Ratings Report: ‘The Chi’ Struggles
Queen Latifah - CBS
Broadcast: The Equalizer is one of the largest new CBS shows that has both the name recognition from a popular film franchise as well as the original 80s show. Starring Queen Latifah as the main lead, premiering directly after the Superbowl back in February, and being a popular action show, It has been drawing absolutely massive amounts of viewers even on rerun weeks and has not suffered the overall dip in spring viewings than most shows have. It has enjoyed a steady amount of viewership with the finale drawing a healthy 7.13 million viewers. This highly rated show has already been renewed for a second season and the spy thriller genre on TV has another hit to rival The Blacklist and Killing Eve.
Christina Elmore, Jonica T. Gibbs, and Ashli Haynes - Twentities/BET
Cable: HBO’s heavy-hitting drama about the southside of Chicago returns as the characters have grown quite a bit and the stories gaining more prominence with the current political climate as it was written and filmed during the past year. With a strong showing of Lena Waithe’s popularity hitting highs as her new season of Master of None as well as her BET show Twenties has been renewed for a second season. In addition, last fall The Chi towards the end of last season had some strong showings numbers-wise and ended with an all-time high for digital engagement according to Waithe. Unfortunately, the show started this year with much lower debut numbers compared to last season, and it is concerning having returned with only around 340,000 viewers during its premiere with a much smaller debut in the demo as well with only a 0.8 return, though early reviews of the season are highly favorable.
Go Min Si and Lee Do Hyun
International: Youth of May is a new drama set during a disturbing time in Korean history, the Gwangju Uprising, the culmination of a decade of authoritarianism and the protest movement that grew out of the desire for democracy and hate for the militaristic government that ruled South Korea with an iron fist. The show documents the love story of a medical student and a nurse as they protest and stand up for what is right during this tumultuous time in South Korean history. It caps out at 2.16 million viewers for episode 5, setting a new record.
