ARTICLE: ‘Queens’ Concludes 13-Episode First Season with Anemic Ratings

[Errol]

On Tuesday, February 15, ABC aired what was likely the series finale episode of first season drama “Queens.” The episode averaged an anemic 1.071 million viewers, a 0.20 rating in Adults 18-49 and a 0.29 rating in Adults 25-54, according to broadcast finals released by ShowBuzzDaily. For the night, “Queens” just managed to top repeat airings of dramas “Superman & Lois” and “Naomi” on The CW.

In December, when ABC last highlighted the show’s ratings performance to the press, it was noted that after 35 days of delayed multiplatform viewing the premiere episode of “Queens” grew nearly five times over its initial Live+Same Day rating in Adults 18-49, a jump of +361% (1.66 rating vs. 0.36 rating). In Total Viewers, the series debut more than tripled its initial Live+Same Day average, up +211% (5.6 million vs. 1.8 million). Sadly, the early numbers couldn’t be duplicated with subsequent episodes and the show concluded what is likely its only season as one of the lowest-rated shows on broadcast television, again only beating programming aired on The CW.

Following a hip hop group who reunite decades after their ‘90s peak, “Queens” starred Eve, Naturi Naughton, Nadine Velazquez and Brandy as women in their 40s who work to recapture their fame, fortune and swagger.

In the show’s finale episode, entitled “2022,” the Queens prepared to be inducted into the Hip Hop Hall of Fame but they couldn’t help notice the void Brianna’s (Eve) absence from the group had left. Meanwhile, Naomi (Brandy) was waylaid when an old beau questioned JoJo’s (Precious Way; “Days of our Lives”) paternity. Elsewhere, Valeria (Velazquez) got ready to embark on a solo tour and wondered if she really was ready to go at it alone.

Catch clips from the series below.

Despite the show’s ratings, do you think ABC should still renew it for a second season, possibly moving it to Hulu?

Note: The post ‘Queens’ Concludes 13-Episode First Season with Anemic Ratings appeared first on the Soap Opera Network website.

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[Khan]

I think ABC should purge all available footage from the Internet and then perform Jedi Mind Wipes on anyone who even heard of it.

[DramatistDreamer]

This show seemed to get a lot of initial buzz when it debuted. I wonder what happened?

I still haven't seen it but I have simply stopped trying to keep up with every series out there.

I mean what happened besides the obvious ratings drop, lol.

I sort of feel for Naturi though because I think she's talented but hasn't really had much opportunity to show what she's capable of. If colorism weren't such an issue, I feel like she could be a central figure in one of those romantic sitcoms, where she's a songwriter finding her way around the dating scene as a divorcée while trying to revive her career after being a stay at home mother for five, ten years.

[DemetriKane]

@DramatistDreamer It's hard to say what happened, I personally feel it didn't catch an (live) audience for whatever reason.  The ratings are actually on par with other black-led dramas today,  so that's not even an excuse to cancel it imo. " All American " has only crossed a million views only a few times in its entire run, yet it stays on air and gets a spin off. 

[DramatistDreamer]

It's so strange that live-viewing is still regarded as being more important than time-shifted viewing, given the world we now live in. It seems as if cable has given more weight to time-shifted viewing for years now, while for broadcast networks, live viewing is still valued more. I know that cable has a somewhat different model, as they tend to rely more on the subscription model and aren't as dependent on sponsorship and ads as the traditional broadcast networks, but still...

All American is on the CW, right? Maybe because it is geared towards a younger demo, for some reason, I think the CW places value on streaming and time-shifted viewing, that's just the sense I get.

I have these broadcast reports in my inbox that report on the grim state of television ratings (which I have yet to read) and it seems like lower ratings are par for the course these days.

[Errol]

The problem with the show when excluding any production or writing issues (namely Eve leaving even if for valid reasons), is time slot and distribution. Unlike cable which can rerun a series ad nauseam , including repeating the same episode minutes after its conclusion, broadcast networks only get to air a show once with the hope you tuned in. When they eventually get to showing a repeat it's several weeks later and by that point you are either hooked or you aren't. As for time slot, ABC has notoriously slotted most of its dramas for 10:00 p.m. which doesn't given them much room to find an audience since they have no compatible lead-in. It's either Bachelor/Bachelorette/Dancing with the Stars on Mondays or a load of crap sitcoms on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Only Thursday has any dramas airing before 10:00 p.m. That is pathetic. 

With NBC and CBS thriving with their Wolf Entertainment  blocks (FBI Tuesday, Chicago Wednesday, Law & Order Thursday), you'd think ABC would get their head in the game at some point and think about airing drama earlier and dumping the mostly low-rated comedy blocks. CBS did for their Monday comedies and now has NCIS and NCIS:Hawai'i from 9-10. Not the greatest success but much more successful than ABC does on any other night, at least in viewers.

The success of All American can solely be placed on viewers finding it on Netflix after its first season concluded on The CW. Anyone who watches that show and doesn't follow TV like we do more often than not thinks it is a Netflix original. The few times its ratings have grown is simply because of a lack of patience for the full season to drop on Netflix and some of its viewers finally woke up to the truth. Had it not dropped on Netflix I highly doubt it would still be on the air today much less getting a spinoff that's set to debut on Monday on The CW.

[DramatistDreamer]

Points well made @Errol.

This tweet made me wonder whether some type of TGIFriday could be revived or would that truly be broadcast suicide?

[DemetriKane]

@DramatistDreamer @Errol I appreciate both of you guy's post. Very insightful and accurate. I just hope the Hulu streams are enough to buy them another season. I believe ABC did repeat the show. a few times though. It is what it is..... Those FBI ratings are strong!

[DramatistDreamer]

It's an interesting discussion. We had the era of "peak TV" (are we still in this era? That is up for debate) and some say we are in the era of 'too much TV' and the proverbial wheat is being separated from the chaff, so to speak. Six months to a year from now, who knows? It feels as if television as we know it has been in the midst of a dynamic period.

[DemetriKane]

Nope, not at all.  There is a lot to choose from, but how many of these shows are worth-while, or truly groundbreaking? I would say a small percentage. I can take or leave almost every show that's out on TV and streaming. A lot of these current shows also would be better serve as mini series than an full series. Dick Wolf shows are all successful, but unnecessary! They're all the same show with a different set of characters. The same goes for 50 Cent and his Power universe.