With some major hits (Quantico, Blindspot) and some huge duds (Blood & Oil, Minority Report), the 2015-2016 season has already been interesting to say the least. We are already over two months in and only one new series has met its demise (R.I.P Wicked City). This is a phenomenon that has not occurred in some time as networks in the past were quick to ax a series if it was low performing after its first or second outing, but now, they’re giving their new series (especially those that have been heavily marketed like FOX’s Scream Queens) a longer time to try to build an audience before pulling the plus. This new tactic makes sense since many people are utilizing DVRs to watch programs as opposed to tuning in live. The networks are also changing the way we watch TV as many of our favorite shows will be taking hiatuses for two to three months in order for a slew of new series to fill up our DVRs. So how have the new series done so far for the 2015-2016 season? We took a look several of them and gave each an overall grade. How did your favorite series fair? Continue reading to find out.
Blindspot (NBC)
Blindspot has turned into the biggest hit of the 2015-2016 television season. NBC really needed a new hit that was not a singing competition series, a football game, or a drama that was part of their popular Chicago franchise. This new show is drawing in numbers comparable to ABC’s popular series Scandal, with over 12 million viewers tuning in every week, and has been awarded a full season.
Grade: A
Blood & Oil
Based on early promos for this ABC drama, it looked to be on track to become ABC’s next guilty pleasure like Grey’s Anatomy or How to Get Away With Murder. Sadly, that was far from the case. ABC cut Blood & Oil‘s episode order down after ratings continued to dwindle, and the series is nowhere to be found on the network’s midseason schedule. It looks like Don Johnson’s return to television will be a very short one.
Grade: F
Grandfathered
This comedy features John Stamos as its lead actor, but even a bankable star like him may not help Grandfathered make it to a second season. The series was awarded additional episodes, but with an average audience of 2-3 million viewers, Stamos may need to get a permanent gig on Fuller House if this series is not awarded a sophomore year.
Grade: C
Life in Pieces
We at TVOvermind weren’t sure a family sitcom could ever top the craziness of Modern Family and then along came Life in Pieces. The series performed well on Monday nights and was awarded a full-season pickup. The one set back is though the show airs after the highly rated The Big Bang Theory and barely pulls in half of that audience. However, expect to see this comedy sticking around for awhile.
Grade: A-
Minority Report
Early promos for Minority Report made it appear that FOX could have another hit on its hands after success with Gotham last fall and Empire at midseason. Instead, this drama was one of the least-watched new shows to debut this year and, as a result, had its episode order cut like Blood & Oil.
Grade: D-
Quantico
Does anyone else feel like Quantico is a ripoff of a bunch of different television shows wrapped up into one interesting drama? Even if that is true, Quantico is the best new series on ABC’s lineup and the second most popular of the 2015-2016 television season. This series is such a huge success largely in part to its DVR ratings. Quantico should keep things hot on Sundays for the alphabet network for awhile.
Grade: A-
Supergirl
The CBS’ superhero series premiered to strong numbers in late October. However, recent episodes have seen a steady decline in viewership. The good thing about Supergirl is the numbers are still higher than most of the new series out this season, and the cast, which includes Melissa Benoist, Chyler Leigh, Calista Flockhart, and Mehcad Brooks, is superb.
Grade: B+
Scream Queens
This series boasts so many popular stars, including Jamie Lee Curtis, Lea Michele, and Emma Roberts, but its viewership is lackluster. FOX has a lot of faith in Ryan Murphy with the huge success of his other series, Glee, Nip/Tuck, and American Horror Story, that you will most likely see this series as part of the 2016-2017 television season. Hopefully, more viewers show up to watch it.
Grade: C
The Grinder
Although this comedy may be funnier than its lead-in, Grandfathered, The Grinder pulls in fewer ratings than the John Stamos series. The show has an awesome cast that includes Rob Lowe, Fred Savage, and Mary Elizabeth Ellis. It’s upsetting that both Grandfathered and The Grinder are not funnier and/or more successful, especially since The Mindy Project was cancelled by FOX and was (in my opinion) 100 times better.
Grade: C+
Truth Be Told
Mark-Paul Gosselaar has had a pretty successful career in television, which began in the 80s on the NBC comedy Saved by the Bell. His most recent stint was on the lawyer comedy Franklin & Bash, which lasted for four season on TNT. It is a shame that he now has this awful sitcom on his resume, which saw its episode order cut from 13 to 10.
Grade: D
Wicked City
The first casualty of the 2015-2016 season was Wicked City. The drama starring Ed Westwick and Erica Christensen pulled in such abysmal ratings that it was yanked from ABC’s lineup after three episodes. Being a big Jeremy Sisto fan, I had every intention to tune in, but once the cancellation was announced, I deleted the episodes from my DVR.
Grade: F
We will be back next week to grade some of the other new series of the 2015-2016 season, including The Muppets, Limitless, and Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris.
Which is your favorite series of the 2015-2016 television season? Let us know in the comments section below.
[Photo via ABC]
Follow Us
