Image Credit: Chris Haston/NBC
Oof, some ratings hit hard, and the ones for Chuck are no exception: The comedy’s second episode earned a mere .9 rating/3 share on Friday, making it the least watched show of the night, according to final national ratings released today. The good news: Zachary Levi’s beloved character (at least among TV critics) isn’t THE lowest rated show on broadcast television. That distinction belongs to Nikita on the CW, which is averaging an anemic .7/3.
But it IS the lowest-rated show among the Big Four networks — an unfortunate development since NBC went out on a limb by picking it up for a fifth and final season in the first place. (Friday’s episode was even beat by a repeat of NCIS on USA. Yikes).
We know what you non-Chuck lovers are thinking: Why the heck is Levi and his crazy comrades still on the air? Ordering 13 more episodes couldn’t have been the easiest decision for new NBC chief Robert Greenblatt last spring: The comedy from Warner Bros. TV was only averaging 5.6 million viewers and a 2.0 rating among adults 18-49. And you don’t take a show that was doing fairly well on Mondays and move it to Fridays where it’s sure to get no business.
But it’s likely that Warner Bros. TV agreed to a license fee reduction for Chuck in exchange for getting the opportunity to make more episodes for syndication, where the studio can recoup its losses. So don’t look for the remaining episodes of Chuck to go anywhere (at least, that’s the update for now). That should be a relief to impatient TV fans, who think the networks are far too quick to pull the trigger on great (but low-rated) shows.
Are you still watching?
For more:
Chuck executive producer teases upcoming episode, the finale
