Ratings Report: 'The Neighborhood' returns with gradually rising viewership, 'Narcos-Saints' revamps the Narcos Universe

Broadcast: The Neighborhood on CBS continues to boast strong viewership as the half-hour sitcom embarks on its fifth season. Since the season premiere on Sept. 19, the series has steadily drawn more viewers each week, with Oct. 3’s episode proving the most successful yet, garnering a total viewer count of 5.46 million. These latest numbers come after the season’s inaugural episode attracted roughly 4.76 million total viewers— more than a million less than season 4’s finale, which raked in just under 6 million. The show also continues to do moderately well with adults 18 through 29, with Oct. 3’s episode earning a 0.52 rating with adults 18-49 and Sept. 29’s episode garnering a 0.46 rating with the same demographic. That being said, the comedy will have to undergo a surge in popularity over the course of the current run if it expects to match last season’s performance: a 0.61 average rating with adults 18-49 and an average viewership count of 5.54 million per episode. The Neighborhood features Max Greenfield (New Girl, Promising Young Woman) as Dave Johnson, a 40-something White Midwesterner and his family after they move to a predominantly Black neighborhood in Pasadena, CA. Individual episodes often chronicle the antics Dave gets himself into by way of his extreme neighborliness— scenarios that usually involve his less-than-enthused neighbor-turned-friend, Calvin Butler, played by Cedric the Entertainer (Barbershop, The Last O.G.). 

The Neighborhood was created by Jim Reynolds, a writer-producer whose previous credits include The Big Bang Theory and Samantha Who? Greenfield and Cedric the Entertainer are joined by Beth Behrs (2 Broke Girls, Hello My Name is Doris) and Tichina Arnold (Everybody Hates Chris, Martin) who play their wives, Gemma Johnson and Tina Butler. Hank Greenspan (13 Reasons Why, Bames Jond) plays the Johnsons’ son, Grover, and Sheaun McKinney (Vice Principals, Great News) and Marcel Spears (Always a Bridesmaid, The Mayor) play the Butlers’ sons, Malcolm and Marty. The series airs on Monday nights on CBS at 8:00 PM EST/PST. All episodes are available to stream on Paramount+ the day following their release. 

Cable: The second season of HBO’s off-beat half-hour horror comedy, Los Espookys, premiered on Friday September 16 to favorable reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Thus far, the series’ second season has earned a 100% on the ratings site across six critical ratings. Last season, Los Espookys also garnered a 100% on the Tomatometer across 30 critical ratings and earned an 81% audience score with 91 users responding. The series follows a group of friends living in a fictional Latin American country who turn their love for horror into a business enterprise by selling their services as horror-scape creators who fabricate spooky situations that appear to be real for clients. The show has become somewhat of a sleeper hit with a small but devoted following of fans who revel in its quirky and humorous take on the horror genre. 

SNL and Portlandia star Fred Armisen created the show along with Ana Fabrega (Father of the Bride, The Dream) and Julio Torres (Together Together, The Great North). The show is primarily in Spanish, although it includes some English dialogue throughout. All three creators star in the show and are joined by cast members Cassandra Ciangherotti (Marea Alta, The Hours With You) and Bernardo Velasco (We Baby Bears, Museo). Los Espookys airs on HBO at 11:00 PM EST/PST on Fridays through Oct. 21 and is available to stream on HBO Max. 

Streaming: Hulu’s newest sitcom from Modern Family creator Steven Levitan, Reboot, premiered on Sept. 20 and earned positive, although not outstanding, reviews from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. The show's eight episode first season has thus far garnered an 86% critical rating on the Tomatometer with 35 critics responding and a 66% audience score across 88 user reviews. Reboot chronicles the trials and tribulations of the cast and crew of a 2000s sitcom after the show is rebooted in modern day. While criticisms of the show stem from its lackluster use of meta humor which seems to fall short of its full potential, most critics agree that the show finds its saving grace through its powerhouse TV veteran cast. The first three episodes of the show’s first season premiered together on Tuesday, Sept. 20, with subsequent episodes airing on Tuesdays on Hulu. 

Reboot boasts an impressive cast including Keegan-Michael Key (Key and Peele, Schmigadoon!), Johnny Knoxville (Drunk History, Mainstream), Rachel Bloom (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Robot Chicken), Calum Worthy (The Act, American Vandal), Krista Marie Yu (Dr. Ken, Last Man Standing), Judy Greer (Archer, Ant-Man), and Paul Reiser (Mad About You, The Kominsky Method). The series is available to stream only on Hulu. 

International: The latest iteration to spawn from Netflix’s popular Narcos Universe, Narcos-Saints, takes the franchise in a new direction— literally— by centering on the Korean-run drug trade in Suriname. In its fourth week on the streaming giant’s Global Top 10 list for non-English shows, the series raked in roughly 12.1 million hours of viewership worldwide, becoming the sixth most-watched show in the international category for the week of Sept. 6. While still considerable, those numbers fall well under the show’s average viewership counts in previous weeks. In its first week, Narcos-Saints measured 20.6 millions hours of viewership and became the fifth most watched non-English show on Netflix. The series performed even better in its second week on the platform, yielding 62.7 million hours of viewership and staking its claim as the most watched non-English show for that week. Overall, the show manages an average weekly viewership of 20.6 hours per week. 

Narcos-Saints stars Ha Jung-woo (The Handmaiden, The Yellow Sea) as Ingu, a Korean businessman who goes to South America in hopes of purchasing a new factory for his business. When Ingu inadvertently becomes tied up in the Korean narcotics trade operating in Suriname, he must cooperate with the authorities looking to take down drug tycoon Jeon Yo-hwan, played by Hwang Jung-min (The Wailing, Hush). The series, also known as The Accidental Narcos, marks the second spin-off derived from Netflix’s Narcos after Narcos: Mexico. Given the massive cult following of the new show’s predecessors, there’s no question Netflix is hoping to harness the Narcos Universe’s existing popularity and appeal to an established fan base with this next iteration. Whether or not the streaming platform will be successful in its endeavor remains to be seen, although the show’s decline in viewership less than a month into its debut doesn’t necessarily bode well for its future. The series is written by the team behind The Spy Gone North, Yoon Jong-bin (Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time, Kundo: Age of the Rampant) and Kwan Sung-hui (Ghost Sweepers, As One). Yoon is also credited as the director for all six of season one’s hour-long episodes. Ha and Hwang lead the crime thriller which also stars Park Hae-soo (Squid Game, Time to Hunt), Jo Woo-jin (Kingmaker, Steel Rain), and Yoo Yeon-seok (Mr. Sunshine, Oldboy). Narcos-Saints premiered on September 9 and is available to stream on Netflix.