Well, this is getting a little depressing now. In addition to getting reviews that ranged from a low of really, really bad to a high of “we’re not giving up on it yet,” Fox’s Mulaney also pulled in the worst ratings of any show premiering this fall, losing 50% of its Family Guy lead-in, which was itself down 50% from last week’s Simpsons crossover premiere. That’s not good.
BUT.
The “worst ratings of any series this fall” thing is a little misleading, though. The season premiere was up against the following alternatives last night from 9:30-10 p.m. …
- Sunday Night Football
- The MLB Playoffs
- The season premiere of Homeland
- Boardwalk Empire
- The Good Wife
… in addition to your various reality shows and Real Housewiveses. Sunday nights are gridlock, as we’ve outlined before. (It ain’t getting any easier next week, for the record, as the season premiere of The Walking Dead gets added to the list.) Could the show have attracted a few more eyeballs if it aired in a less competitive time slot? I mean, maybe. Probably not enough to change its long-term fate one way or the other, but still, maybe enough to avoid the “worst of the season” tag.
I don’t know, man. I still really like John Mulaney and I’m rooting like hell for this show to get a creative/ratings jolt as the season goes on, but for right now, this is a heck of a bummer.
