Evolution of... All Genres

This final Evolution of... post will bring the previous four together as a color-coded reproduction of the War of 18-49 Final Battlegrounds. Once again, it's kind of an information overload, and getting around that was kind of the point of these evolution posts, but anyway......... I think starting around the middle of the decade up till now, there are enough shows included that you can see kinda how these genres evolved (though, again, there are still tons of other primetime shows missing). I don't see ironclad trends to come out of this particular list, but notice how comedies tend to creep up the list near the end of the decade while crime dramas creep down. For example, Two and a Half Men (highlighted also in my fun facts post) is the top comedy at #16 on the list in the mid-aughts, but by the time you're into the last few years, Men is much higher-ranked and there's always at least one other comedy included within the top 16. As I mentioned on the fun facts post, we're just looking at veteran shows, so it's not a commentary on the "rise of comedy" in all of primetime so much as a commentary on the fact that comedies hold up in their "older" years better than many of these dramas. But throw in stuff like The Big Bang Theory and Modern Family and the genre would/will look even better on these charts.

Color code:
CRIME DRAMAS

OTHER (NON-CRIME) DRAMAS

SITCOMS

UNSCRIPTED

1999-2000

ER 12.2/15.0/20.2

Survivor (summer) 6.1/12.07/22.8

The Simpsons 6.3/7.7/9.2

Law & Order 5.6/7.1/7.8

Law & Order: SVU (half on F) 3.6/4.9/6.6

2000-01

ER 10.4/13.66/16.1

Survivor (fall) 11.2/12.57/15.9

The Simpsons 6.9/7.9/9.8

Law & Order 5.8/7.2/9.2

CSI (half on F) 4.4/6.6/9.3

Law & Order: SVU (F) 4.4/5.1/5.7

2001-02

ER 10.9/12.77/14.7

CSI 6.6/8.8/10.5

Survivor (spring) 7.5/8.6/10.4

Survivor (fall) 6.6/8.59/11.3

Law & Order 6.2/7.4/8.8

American Idol Performance (summer) 4.5/6.2/9.3

Scrubs 5.4/6.1/8.3

The Simpsons 4.2/6.1/7.5

American Idol Results (summer) 4.1/5.8/10.7

Law & Order: SVU (F) 4.3/5.4/6.2

The Bachelor (spring) 3.7/5.0/7.3

According to Jim 3.2/4.7/5.8

The Amazing Race (spring) 3.8/4.6/6.1

24 3.7/4.4/5.4

Law & Order: CI 3.5/4.4/6.8

The Amazing Race (fall) 3.6/4.2/6.0

Smallville 2.6/3.2/3.8

2002-03

ER 8.9/10.99/13.1

CSI 8.0/10.0/11.6

American Idol Performance 8.5/9.9/12.4

American Idol Results 7.9/9.9/14.9

Survivor (fall) 7.4/8.7/9.9

Scrubs 5.4/8.1/10.9

The Bachelor (fall) 4.9/7.87/11.9

The Bachelorette (winter) 6.0/7.85/9.3

Survivor (spring) 6.1/7.5/9.1

CSI: Miami 5.4/6.73/8.6

The Simpsons 4.6/6.6/10.3

Law & Order 5.1/6.6/7.6

The Bachelor (spring) 4.7/5.99/7.2

24 4.3/5.7/6.6

Without a Trace 4.3/5.4/6.4

Law & Order: SVU (F) 4.4/5.2/6.3

Law & Order: CI 4.4/5.2/6.0

According to Jim 3.0/4.50/6.1

Smallville 3.8/4.1/4.5

The Amazing Race (fall) 3.2/3.95/4.7

