Tuesday, December 3, 2024

TV: ABC’s “The Conners” Continues in Ratings Hell, Losing 2 Million Viewers from This Time Last Year

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There was such a big reaction last week to my report on “The Conners” that we continue with updates.

This past week, “The Conners” on ABC Wednesday night at 9pm scored 3.73 million viewers. That’s exactly 2 million less than the week of November 26, 2019. Last year it was 5.76 million. Where did everyone go?

The key demo dropped from 1.6 million to 1 million of those fans.

A couple of viewers suggested that ABC might move the show back to Tuesdays at 8 once “The Bachelorette” is done, and “Dancing with the Stars.”

But there’s been no such announcement. “The Conners” has been put out to pasture. It still wins the night, which says a lot of about Wednesday viewing anyway. It’s very low.

Wednesday’s episode was directed by “Wonder Years” star Fred Savage. It was written by Jana Hunter and Mitch Hunter. The description: “Friends in High Places and Horse Surgery” – Darlene begins to develop a friendship with a manager at Wellman Plastics, which lands her in an awkward situation between the boss and her sister, Becky. Meanwhile, Louise’s brother, Neville, tries to win over Jackie by making a thoughtful gesture, creating uncomfortable tension.”

What I don’t see there is any mention of John Goodman as Dan. I don’t know who Louis and Neville are. Jackie is Laurie Metcalf, and the show should be writing for her in a big way. If Goodman and Metcalf aren’t at the center of the stories, you’re going to lose the die hard fans. Period.

PS The fans are angry the show punted on introducing Roseanne and Dan’s missing son, Jerry Garcia. Tom Pelphrey would have been perfect for the role. There’s still time to fix that decision.

 

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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