Ratings Report: ‘The Pitt’ Joins HBO’s Top Six Shows In Viewership, ‘The Rookie’ and ‘Shrinking’ Decline Slightly
Broadcast: The Rookie just wrapped its final episode of season eight on ABC. The series is currently performing well on ABC (eighth most popular) and across general TV (36th) rankings. The eighth season garnered 5.2 million P18-49 viewers, averaging 325,838 per episode with a 0.24 average episode rating. These are slightly lower numbers from season seven which had 6.6 million viewers (367,806 average) and a 0.27 average rating. The total viewership gap is, likely in part, due to two episodes from season eight not having data as both seasons have the same number of episodes. Based on available data, the highest performing episode from season eight (episode one) had 408,400 viewers with a 0.30 rating and the highest performing episode from season seven (episode three) had 456,000 viewers and 0.34 rating. The lowest performing episodes from season eight were episodes six (258,600 viewers and 0.19 rating) and 12 (258,600 viewers and 0.19 rating); the lowest of season seven was episode 16 (274,000 viewers and 0.20 rating). These ranges reflect the larger seasonal average results. There are not enough reviews to determine what may be the reason(s) behind the drop between seasons.
The Rookie is a police procedural series that follows John Nolan, played by Nathan Fillion (Castle, Firefly), as he navigates a career switch into the LAPD as the oldest, new officer. The series is based on the experiences of William Norcross, a friend of Jon Steinberg (The Rookie: Feds, Malibu Eyes), a producer of the series. Fillion is joined by Melissa O'Neil (A Simple Favor, Dark Matter), Alyssa Diaz (Shark Night, Red Dawn), Eric Winter (The Ugly Truth, Fire with Fire), Richard T. Jones (Event Horizon, Phone Booth), Mekia Cox (Undercovers, Crazy, Stupid, Love), Shawn Ashmore (X2: X-Men United, Frozen), Jenna Dewan (Step Up, Take the Lead), Lisseth Chavez (Chicago P.D., Legends of Tomorrow) and Deric Augustine (All American, Godfather of Harlem). The Rookie has been renewed for a ninth season. The Rookie airs on Mondays at 10:00 p.m. EST/PST on ABC and is available to stream on Hulu.
Cable: The Pitt finished its second season release mid-April. The season received a 98% critics rating across 191 reviews and 85% audience rating across 500+ reviews. This is a slight increase from critics and a slight decrease from the audience from season one’s performance: 94% critics rating across 88 reviews and 88% audience rating across 1,000+ reviews. Critics and audiences across both seasons cite the performances, the realism and the constant pace the series keeps as praise for the series. The slight increase for critics could be attributed to the additional character work mentioned throughout several reviews. The slight decrease for audiences is potentially related to season one dealing with an MCI (mass casualty incident) that set the stakes higher than season two matches. The season two finale was the most watched episode of the entire series, garnering 9.7 million viewers the weekend it dropped. The season also gained a 50% improvement on season one’s average viewership, with 15.4 million viewers. The Pitt is one of six shows total on HBO Max to surpass 15 million average viewers.
The Pitt is an ensemble medical drama that follows a large cast of doctors, nurses, medical students, medical residents and other hospital staff on a shift in the Emergency Room (dubbed “The Pitt”). The series takes a unique approach in the medical drama genre by having every episode function as a semi-real time hour on a shift, with each season comprising one full shift for the team. The cast includes, but is not limited to, Noah Wyle (ER, Donnie Darko), Shabana Azeez (The Hunting, The Letdown), Sepideh Moafi (Black Bird, The Killing of Two Lovers), Patrick Ball (ReEntry, Law & Order), Katherine LaNasa (The Campaign, Valentine’s Day), Isa Briones (Goosebumps, StartTrek: Picard), Supriya Ganesh (Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game, Grown-ish), Fiona Dourif (Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, The Blacklist), Taylor Dearden (Sweet/Vicious, Heartthrob) and Gerran Howell (Ludwig, Catch-22). The Pitt has been renewed for a third season and is set to start filming June 2026. The Pitt airs on Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. EST/PST on HBO and is available to stream on HBO Max.
Streaming: Shrinking finished its third season rollout on April 8, 2026. Season three garnered a 91% critics rating across 32 reviews and a 84% audience rating across 100+ reviews. This is a 6% drop in the critics rating and 5% drop in audience rating from season two. Season one also held a 91% critics rating, matching season three, and an 89% audience rating, matching season two. The reviews across all three seasons and among both groups of reviewers repeatedly praise the performances from the actors, characterizations and relationships as well as the emotional weight the series carries. The dip in season three could be linked to some viewers feeling that certain points have gotten repetitive.
Shrinking is a dramedy series about a therapist, Jimmy Laird played by Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, The Muppets), that decides to tell his patients what he truly thinks about their cases, disregarding his ethics. The series unpacks the fallout and antics that come of his decision. Segel is joined by an ensemble cast including Jessica Williams (Love Life, Booksmart), Luke Tennie (Abbott Elementary, Jade), Michael Urie (Ugly Betty, The Decoy Bride), Lukita Maxwell (Afraid, An Autumn Summer), Christa Miller (Scrubs, The Drew Carey Show), Harrison Ford (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope) and Ted McGinley (Silent Thunder, Revenge of the Nerds). The series has been renewed for a fourth season. Shrinking is available to stream on AppleTV.
