The 2011-2012 TV season has officially come to a close, the Nielsen ratings are in and for the first time in nine years, the most-watched show of the season isn’t American Idol.
The FOX reality juggernaut, which has been the highest-rated show in total viewers and the coveted 18-49 demographic for the past eight seasons, was dethroned in both categories by NBC’s Sunday Night Football.
NBC actually has two of the Top 10 shows thanks to The Voice, but the list, as usual, is dominated by CBS. While the network doesn’t have football or reality shows like American Idol or Dancing with the Stars, it does have the seven most-watched scripted shows on all of television.
And if you’re curious about the bottom of the ist, not including the CW, the lowest-rated shows are all comedies, with FOX’s Breaking In and NBC’s BFF and Bent earning the bad honors.
To compare it to last season, American Idol‘s Wednesday shows are down more than 6 million viewers per episode while Thursday’s results shows are down more than 5 million. Dancing with the Stars is down about 2 million viewers while The Voice took that away, moving up 4 million viewers in its second season.
As for scripted shows, most stayed the same while dramas seemed to dip (NCIS and Castle being two of the rare exceptions to actually increase slightly). Comedies, however, had a big year. The Big Bang Theory went up more than 2.5 million viewers while Two and a Half Men, with Ashton Kutcher, grabbed 2 million more viewers than last season. Modern Family also saw a nice jump of more than 1 million viewers.
To help break down the ratings, I’ve put together 10 different Top 10 lists based on total viewers. Below you can see the best new shows, the best cancelled shows, and the best shows by network. Click HERE to see the complete list.
TOTAL VIEWERS
Sunday Night Football: 20.74 million
American Idol Performance Shows: 19.81 million
NCIS: 19.49 million
American Idol Results Shows: 18.33 million
Dancing with the Stars Performance Shows: 18.24 million
Dancing with the Stars Results Shows: 16.08 million
NCIS: Los Angeles: 16.01 million
The Big Bang Theory: 15.82 million
The Voice: 15.77 million
Two and a Half Men: 14.64 million
TOP SCRIPTED SHOWS
NCIS: 19.49 million
NCIS: Los Angeles: 16.01 million
The Big Bang Theory: 15.82 million
Two and a Half Men: 14.64 million
The Mentalist: 14.57 million
Person of Interest: 14.34 million
Criminal Minds: 13.20 million
Modern Family: 12.93 million
CSI: 12.49 million
Castle: 12.18 million
TOP REALITY SHOWS
American Idol Performance Shows: 19.81 million
American Idol Results Shows: 18.33 million
Dancing with the Stars Performance Shows: 18.24 million
Dancing with the Stars Results Shows: 16.08 million
The Voice: 15.77 million
Survivor: South Pacific: 12.77 million
The X Factor Performance Shows: 12.67 million
The X Factor Results Shows: 12.57 million
Survivor: One World: 11.64 million
The Amazing Race 19: 11.13 million
TOP NEW SHOWS
Person of Interest: 14.34 million
The X Factor Performance Shows: 12.67 million
The X Factor Results Shows: 12.57 million
Unforgettable: 12.11 million
Rob: 12.01 million
Once Upon a Time: 11.71 million
2 Broke Girls: 11.29 million
Terra Nova: 10.08 million
Alcatraz: 9.56 million
Touch: 9.18 million
TOP CANCELLED SHOWS
Unforgettable: 12.11 million
Rob: 12.01 million
CSI: Miami: 10.84 million
Desperate Housewives: 10.61 million
Terra Nova: 10.08 million
Alcatraz: 9.56 million
Harry’s Law: 8.92 million
Missing: 8.82 million
NYC-22: 8.77 million
House: 8.69 million
TOP ABC SHOWS
Dancing with the Stars Performance Shows: 18.24 million
Dancing with the Stars Results Shows: 16.08 million
Modern Family: 12.93 million
Castle: 12.18 million
Once Upon a Time: 11.71 million
Grey’s Anatomy: 10.92 million
Desperate Housewives: 10.61 million
Body of Proof: 9.90 million
Last Man Standing: 9.13 million
The Bachelor: 8.85 million
TOP CBS SHOWS
NCIS: 19.49 million
NCIS: Los Angeles: 16.01 million
The Big Bang Theory: 15.82 million
Two and a Half Men: 14.64 million
The Mentalist: 14.57 million
Person of Interest: 14.34 million
Criminal Minds: 13.20 million
60 Minutes: 13.03 million
Survivor: South Pacific: 12.77 million
CSI: 12.49 million
TOP NBC SHOWS
Sunday Night Football: 20.74 million
The Voice: 15.77 million
The Voice Results Shows: 10.92 million
America’s Got Talent (Monday): 10.21 million
America’s Got Talent (Tuesday): 10.20 million
Smash: 8.94 million
Harry’s Law: 8.92 million
Law & Order: SVU: 7.59 million
The Biggest Loser Season 13: 7.18 million
The Celebrity Apprentice: 7.15 million
TOP FOX SHOWS
American Idol Performance Shows: 19.81 million
American Idol Results Shows: 18.33 million
The X Factor Performance Shows: 12.67 million
The X Factor Results Shows: 12.57 million
Terra Nova: 10.08 million
Alcatraz: 9.56 million
Bones: 9.26 million
Touch: 9.18 million
Glee: 8.71 million
House: 8.69 million
TOP CW SHOWS
The Vampire Diaries: 2.78 million
America’s Next Top Model: All-Stars: 2.42 million
The Secret Circle: 2.06 million
Supernatural: 2.03 million
One Tree Hill: 1.86 million
Ringer: 1.82 million
Hart of Dixie: 1.78 million
Nikita: 1.77 million
90210: 1.55 million
America’s Next Top Model: British Invasion/Gossip Girl: 1.52 million
(Image courtesy of FOX)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
