The Best of Plus: Broadcast Drama Seasons

This is The Best Of Plus, a look at the top performers since 2001-02 using numbers that are adjusted for historical decline. The table simply looks at the top n examples, where n is the number of years since 2001-02... so with each yearly update, each list will get one entry longer. There are some pithy notes about many of the seasons below the table (plus what the list would look like with cable dramas). The chart you can activate at the bottom chronicles the top single performer within each year.

Rank	Plus	A18-49	Name	Ssn	Year
1	303	4.42	Empire	2	2015-16
2	303	5.09	Empire	1	2014-15
3	297	12.78	ER	8	2001-02
4	262	10.66	Desperate Housewives	1	2004-05
5	250	10.14	ER	10	2003-04
6	249	10.09	Desperate Housewives	2	2005-06
7	247	9.32	Grey's Anatomy	3	2006-07
8	247	2.71	This Is Us	2	2017-18
9	246	10.94	ER	9	2002-03
10	244	9.95	CSI	5	2004-05
11	233	9.47	CSI	4	2003-04
12	225	10.01	CSI	3	2002-03
13	225	9.14	Grey's Anatomy	2	2005-06
14	224	9.09	CSI	6	2005-06
15	224	2.74	Empire	3	2016-17
16	218	2.67	This Is Us	1	2016-17
17	218	3.17	The X-Files	10	2015-16
18	216	7.16	Grey's Anatomy	4	2007-08
19	213	7.05	House	4	2007-08

Notes:

What if the list were all drama seasons, and not just broadcast? The top 5 would be The Walking Dead Season 6, Walking Dead 5, Walking Dead 7, Game of Thrones 7, Walking Dead 4 and Walking Dead 8. The top three of the above table would slot in at 7,8,9, then Game of Thrones 6 and Walking Dead 3 round out the top 11. Season one of Fear the Walking Dead would qualify for the above table with a 231, but wouldn't make the cutoff if you added in all the TWD and GoT seasons.

1. In the un-rounded Plus numbers, the sophomore campaign of Empire barely got past the rookie season, though the trajectory was not nearly as riveting. It started with a 6.7 (or a broadcast drama record 460 Plus) and stayed north of 300 for most of the fall, going as low as a 247 in the spring.

2. One of the great thrill rides in TV ratings history, season one of Empire started big (a 3.8 or 226 Plus for the series premiere) and got bigger almost every week thereafter. The 11-week run culminated with a two-hour finale pulling 6.1/6.9 (or a 363/410 Plus).

3. Like Friends on the same night, season 8 of ER broke double digits in the demo for every single episode this season. Both in raw and Plus, it has the highest season low (10.9 or 253) of any broadcast scripted season in the era.

4. Before there was Empire, the smashing first season of Desperate Housewives was the gold standard in post-premiere growth. Its 8.9 series premiere ended up being the second-lowest point of the season, ahead of only the second episode. It grew for four straight weeks after that, mostly settled for awhile from there, then shot up to a series high 13.4 (329 Plus) for the season finale in May.

5. ER had a minor rebound in Friends' final season, with some help from the huge first season of The Apprentice in the 9/8c hour. ER's 13.8 demo on Friends finale night was its highest Plus (340) out of what we have available.

6. Unlike Empire, Housewives peaked with the season one finale rather than the season two premiere (12.3). But the sophomore season still stayed well within megahit territory for most of the way, only dropping below 200 for a 7.9 demo in April.

7. Peak Grey's Anatomy (at least so far?!?!) remarkably came in the first year after a big timeslot move. Alongside solid lead-in Ugly Betty, Grey's instantly made ABC a Thursday factor after years of total ineptitude. Grey's strongest days came in the February ferry crash arc, which contained the only regularly-scheduled Grey's ep to break a 300 Plus.

8. In taking a big step up in season two, This Is Us did what past megahit newbies Empire and Desperate Housewives could not. It would have averaged a 281 if the Super Bowl episode were included.

10. With Friends gone in 2004-05, the Survivor and CSI tandem finally got a chance to run things on Thursday night, and CSI responded with its highest Plus ever. This season also contained the highest single episode (an 11.6 / 285 Plus in November) and was the only CSI year to stay above 200 for every episode.

13. While Desperate Housewives tapered off a bit in season two, its Sunday teammate Grey's Anatomy moved upward. It might have eked out a small Plus uptick anyway, but it got a clear boost late in the season from one of the most successful post-Super Bowl episodes on record. (If you threw that 406 into the average, this season would average a 231 and move up a slot.)

15. It's a testament to how huge Empire was that this season could still make the list despite being down close to 40% year-to-year. The season premiere's 343 Plus is still a top-ten broadcast drama episode in the era, but it was at less than half that for its lowest points.

16. This Is Us' first season was a story of consistency rather than weekly eye-poppers; it held onto a mid-2's, megahit-level audience pretty much the whole way. At the very end, it finally caught some real fire, tying its series high with a 3.0 and setting a new one for the 3.4 (278 Plus) finale.

17. Whether this season actually belongs on the list depends on whether you want to count the football-inflated return (a 6.1 or 419 Plus). That rating was a great achievement even after accounting for football, but it averaged 'just' a 177 for the five Monday episodes. (The next show down the list would be Grey's Anatomy season 4, which averaged a 216.)