Shaking up the ratings
What happens when The Big Bang Theory takes a week off ? It’s television ratings anarchy, that’s what.
With no new episodes of the CBS comedy airing on March 2, Criminal Minds cosied into the No. 1 spot in Canada for the week.
The episode titled Alpha Male saw Dr. Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler) struggling to adapt to life in prison. It was filmed at the defunct Sybil Brand Institute, an all-women Los Angeles County jail famous for housing cult member Susan Atkins and Whitewater controversy figure Susan McDougal.
So brilliant was Criminal Minds that it bested both Chicago P.D. and Chicago Justice — the latter airing its premiere episode, which was part of a Chicago franchise crossover onslaught that night.
It was also a good week for homegrown shows.
The Season 4 premiere of CTV’s foodie showdown MasterChef Canada made the Top 5, CBC’s Murdoch Mysteries (with a storyline featuring horror writer H.P. Lovecraft) placed at No. 11 and CTV’s detective drama Cardinal wrapped up its first season at No. 22. Also of note, all three episodes of The Voice that week landed in the Top 10.
Across the country, Global News Hour was the most-watched program in Vancouver.
Calgary Flames hockey was tops in its hometown.
Hockey Night in Canada won out in Edmonton, while CTV Evening News drew the most viewers in Montreal, and Criminal Minds ruled in the Greater Toronto Area.
Here are the top programs in Canada for the week of Feb. 27-March 5, the most recent ratings available, courtesy of audience measurement organization Numeris:
1. Criminal Minds, CTV
2. Chicago P.D., Global
3. Chicago Justice (Wed.), Global
4. MasterChef Canada, CTV
5. CTV Evening News, CTV
6. NCIS: Los Angeles, Global
7. The Voice (Mon.), CTV
8. The Voice (Thurs.), CTV
9. Chicago Fire, Global
10. The Voice Results (Tues.), CTV
11. Murdoch Mysteries, CBC
12. Chicago Med, Global
13. Taken, Global
14. The Big Bang Theory (weeknights), CTV
15. Chicago Justice (Sun.), Global
16. Shades of Blue, Global
17. Saturday Night Live, Global
18. The Blacklist: Redemption, Global
19. CTV National News, CTV
20. NCIS, Global
21. CTV Evening News Weekend, CTV
22. Cardinal, CTV
23. Heartland, CBC
24. Scorpion, City
25. W5, CTV