Friday night isn’t all right for OUAT and Marvel’s Inhumans

Once Upon a Time and Marvel’s Inhumans have low numbers coming out of Friday’s ratings. But this shouldn’t be surprising at all.

It’s the story of a show in its seventh season and a brand new show that has enjoyed a huge publicity push. Neither one is performing well, and this isn’t surprising. How so?

They air on Fridays.

Everyone knew that Once Upon a Time was going to have a big challenge heading into its retooled seventh season. The vast majority of the characters are gone and the story not only rewrites the characters as we know them, but it doesn’t even take place in Storybrooke. Now, this concept was an instant turnoff for many people who don’t want to try to invest in the new version of the show. For those willing to give the show a fighting chance, the odds were stacked against the show before it even aired because it was moved out of Once Upon a Time’s traditional Sunday night time slot and moved to Fridays. Now that numbers have been released, viewership has hit an all time low in the season 7 premiere.

The same can be said about Marvel’s Inhumans. The new series has enjoyed a big marketing blitz, but unlike OUAT that arrives with a ready-made fanbase, Inhumans needs to build a base and airing the show on Friday is just not the way to do it.

Pardon the pun, but once upon a time ABC ruled Friday nights with their TGIF lineup that included Full House and Family Matters. Friday nights were must-watch television. These days, though, people have more options for their television viewing pleasure, so unless it’s a great show, people don’t feel obligated to hang around and watch live. Yes, DVR is always an option, but that’s only if you remember to set it.

The reality is that a great deal of Friday programming is not very memorable, and that’s what makes it hard for any show to get traction when it either moves to or debuts on Friday nights. It had better be something strong, like a Shark Tank or Hawaii Five-0, to survive. Otherwise new shows could show up dead on arrival.

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Are you watching Once Upon a Time or Marvel’s Inhumans? Would you rather see those shows on other nights of the week? Let us know in the comments!