Ratings Report: ‘Abbott Elementary’ Leads, Super Villains Takeover Streaming

Broadcast: ABC’s school day sitcom, Abbott Elementary, is halfway through its fourth season on the broadcast network with its fourth episode that aired on October 30th receiving a P2+ audience viewership of 1,887,000 on the network. The season is currently sitting at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes with an audience score of 81%. The season is set to air 8 episodes total, with the final episode of the season airing on Wednesday, December 4th. This series is currently very popular for exploring modern teaching, parents' lack of parenting, as well as the lack of funding for public schools but despite all of the odds that weigh against them, the teachers are still determined to help their students succeed in life. 

Abbott Elementary takes place at an elementary school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania of the same name, where a passionate group of teachers – and a tone-deaf principal – dedicate themselves to the success of their students and navigate all of the ins and outs of teaching at a public school. The series stars Quinta Brunson (A Black Lady Sketch Show, Big Mouth), Tyler James Williams (Everybody Hates Chris, Lab Rats), Lisa Ann Walter (The Parent Trap, Bruce Almighty), Sheryl Lee Ralph (Moesha, The Fabulous Four), Janelle James (The Stand Ups, The Final Straw), Chris Perfetti (The Surrogate, Crossbones), Zach Fox (Kuso, Deep Tish), Ayo Edebiri (The Bear, Inside Out 2), Vince Staples (DOPE, White Men Can’t Jump) and many more familiar faces. The next episode of the series airs November 13, and episodes air every Wednesday. 

Streaming: October was a spooky month, and what better way to solidify this than to have two simultaneously airing supervillain shows side by side? Fans of Marvel and DC may rejoice as they have been granted the ability to divulge into the villainy with Agatha All Along on Disney+ and The Penguin on HBO and Max, respectively. 

Marvel Studios’s witchy adventure series, Agatha All Along, first aired on September 18th on Disney+ to set the season of witch off right and had steady audience viewership throughout October, until its two-part finale on October 30th, where it aired both episodes 8 and 9. Episode 8 secured the highest audience viewership for the whole series at 4.6 million views on its first day, which puts it above the 4.2 million views that episode 7 received in the same amount of time, according to Variety. The series sits on Rotten Tomatoes with an 82% critic score and an 83% audience score. 

The series is set following the events of Marvel Studios’s WandaVision where the wicked sorceress, Agatha Harkness –starring Kathryn Hahn (WandaVision, Stepbrothers)– is set free from the spell placed on her by the Scarlet Witch. Harkness then recruits a coven of magic users to walk the sacred and infamous Witches Road to regain power and unlock secrets. The series also stars Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation, The White Lotus), Joe Locke (Heartstopper), Patti LuPone (Glee, American Horror Story), Sasheer Zamata (Exploding Kittens, Home Economics), Ali Ahn (The Diplomat, Liberal Arts), Debra Jo Rupp (That 70’s Show, Friends) and Evan Peters (American Horror Story, Mare of Easttown). 

The notorious Batman rival the Penguin, played by Colin Farrel (The Lobster, Total Recall), who appeared in The Batman (2022) as the criminal thug returns in his own 8-episode series on HBO and Max, which started airing on September 19th. The 7th episode of the series aired on November 3rd and had a combined viewership on the two platforms of 1.9 million, according to Deadline. The Penguin has a current Rotten Tomatoes critic score of 94 percent and an audience score of 91 percent. The series is set around disfigured thug Ozwald Cobb as he fights through mafioso drama to become a notable Gotham gangster. The series also stars Cristin Milioti (Palm Springs, How I Met Your Mother), Rhenzy Feliz (Encanto, Teen Wolf), Clancy Brown (The Shawshank Redemption, SpongeBob SquarePants), Carmen Ejogo (Selma, Sparkle), Mark Strong (Cruella, Shazam!) and Jayme Lawson (Sinners, The Woman King) and its final episode airs on November 10th.