Ratings Report: ‘Found’ Finds Its Crowd as ‘All Rise’ Winds Down
Broadcast: Found is NBC’s latest crime drama. This new series premiered on October 3rd to strong viewership. Episode one brought in an impressive 3.762 million viewers in the P2+ demographic with a rating of 1.19 and 527,000 viewers in the P18-49 demographic with a rating of 0.40. Episode two brought in a slightly smaller audience, but still managed to be the seventh most watched program on NBC. Aired on October 10th, there were 3.288 million viewers in the P2+ demographic, with a rating of 1.04, and 439,000 viewers in the P18-49 demographic. If Found continues to retain its viewership in the coming weeks, this new series is primed to have a strong debut season.
Found is a procedural drama centered on a crisis management team that specializes in finding missing persons neglected or forgotten by the system. Every member of the team either lost a loved one to abduction or is a survivor of abduction themselves. Shanola Hampton (Shameless, You Again, Things Never Said) plays Gabi Mosley, the group’s leader. Mosley is a former kidnapping victim who, unbeknownst to the rest of her crew, keeps her abductor locked away in her basement. Mosley uses his knowledge and insight to aid in solving her team’s cases. Zeke Wallace, played by Arlen Escarpeta (The Oath, Final Destination 5, Whitney), serves as the team’s tech and hacking expert, while Margaret Reed, played by Kelli Williams (Lie To Me, The Fosters, The Practice), is Mosley’s lead investigator. Found was created by Nkechi Okoro Carroll (All American, The Resident, Bones), a television writer and producer with over a decade of experience.
Cable: All Rise originally premiered on CBS in 2019 but was canceled after two seasons. Immediately following its cancellation, the series received new life after the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) picked it up for a third and final season. On September 30th, All Rise brought in 230,000 viewers in the P2+ demographic with a rating of 0.07, and 26,400 viewers in the P18-49 demographic with a rating of 0.02. This was some of the lowest viewership of the season, however, a somewhat larger audience tuned in the following week. On October 7th, the P2+ audience rose to 284,000 viewers with a rating of 0.09, while the P18-49 audience doubled, bringing in 52,800 viewers with a rating of 0.04. The series finale of All Rise is set to air on November 18th.
All Rise is a legal drama focusing on the personal lives of judges, prosecutors, and public defenders that operate out of a Los Angeles courthouse. Simone Missick (Luke Cage, The Defenders, Jinn) plays newly appointed Judge Lola Carmichael, around whom the show centers. Carmichael, a former deputy district attorney with an impressive track record, aims to make a name for herself as the city’s newest judge. Rather than following the grain, Carmichael pushes back on corruption within the legal system and challenges expectations about what it means to be a judge in Los Angeles. In addition to Missick, the series stars Jessica Camacho (The Flash, Watchmen, Taken) as Emily Lopez, an attorney with the LA County Public Defender's Office, and Ruthie Ann Miles (The Americans, The King and I, Over the Moon) as Sherri Kanksy, an experienced judge’s assistant assigned to the newly appointed Carmichael.
Streaming: Now in its second season, The Wheel of Time is a big-budget fantasy series found on Prime Video. Season two premiered on September 1st with three episodes, with new episodes available every Friday. Between September 11th and 17th, the five released episodes streamed a total of 423 million minutes according to Nielsen. The series currently holds a 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, with a nearly identical audience score of 82%. Its 7.1 IMDb score is still favorable yet notably lower.
Based on Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson’s book series of the same name, The Wheel of Time follows Moiraine, played by Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl, The World’s End, I Care A Lot), as she embarks on an epic journey to discover The Dragon Reborn. A dragon reincarnate, The Dragon Reborn is prophesied to either prevent a primordial evil from destroying the world or bring doom. In The Wheel of Time’s world, magic exists, but only a few can wield it. Moiraine is a member of a powerful organization of women with this magical capability. The extensive cast includes Daniel Henney (Big Hero 6, My Father, The Last Stand), Madeleine Madden (Mystery Road, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Pine Gap), and Zoë Robins (Black Christmas, Serving, The Finest), among others.
South Korea: On South Korea’s free-to-watch network KBS, viewers can find the new romantic drama Live Your Own Life. Episode five of its debut season aired on October 8th to an audience of 6.302 million viewers. Viewership continues to grow with episodes six and seven; they aired the following week to an even larger audience, averaging 7.153 million viewers across the two episodes. Live You Own Life follows Hyo Sim, a successful personal trainer who decides to regain control of her life after spending decades bogged down by her demanding and unappreciative family. Breaking free from her family’s grips, she makes her own happiness and peace her priority. Live Your Own Life stars Uee (Ghost Doctor, Manhole, High Society), Ha Jun (The Roundup, The Outlaws, Crazy Love), and Go Joo-won (Love in Sadness, Haechi, My Lady).
On the pay-to-watch network tvN, audiences can find another new series titled Twinkling Watermelon. Episodes three and four of this music-centric drama aired on October 10th and 11th respectively, averaging 1.361 million viewers per episode. Viewership declined the following week, with episodes five and six averaging only 1.226 million viewers per episode. In Twinkling Watermelon, a CODA high schooler with a passion for music finds himself transported back to the year 1995 after exploring a mysterious music store. Here, he befriends his future parents and together they start a band. Twinkling Watermelon stars Ryeoun (Through the Darkness, 18 Again, Instant Romance), Choi Hyun-wook (Twenty-Five Twenty-One, Jirisan, Racket Boys), and Seol In-ah (Emergency Declaration, Business Proposal, Flowers of the Prison).
South Africa: September saw interesting fluctuations in viewership for many South African programs, with certain series exhibiting notable declines and others small increases. Uzalo continues to be SABC1’s most popular series, garnering an average of 5.140 million viewers per episode, only slightly less than last month. Generations: The Legacy outperformed Skeem Saam for the first time in months, averaging 4.141 million viewers per episode compared to 4.097 million viewers for Skeem Saam. Both shows, however, performed notably worse than last month. On SABC2, Muvhango fell to 1.228 million average viewers and 7de Laan dropped to 807,000 average viewers. Additionally, 7de Laan announced that its season conclusion in December will mark the end of the series. Scandal on ETV experienced a slight dip in viewership, dropping to 4.421 million average viewers, while House of Zwide saw a minor surge in viewership, rising to 4.142 million average viewers. On DStv, both Gomora and The River saw a drop in viewership, falling to 628,000 and 534,000 average viewers respectively.
United Kingdom: Coronation Street, The United Kingdom’s longest running soap opera, maintains its supremacy amongst rival dramas. Between September 25th and October 1st, Coronation Street averaged 4.348 million viewers across its three new episodes, consistent with previous weeks’ performance. Found on the same network of ITV1, Emmerdale averaged 3.891 million viewers across its five new episodes during this period. BBC1’s EastEnders garnered an average of 3.440 million viewers across its four new episodes, once again falling just short of Emmerdale’s viewership. On E4, the much less popular soap opera Hollyoaks averaged 362,000 viewers across its five new episodes during this same week, a notable jump in viewership compared to previous weeks.