The Amazing Race (summer) 2.8/3.2/3.7

America's Next Top Model (summer) 1.2/1.8/2.3

2003-04

American Idol Performance 9.0/10.8/13.1

The Apprentice 9.1/10.31/13.6

American Idol Results 8.5/10.2/12.7

ER 8.3/10.14/13.8

CSI 6.5/9.4/10.8

Survivor (spring) 7.2/8.57/10.6

Survivor (fall) 7.0/8.1/9.7

CSI: Miami 5.9/7.01/9.0

The Bachelor (fall) 4.8/6.44/8.8

Law & Order 5.0/5.9/7.6

Without a Trace 4.7/5.7/6.8

Two and a Half Men 4.8/5.6/6.6

Scrubs 3.4/5.5/8.3

Law & Order: SVU 4.7/5.38/7.4

The Bachelorette (winter) 4.1/5.24/6.2

The Bachelor (spring) 4.2/5.22/6.0

The Simpsons 3.2/5.1/7.8

Law & Order: CI 4.0/4.8/5.7

The Amazing Race (summer) 4.3/4.7/5.6

According to Jim 3.3/4.5/6.0

24 3.0/4.5/5.9

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 1.6/4.08/5.8

Cold Case 2.7/3.5/4.3

America's Next Top Model 2.2/3.0/3.8

(Navy) NCIS 2.4/2.8/3.1

Smallville 2.1/2.7/3.0

One Tree Hill 0.8/1.5/2.1

2004-05

American Idol Performance 9.8/11.2/14.0

American Idol Results 9.0/11.0/12.5

Desperate Housewives 8.6/10.66/13.4

CSI 8.3/9.92/11.6

ER 6.5/8.26/9.8

Grey's Anatomy 7.2/8.09/9.8

The Apprentice (fall) 6.6/7.66/8.3

Survivor (spring) 6.4/7.5/9.1

CSI: Miami 6.5/7.47/8.6

Survivor (fall) 6.8/7.4/7.8

Lost 5.9/6.89/8.4

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 3.4/6.56/9.0

Without a Trace 3.3/6.5/7.7

The Apprentice (winter) 4.8/6.48/7.4

Two and a Half Men 4.6/5.9/8.1

Law & Order: SVU 4.7/5.54/6.5

Medium 4.4/5.5/6.3

CSI: NY 3.8/5.3/7.1

The Amazing Race (spring) 4.6/5.3/6.8

House 2.5/5.28/7.7

Dancing with the Stars (summer) 4.3/5.1/6.7

24 4.5/5.06/6.3

The Amazing Race (winter) 4.0/4.6/5.2

Law & Order 3.6/4.56/6.2

The Simpsons 3.4/4.5/5.6

The Biggest Loser 3.7/4.4/5.9

Wife Swap 3.1/4.18/5.3

Family Guy (some in summer) 3.0/4.1/5.8

Law & Order: CI 2.8/4.1/5.3

The Bachelorette (winter) 3.3/3.9/5.0

Supernanny 2.9/3.86/4.7

Cold Case 3.1/3.8/4.8

According to Jim 3.0/3.8/4.9

American Dad! 3.0/3.7/4.7

The Bachelor (fall) 3.3/3.69/3.9

The Bachelor (spring) 2.9/3.51/3.9

Numb3rs (F) 2.9/3.4/5.0

NCIS 2.9/3.3/3.9

Scrubs 2.4/3.3/4.3

The Office 2.3/2.95/5.0

America's Next Top Model (spring) 2.2/2.5/3.0

America's Next Top Model (fall) 1.8/2.4/2.9

Smallville 1.8/2.3/3.0

One Tree Hill 1.6/2.0/2.4

2005-06

American Idol Performance 11.4/12.9/15.3

American Idol Results 9.2/12.0/14.2

Desperate Housewives 7.5/10.09/12.3

Grey's Anatomy 7.2/9.13/11.2

CSI 7.4/9.08/10.6

Lost 6.1/7.92/10.2

House 4.8/7.16/10.2

Survivor (fall) 5.7/6.54/7.7

CSI: Miami 5.3/6.35/7.0

Without a Trace 5.0/6.31/7.3

ER 5.1/6.16/7.1

Survivor (spring) 4.9/5.82/7.0

24 4.8/5.67/7.0

Law & Order: SVU 4.8/5.48/6.5

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 2.8/5.42/7.1

Two and a Half Men 3.8/5.15/5.9

My Name is Earl 4.0/5.13/6.6

Dancing with the Stars (winter performance) 4.6/5.1/5.5

