Gotham’s new Thursday home not helping ratings
Gotham’s move to Thursday nights might be bad news for the show that has always had steady but not stellar ratings for Fox.
Gotham has always been the workhorse of Fox’s DC shows. It works hard for its ratings and has grown a very loyal fan base as a result. Now in its fourth season, the show has been moved from its original home at 8pm on Monday nights to the same time on Thursday nights. That move, however, isn’t doing any favors for the Fox show as the ratings have hit a low point.
The season premiere of Gotham had 3.2 million viewers and a 1.0 in the 18-49 demographic, but the numbers tanked by week 2’s episode “The Fear Reaper,” which brought in 2.8 million viewers for a 0.8 rating.
Gotham has never been known for having strong ratings and instead has always had steady ratings. By comparison, Gotham’s Monday night sister show Lucifer enjoyed growing ratings and now serves as the lead-in to the new Marvel series The Gifted, which fills Lucifer’s old 9pm time slot on Mondays. Gotham’s steady but weak ratings are likely the reason that Fox waited until well after the season 3 finale to renew the show for a fourth season. (Lucifer was renewed in February)
More from Bam Smack Pow
- James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy casts more major DC characters
- New Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom trailer pushes Arthur to his limits
- Monarch: Legacy of Monsters episodes 1 and 2 review: Aftermath
- 7 actors who could replace Ezra Miller as The Flash in the DC Universe
- The 9 best (and 8 worst) Arrowverse characters
Gotham has even more competition on Thursday nights than it did in its original time slot. Whereas Gotham once faced off against Monday Night Football, the show now bumps up against Thursday Night Football, the return of powerhouse Will & Grace and Grey’s Anatomy. Strictly speaking, Gotham’s new home on Thursdays will not do it any favors. It’s unfortunate because there are so many exciting stories to be told and it would be sad to see the show suffer as a result of this move.
Are you watching Gotham? What do you think of the new night?