TV STRIKES GOLD AFTER WALKOUTS
Ratings rocket, saving beloved actors from ax
ABSENCE does, indeed, make the heart grow fonder! More fans are tuning in to TV’s most popular scripted series, which were off the air for nearly a year due to walkouts by the actors’ and writers’ unions, than before the strike halted production!
And the small screen’s highest-paid stars like Law & Order SVU’s Mariska Hargitay can relax now that their jobs are apparently no longer on the chopping block. SVU, television’s longestrunning scripted series, has seen a nearly 10 percent spike in viewers this season, while other top shows including NCIS, Grey’s Anatomy and Young Sheldon are also pulling in their highest ratings in years! In fact, NCIS is actually attracting an average of 10 million viewers per episode, more than any scripted series did in the 2022–2023 season! Another CBS show, the newcomer Tracker, which stars This Is Us alum Justin Hartley, is on pace to be the most watched series on broadcast TV this season. An industry source tells
The National ENQUIRER the soaring ratings may save the jobs of many actors. After the networks lost hundreds of millions of dollars during the strikes, which stretched from May to last November, execs were looking for ways to cut costs.
“The network brass were antsy to see if viewers would come back or if they were turned off by the strikes that kept their favorite shows off the air for so long,” the insider spills. Cast members were particularly nervous after Law & Order megastars Jeffrey Donovan and Sam Waterston and FBI Most Wanted’s Alexa Davalos were given pink slips.
“But the networks are making money again — ratings are great, and some have seen their heads moved off the chopping block,” adds the insider.
One show that hasn’t seen a post-strike boost is Blue Bloods. Last November, CBS announced the cop drama’s current season would be its last. But stars Tom Selleck and Donnie Wahlberg believed the show would have its death sentence commuted.
“CBS will find an awful lot of people aren’t ready to say goodbye to it,” Selleck predicted. “The show’s more popular than ever, and I think [viewership] will increase with the interest this year.”
Sadly for fans, he was wrong — the March 15 episode attracted 5.5 million viewers, down from the nearly 6 million who regularly tuned in prestrike. The final episodes will air this fall.