CSI: NY 4.3/4.97/6.5

The Apprentice (fall) 4.5/4.97/5.7

The Simpsons 3.5/4.6/5.6

Family Guy 3.8/4.3/4.8

The Amazing Race (fall) 3.5/4.3/4.7

Medium 3.7/4.29/5.2

The Office 3.6/4.15/5.1

The Biggest Loser 3.0/4.12/6.7

Criminal Minds 3.3/4.08/6.5

The Bachelor (winter) 2.7/3.98/5.1

Old Christine 2.4/3.9/5.1

The Apprentice (winter/spring) 3.3/3.88/4.4

NCIS 3.0/3.87/4.4

Bones 2.8/3.8/5.2

Cold Case 2.9/3.8/4.5

Law & Order 2.6/3.72/4.8

American Dad! 3.1/3.7/4.1

How I Met Your Mother 3.0/3.7/4.4

Dancing with the Stars (winter results) (F) 3.0/3.6/4.0

Numb3rs (F) 2.9/3.40/3.8

The Amazing Race (spring) 2.5/3.4/4.1

Wife Swap 2.6/3.34/4.4

Law & Order: CI 2.6/3.33/4.1

Scrubs 2.6/3.11/4.0

Ghost Whisperer (F) 2.3/3.1/3.6

Supernanny (half on F) 1.7/3.1/4.4

According to Jim 1.9/2.6/3.2

America's Next Top Model (fall) 2.1/2.5/3.0

Smallville 1.8/2.4/2.9

America's Next Top Model (spring) 2.0/2.3/2.8

Supernatural 1.6/2.2/2.6

One Tree Hill 1.3/1.5/1.7

2006-07

American Idol Performance 9.3/11.78/15.8

American Idol Results 9.9/11.99/15.5

Grey's Anatomy 7.6/9.38/11.6

House 5.8/7.94/11.2

Desperate Housewives 6.1/7.57/9.6

CSI 5.2/6.91/8.4

Heroes 5.1/6.13/6.9

Lost 4.9/5.85/7.7

Dancing with the Stars (fall performance) 5.2/5.7/7.5

CSI: Miami 4.7/5.61/6.5

Survivor (fall) 4.3/5.46/6.5

Dancing with the Stars (spring performance) 4.8/5.2/6.4

ER 3.1/4.96/6.8

Dancing with the Stars (fall results) 3.7/4.9/7.1

24 3.8/4.80/6.1

Two and a Half Men 3.6/4.78/5.8

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 2.5/4.77/6.4

Brothers & Sisters 3.4/4.67/6.0

Survivor (spring) 4.1/4.65/5.7

Law & Order: SVU 3.8/4.65/5.3

CSI: NY 3.3/4.57/6.0

Rules of Engagement 3.6/4.57/5.2

Dancing with the Stars (spring results) 3.9/4.5/6.7

Family Guy 3.6/4.32/4.8

Criminal Minds 3.3/4.27/5.2

The Simpsons 3.0/4.26/5.4
The Office 3.2/4.13/5.0 

Ugly Betty 2.8/3.97/5.0

Without a Trace 3.0/3.95/4.8

The Bachelor (spring) 3.4/3.89/4.8

My Name is Earl 3.0/3.82/4.6

The Amazing Race (fall) 3.3/3.8/4.1

NCIS 3.1/3.66/4.2

Cold Case 2.7/3.62/4.3

American Dad! 2.8/3.6/4.5

Old Christine 2.4/3.45/4.4

Supernanny 2.1/3.41/4.2

The Biggest Loser 2.6/3.34/4.8

How I Met Your Mother 2.8/3.33/3.9

Wife Swap 2.4/3.30/3.9

Bones 2.5/3.3/4.4

The Bachelor (fall) 2.7/3.27/3.9

The Amazing Race (spring) 2.8/3.18/3.9

Scrubs 2.3/3.08/4.0

Ghost Whisperer (F) 2.5/3.00/3.6

Numb3rs (F) 2.3/2.98/3.5

Law & Order: CI 2.0/2.94/4.2

Medium 2.4/2.91/3.7

'Til Death 1.7/2.90/6.3

The Apprentice 2.3/2.86/4.1

Law & Order (F) 1.9/2.75/3.6

30 Rock 1.7/2.57/3.2

America's Next Top Model (fall) 1.9/2.51/3.0

America's Next Top Model (spring) 1.8/2.46/3.0

According to Jim 1.8/2.31/3.2

Friday Night Lights 1.7/2.30/3.5

Smallville 1.4/1.92/2.34

Supernatural 1.2/1.38/1.7

One Tree Hill 0.9/1.32/1.9

2007-08

