Prodigal Son returned from its winter break with a season-low. This isn’t anything to worry about though. Not just yet! Here’s a look at the live ratings.
Prodigal Son returned after its winter break on Jan. 20 and certainly didn’t disappoint. We not only saw the FBI and NYPD work together to find Malcolm, but we watched Malcolm figure out things alone. He got a chance to awaken memories that had long been repressed.
Sadly, the live TV ratings didn’t connect to how great the episode was. Prodigal Son hit a season-low.
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In a way, the figures aren’t all that surprising. The majority of networks opted for a shorter break. Even FOX opted for a shorter break with the majority of shows. We went a month-and-a-half without new episodes of the Tom Payne-led series, so is it all that surprising that some viewers didn’t tune in live?
In the end, 3.072 million people tuned in, an 8% drop from the midseason finale. The demo rating sat at 0.7, an almost-3% drop.
With all this, there isn’t anything to worry about. At least, not just yet. There’s no way FOX is considering canceling Prodigal Son right now. It’s constantly touted as fall’s #1 new drama. It was also FOX’s #1 new fall drama, although 9-1-1: Lone Star has taken over as the #1 drama of the 2019-2020 season right now.
The idea of canceling the series doesn’t make sense. The average still puts the show in eighth place out of 13 scripted shows. Only two have been renewed so far (The Simpson and Bless the Harts) and one is likely to be canceled (Almost Family). One of the show (Empire) is also ending, so FOX needs to keep a couple of its new shows around. 9-1-1: Lone Star and Prodigal Son are the likely two.
On top of that, we’re just looking at the live ratings here. Something FOX benefits from is Hulu. Since being acquired by Disney, all FOX shows head to Hulu the following day, which allows people to catch up quickly. TV shows heading to streaming has certainly helped many survive, so it will definitely help Prodigal Son.
So, while it was a season-low, don’t worry about the figures too much right now. What’s more important is how the show does from this point onward.
What did you think of the Prodigal Son midseason premiere? What would you like to see moving forward? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Prodigal Son airs Mondays at 9/8c on FOX.