Fox's 'Prodigal Son' rules the big Monday premiere ratings with 'All Rise' and 'Bluff City Law' giving it tough competition
This Monday, September 23, saw plenty of big premieres for the fall season. Fox came through with its stellar 'Prodigal Son' while NBC competed against the network with its own legal drama, 'Bluff City Law'. Among the other big releases of the night was CBS' 'Bob Hearts Abishola' and 'All Rise' and both did extremely well when it came to ratings and viewership, and taking all of them into consideration, it's time we get to the rankings for which show emerged the winner.
The clear winner in terms of viewership is CBS' 'Bull' that premiered with its fourth season on Monday and drew a total of 6.3 million viewers. The show focuses on "a charming and cocky founder of successful trial consulting firm Trial Analysis Corporation, where he and his team of experts employ psychology, human intuition and high-tech data to understand jurors, lawyers, witnesses and defendants, and construct effective narratives to help their clients win. It rose to a 0.7 rating, which was one of the lowest compared to the newer shows that premiered.
Speaking of the new arrivals, 'Prodigal Son' proved to be the overachieving brainchild of Fox as it turned out to be Monday’s highest-rated series launch out of the big four in the category. The story follows "a gifted criminal psychologist, using his twisted genius to help the NYPD solve crimes and stop killers, all while dealing with a manipulative mother, a serial killer father still looking to bond with his prodigal son and his own constantly evolving neuroses," reveals the official synopsis. With a plot that gripping, it's no wonder that the show scored a 1.0 demo rating alongside the 4.2 million total viewers that it drew in for its debut.
Next up was CBS' new comedy 'Bob Hearts Abishola' which even though aced in terms of its excellent 5.6 million viewership, dipped when it came to its 0.9 ratings. Focusing on "a middle-aged compression sock businessman from Detroit who unexpectedly falls for his cardiac nurse while recovering from a heart attack and sets his sights on winning her over," the hilarious show from Chuck Lorre proved to be tough competition for 'Prodigal Son'.
NBC's latest legal drama, 'Bluff City Law' starring fan-favorite TV lawyer Jimmy Smits following an elite Memphis-based law firm dealing with cases like false imprisonment and company fraud with a touching father-daughter drama in its core soared to a decent 0.8 rating, followed by CBS' semi-procedural 'All Rise', which won in the viewership category amidst new shows, with a whopping 6 million viewers, emerging as Monday’s most-watched series premiere. Offering "a look inside the chaotic, hopeful and sometimes absurd lives of judges, prosecutors, and public defenders as they work with bailiffs, clerks, and cops to get justice for the people of Los Angeles amidst a flawed legal process," 'All Rise' grabbed a 0.7 rating - the lowest in the category.