American Idol Performance 8.4/10.6/13.8

American Idol Results 6.8/10.0/12.6

Grey's Anatomy 5.1/7.16/8.8

House 5.1/7.05/9.0

Desperate Housewives 5.5/6.71/7.8

CSI 4.2/5.78/8.2

Lost 4.6/5.31/6.7

Dancing with the Stars (fall performance) 4.7/5.3/6.0

Heroes 4.9/5.24/6.5

Two and a Half Men 4.4/4.95/5.4

Family Guy 3.6/4.77/5.6

Survivor (fall) 4.5/4.72/5.2

Dancing with the Stars (spring performance) 4.1/4.7/5.6

Dancing with the Stars (fall results) 3.9/4.6/6.4

The Office 3.6/4.53/5.1

CSI: Miami 3.9/4.42/4.9

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 2.3/4.41/5.6

Law & Order: SVU 3.6/4.39/5.1

Brothers & Sisters 3.0/4.22/5.0

Survivor (spring) 3.8/4.16/4.8

Rules of Engagement 3.7/4.05/4.5

Dancing with the Stars (spring results): 3.6/4.0/4.4

The Simpsons 2.9/3.97/5.7

Without a Trace 3.1/3.80/6.4

Criminal Minds 3.1/3.64/4.5

The Celebrity Apprentice 3.1/3.62/4.5

CSI: NY 2.9/3.61/4.1

The Amazing Race (winter) 2.8/3.53/4.3

How I Met Your Mother 3.1/3.50/4.5

The Bachelor (fall) 3.2/3.48/4.2

Old Christine 2.7/3.46/4.5

ER 2.9/3.45/4.1

The Biggest Loser (spring) 2.9/3.44/4.4

NCIS 2.9/3.36/4.1

The Biggest Loser (fall) 2.7/3.27/4.6

American Dad! 2.4/3.18/4.2

Bones 2.7/3.17/3.6

Law & Order 2.6/3.16/3.8

Medium 2.5/3.11/3.5

Scrubs 2.4/3.10/3.8

My Name is Earl 2.4/3.09/3.8

Ugly Betty 2.2/3.03/3.9

Cold Case 2.1/2.91/3.5

30 Rock 2.5/2.82/3.4

The Bachelor (spring) 2.3/2.68/3.2
Supernanny 1.4/2.66/4.0

The Bachelorette (summer) 1.8/2.55/3.7

Ghost Whisperer (F) 2.0/2.50/2.9

Numb3rs (F) 2.1/2.48/2.8

'Til Death 1.9/2.47/4.3

America's Next Top Model (fall) 1.6/2.38/2.8

Wife Swap 1.6/2.21/3.3

America's Next Top Model (spring) 1.7/1.93/2.3

Friday Night Lights (F) 1.7/1.85/2.1

Smallville 1.4/1.70/2.1

According to Jim 1.1/1.57/2.3

Law & Order: CI (USA) 1.1/1.4/1.7

One Tree Hill 1.1/1.34/1.6

Supernatural 1.0/1.19/1.3

2008-09

American Idol Performance 8.0/9.1/11.7

American Idol Results 7.7/9.2/11.8

Grey's Anatomy 5.0/5.73/7.4

Desperate Housewives 4.1/5.29/7.1

House 4.5/5.21/6.0

Two and a Half Men 4.0/5.06/5.6

Dancing with the Stars (spring performance) 4.2/4.9/6.1

CSI 3.4/4.75/7.1

Lost 3.8/4.46/5.2

Dancing with the Stars (fall performance) 3.9/4.3/5.3

The Office 3.4/4.27/4.9

The Bachelor (winter) 3.1/4.23/6.7

Survivor (fall) 3.8/4.17/4.5

How I Met Your Mother 2.9/4.01/4.8

CSI: Miami 3.3/3.98/5.2

Family Guy 3.2/3.98/5.1

Survivor (spring) 3.5/3.91/4.5

Dancing with the Stars (fall results) 3.3/3.9/5.1

The Biggest Loser (spring) 3.2/3.78/4.7

Heroes 2.6/3.65/5.0

Rules of Engagement 1.9/3.65/4.4

24 3.1/3.64/4.3

NCIS 3.1/3.64/4.0

Criminal Minds 3.0/3.61/4.7

Law & Order: SVU 2.5/3.55/3.9

Dancing with the Stars (spring results) 2.8/3.5/5.2

ER 2.6/3.49/6.0

Brothers & Sisters 2.8/3.47/4.6

CSI: NY 2.9/3.38/4.3

The Simpsons 2.5/3.38/6.2

