'Til Death' benefits from 'Idol' boost
After slow start, show picking up new viewers
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But the Brad Garrett-Joely Fisher series about a long-married couple and their newlywed neighbors has gotten a second wind with a relaunch behind ratings magnet "American Idol," and has significantly improved its chances of returning in the fall.
"Idol," of course, provides an ample halo for numerous shows, but in the end, they each must fly on their own.
After two post-"Idol" outings, though, it appears that "Til Death" -- a show that many had written off after poor performances on Thursday -- has struck a chord with new viewers, and could very well be around for the long haul.
For its pilot episode, aired a couple of weeks before the traditional start of the season, "Til Death" averaged a tame 3.1 rating/10 share in adults 18-49 and 8.8 million viewers overall -- decent numbers for Fox in the 8 o'clock half-hour -- but that ended up being the net's high-water mark on the night.
Over the course of its 18 Thursday airings, "Til Death" averaged a soft 2.1 rating/6 share in adults 18-49 and 5.3 million viewers overall -- consistently finishing fourth in its time period, and, on a few occasions, even fifth. But Fox, believing in the show and realizing that it faced brutal competition (including "Survivor," "My Name Is Earl" and "Ugly Betty"), gave it another shot on Wednesdays at 9:30 following the "American Idol" results show.
That strategy has paid off with two strong performances. On March 21 "Til Death" averaged a 5.8 rating/15 share in adults 18-49 and 14.1 million viewers overall, retaining a hearty 57% of its demo lead-in from "Idol." And one week later, it grew to a 6.1/16 in the demo and 14.9 million viewers overall, holding onto 59% of "Idol's" ample coattail and again easily leading its timeslot.
The improvement in its second Wednesday airing is especially eye-opening -- and makes "Death" a stronger performer than any comedy to air behind "Idol" to date.
"Til Death" will continue to air for the next three weeks, with its hourlong season finale set for April 11.
