It's been a long and agonizing wait, but the numbers are finally in. With the premiere of "Women's Murder Club" three Friday nights ago, the fall television schedule of that night has finally been stabilized. Barring any cancellations or drastic changes in quality, the Nielsen patterns of each program are unlikely to fluctuate wildly.
So how is the cult-beloved "Friday Night Lights" doing in the game of ratings? The Nielsen breakdown of the timeslot reveals a complicated scoreline.
On the basis of pure eyeballs alone, "Friday Night Lights" is being outshone, plain and simple. Despite a recent climb in total viewers - its premiere drew 6.5 million people, and subsequent episodes 5.42, 5.48, and this past Friday's episode 5.88 million people - the show still trails far behind its rivals in the timeslot.
Even though "Women's Murder Club" is bleeding followers every single week, those ditching the club seem to be going to "Moonlight" instead; in any case, both "Club" and "Moonlight" are averaging much higher audiences, at 9.5 and 8 million watchers respectively. Given these trends in total viewership numbers, "Friday Night Lights" will probably never get out of its laggard third place in this category.
That being said, another yardstick favored by network executives may keep our "Lights" in play, and that is the all-important 18-49 demographic. Much prized for its purchasing power and therefore by advertisers, this age group is fiercely contested by any and every network, and "Friday Night Lights" is attracting as much of this demographic as "Club", and only slightly less than "Moonlight".
What this means is that, while unlikely to be picked up for the full season based on overall popularity, NBC may justify such a decision by citing the show's appeal to advertisers.
And the chances of it doing so are looking good, at least for the moment. With the network's "Journeyman" floundering in its Mondays 10 pm / 9 pm central slot, there has been talk of a trade in showtimes between "Journeyman" and "Friday Night Lights".
While this is a risky venture - the post-"Heroes" timeslot could increase viewers for "Friday Night Lights", or expose the series's inability to get new people in the game - it shows that the network is trying to keep "Lights" going.
The continued and many comparisons to similarly lauded-but-underwatched "Veronica Mars" may also persuade NBC to let the show play out this season at least.
So, all things considered, fans of "Friday Night Lights" may very well have a full season to rejoice.
But, as always, the only sure way to avoid cancellation heartbreak is to persuade everyone and their Nielsen-having grandmas to tune in to the show. Whatever advertisers, critical reception, and bags and bags of peanuts may bring to the game, networks and Nielsen numbers are what matter in the end.
So if you want "Friday Night Lights" to continue lighting up your Friday nights (or possibly Monday nights), watch. It's that simple.
"Friday Night Lights" airs every Friday on NBC, at 9 pm / 8 pm central.
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