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 1.9/3.32/4.1

30 Rock 2.4/3.30/4.1

The Biggest Loser (fall) 2.6/3.23/4.6

The Celebrity Apprentice 2.8/3.15/3.9

The Amazing Race (fall) 2.7/3.15/3.5

The Amazing Race (spring) 2.6/3.11/3.7

Bones 2.3/2.93/3.5

American Dad! 2.3/2.91/3.6

Without a Trace 2.5/2.73/3.4

Cold Case 2.1/2.68/3.1

The Bachelorette (summer) 2.1/2.62/3.5

Ghost Whisperer (F) 2.1/2.53/2.9

My Name is Earl 1.7/2.46/2.8

Medium 1.9/2.38/2.9

Ugly Betty 1.7/2.34/3.3

Law & Order 1.7/2.26/3.0

Numb3rs (F) 1.8/2.23/2.7

Scrubs 1.5/2.16/3.2

Old Christine 1.6/2.05/2.4

America's Next Top Model (fall) 1.7/1.97/2.3

America's Next Top Model (spring) 1.4/1.76/1.9

'Til Death 1.4/1.75/2.3

Supernanny (F) 1.1/1.69/2.3

Smallville 1.3/1.61/1.9

Wife Swap (F) 1.1/1.50/1.8

One Tree Hill 1.1/1.43/1.9

Supernatural 1.1/1.33/1.7

Friday Night Lights (F) 1.1/1.32/1.6

According to Jim 0.9/1.31/2.2

Law & Order: CI (USA) 0.9/1.2/1.5

2009-10

American Idol Performance 6.2/8.34/11.8

American Idol Results 5.9/7.73/10.1

Two and a Half Men 4.4/4.94/5.8

House 3.6/4.85/6.7

Dancing with the Stars (spring performance) 6.4/4.84/4.0

Grey's Anatomy 3.5/4.83/6.7

Lost 3.7/4.49/5.8

Desperate Housewives 3.3/4.25/5.3

The Bachelor (winter) 3.3/4.08/5.3

NCIS 3.1/4.07/4.8

The Office 3.2/3.97/4.8

Survivor (spring) 3.4/3.91/4.5

Survivor (fall) 3.4/3.86/4.4

Family Guy 3.1/3.85/5.2

The Biggest Loser (fall) 3.1/3.74/5.0

Dancing with the Stars (fall performance) 3.4/3.67/4.1

Criminal Minds 3.1/3.60/4.4

CSI: Miami 2.7/3.59/4.3

How I Met Your Mother 2.8/3.53/4.0
CSI 2.8/3.40/4.1 

The Simpsons 2.4/3.38/6.9

The Amazing Race (fall) 2.8/3.38/3.7

The Biggest Loser (spring) 2.8/3.36/4.6

Dancing with the Stars (fall results) 2.6/3.33/4.3

The Amazing Race (spring) 2.6/3.13/3.9

CSI: NY 2.3/3.03/4.0

Rules of Engagement 2.5/3.00/3.6

The Bachelorette (summer) 2.5/2.98/3.8

24 2.3/2.93/3.9

American Dad! 2.0/2.89/3.6

Bones 2.4/2.88/3.6

Brothers & Sisters 2.2/2.85/3.7

Dancing with the Stars (spring results) 2.4/2.83/3.9

The Celebrity Apprentice 2.3/2.80/3.4

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 2.1/2.71/3.7

30 Rock 1.9/2.69/3.3

Law & Order: SVU 2.0/2.68/3.3

Heroes 1.8/2.30/2.8

Cold Case 1.7/2.15/2.6

Old Christine 1.5/1.94/2.3

Ghost Whisperer (F) 1.3/1.86/2.3

Medium (F) 1.3/1.84/2.2

Numb3rs (F) 1.6/1.79/2.2

Law & Order (half on F) 1.2/1.64/2.0

Scrubs 1.1/1.52/2.3

America's Next Top Model (fall) 1.3/1.51/1.8

America's Next Top Model (spring) 1.2/1.51/1.7

Ugly Betty (F) 0.9/1.36/1.7

Supernanny (F) 0.9/1.24/1.6

Supernatural 1.0/1.22/1.4

Wife Swap (F) 0.9/1.12/1.4

One Tree Hill 0.9/1.10/1.3

Friday Night Lights (F) (summer) 0.9/1.06/1.3

Smallville (F) 0.7/1.01/1.2

Law & Order: CI (USA) 0.7/0.88/1.1

'Til Death (F) 0.5/0.82/1.3

You can see the individual genre posts at the "evolution of" label below.