New TV Season: How Are the Hyped Series Doing?

Now that the fall TV season is well underway and some of the most anticipated new shows have settled into a groove, it's time to assess the performance of the most hyped newcomers.

The big winner among new broadcast shows seems to be NBC's Blindspot. The mystery/thriller series debuted with strong ratings, and its early episodes also enjoyed big boosts in ratings numbers from delayed viewing. It has the best ratings in the 18-49 age demeographic of any new series, and this week NBC announced that it's order a full season of the series, making it the first the new series to get tapped for a full season.

Over at ABC, the news isn't so rosy. That network's hot debut was The Muppets, which scored big ratings with its first episode. Unfortunately, the series' second episode saw a 30% drop in ratings, and the series' audience decreased by another 15% for the third episode. The steep drop-off is likely because of the controversial adult orientation of the series, a tone that isn't sitting well with many fans of the Muppets.

Fox's Scream Queens isn't doing so well, either. The series was the subject of considerable social media buzz before its debut, leading many to expect it to attract a big audience. But ratings for the series premiere were disappointing, and they've only gotten worse since then; its ratings are off by about a third from those of the first episode.

It's too early to suggest that either The Muppets or Scream Queens is in danger of cancellation, but it's clear that neither show is having an easy time living up to expectations.