‘Empire’ falls to second-lowest rating in series history

“Empire,” the highest-rated scripted show on broadcast, continues to see declines, though it’s still far ahead of everything else on Wednesday night.

The 9 p.m. drama averaged a 3.6 adults 18-49 rating last night, according to Nielsen, down 12 percent from last week’s 4.1 overnight rating. (The show adjusted up to a 4.2 in the finals.)

That marks the second-lowest-rated episode ever of Fox’s smash hit, behind only a pre-Thanksgiving show last year that posted a 3.2.

And it continues a trend of declines seen during the second half of last season.

Still, “Empire” is so dominant that it was still 1.3 points ahead of the night’s No. 2 program, ABC’s “Modern Family” (0.3, down from a 2.6 last week).

Other shows decline as well

“Empire” was hardly the only program to see declines. Nearly everything on broadcast dropped from last week’s premiere.

Earlier in the night, Fox’s rebooted “Lethal Weapon” averaged a still-solid 1.9, down 14 percent from last week’s bow.

Another new drama, ABC’s “Designated Survivor,” also slid, from a 2.3 overnight last week to a 1.8 last night, down 22 percent. (“Designated” adjusted to a 2.2 in the finals last week.)

“Designated” still won its 10 p.m. timeslot.

NBC’s “Blindspot” (1.2) and “Chicago Fire” (1.5) both slid a tenth from last week. “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” fell 0.3 at 9 p.m., to a 1.5.

ABC’s entire comedy lineup was down, with new comedy “Speechless” falling 10 percent to a 1.8. If it can stay around that level, the network will be happy.

The season premiere of “Criminal Minds,” without original cast member Thomas Gibson, fell 11 percent from last year but was even to its season finale in 18-49s, posting a 1.8. In total viewers, CBS’s bread and butter, “Minds” wasn’t too far behind “Empire” in the hour, with 8.9 million to the latter’s 9.6 million.

CBS’s 10 p.m. drama “Code Black” drew a 1.2 in the demo, third among the Big Three, though it was second behind “Designated” in total viewers.

Earlier in the evening, CBS’s “Survivor” was its ever-steady self with a 2.1.

***

Top show of the night in 18-49s

Fox’s “Empire” 9-10 p.m., 3.6 rating.

Top show of the night in 18-34s

Fox’s “Empire” 9-10 p.m., 3.0 rating.

Top show of the night in total viewers

Fox’s “Empire” 9-10 p.m., 9.58 million.

Tags: blindspot, designated survivor, empire, fox, new shows, overnight ratings, overnights, speechless, wednesday overnights