The Question, Wednesday 10/3/12: How Neighborly is the 8:30 Timeslot?

In a very underwhelming traditional premiere week for new show debuts, the biggest of the week raw numbers-wise was one of the most critically-loathed shows of them all: ABC's comedy The Neighbors, airing after megahit Modern Family. But premiering the biggest is no guarantee of success, as the biggest premiere week premiere two years ago ($#!* My Dad Says) can attest. And The Neighbors won't even have the long-term lead-in support that Bleep had; instead, it moves to the 8:30 slot tonight and follows much more middling The Middle. How neighborly is the 8:30 slot for The Neighbors? That's The Question for Wednesday, October 3, 2012.

ABC Comedy Wednesday Premieres	Week Twos with Big Lead-in Drops
2.9 (The Middle, 8/7c) 5.5 (Modern Family, 9/8c) 3.2 (The Neighbors, 9:30/8:30c)	-36% (Happy Endings) (2.8 -> 1.8) -35% (Up All Night) (3.7 -> 2.4) -38% (Free Agents) (2.1 -> 1.3)

I couldn't think of a lot of precedents for this kind of situation, but the ones I did think of took really big drops. And I'm pretty sure the critics hate The Neighbors more than they hated any of those shows. That said, The Middle is still a more reasonable lead-in than some of these shows had in week two. If pre-tune-in is a thing, The Neighbors may suffer a bit from the 5.0+ Modern Family audience not turning to ABC early; the net instead will broadcast a debate tonight starting at 9/8c.

Over/Under: 2.05.

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