and Chicago Med hit season highs with their most recent episodes from March 25, but let's look at the Live + 7 totals from the NBC trio's eventful March 18 installments. Chicago Fire secured the biggest audience of the night after delayed viewing, jumping from 9.02 million to 12.55 million viewers (39%). It managed to eclipse the third-place Chicago Med, which went from 9.18 million to 11.98 million viewers (30%). Chicago P.D. had the biggest DVR boost, though, going from 7.50 million to 11.97 million (59%).
Chicago P.D. landed the biggest demo rating boost, jumping from a 1.2 to a 2.2 rating, with only Grey's Anatomy and This Is Us also gaining an entire demo point in delayed viewing, which is huge. Chicago Fire's increase was slightly below that, going from a 1.3 rating to a 2.1 for a 0.8 leap, while Chicago Med went from a 1.3 to a 1.9 rating. Seems like that show, of the three, brought in more viewers in the aged-up demographic.
The Voice
Behind 60 Minutes, The Voice had the biggest Live + Same Day totals of any show measured in these delayed viewing totals, with 9.98 million people having tuned in to the March 16 episode. The audience grew by 2.07 million people for a total of 12.06 million (21%), making it #2 on the list behind Chicago Fire.
The Voice also boosted its already impressive 1.8 demographic rating for 18-49-year-olds. It jumped up by 0.4 to reach a 2.2 rating (22%), tying Chicago P.D. for the fifth-highest rating of all the shows measured. It remains to be seen how the rest of this season will fare due to delays for live episodes.
This Is Us
Finally, we have NBC's family drama This Is Us, whose March 17 episode reached 7.07 million viewers in Live + Same Day numbers, and that number leaped up to 11.73 million after delayed viewing was accounted for, with an increase of 4.66 million (66%). We can probably expect its season finale to get an even bigger boost, considering its Tuesday-night audience was 7.96 million people.
That penultimate "What If" episode, meanwhile, had the biggest demographic increase of any show measured. Its already impressive 1.4 rating jumped up to a 2.7, and that 1.3 boost marked a 93% gain. The only other TV show to reach a higher overall Live + 7 demo rating was The Masked Singer, with its 3.1 total.
While these are obviously dark days for many people out there, at least many people are finding some comfort in returning to primetime dramas and reality competitions, with NBC reaping the benefits all week long. While not noted in this story, other NBC dramas like The Blacklist and Manifest are also lucking out in recent weeks.
Stay current with all the shows that are facing coronavirus-related delays, and keep tuning into the One Chicago dramas and New Amsterdam when they return later this month from their brief hiatuses.
