‘Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage’ Off To Strong Start With 6.6M Viewers To Top Thursday; ‘Matlock’ Remains Solid In Time Slot Debut

Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage is picking up where predecessors The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon left off — as the most watched program on broadcast Thursday night.

The Young Sheldon spinoff opened with 6.563 million total viewers in Live+Same Day linear ratings October 17 in the Thursday 8 p.m. slot previously occupied by BBT and Young Sheldon, according to Nielsen data.

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That was the high mark for the night, which featured Thursday Night Football and two baseball playoffs games on cable/streaming as well as some of the most popular broadcast series, led by the top breakout of the season so far, CBS’ Matlock. Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage also logged the second most watched new series debut (L+SD) of the broadcast season so far behind Matlock and third most watched premiere overall, behind the Season 2 opener of Tracker (8.31M) and Matlock.

In its time period premiere, the legal drama starring Kathy Bates drew 6.383M viewers. That was down 18% from the big 7.73M (L+SD) who tuned in for the special September 22 “sneak peak” behind an NFL-boosted 60 Minutes, but still a very solid number only bested by Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage last night.

Of the other high-profile series last night, including ABC’s 9-1-1, Doctor Odyssey and Grey’s Anatomy and NBC’s Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU and Found, only one, the Season 3 premiere of CBS’ Ghosts, hammocked between Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage and Matlock, delivered more than 5M viewers in L+SD, 5.57M. CBS had the four most watched programs of the night, with Elsbeth pulling 4.761M at 10 PM, up 4% from its series debut last season.

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Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage also ranked as the No. 1 program Thursday night among adults 25–54 (0.83 rating) and adults 18–49 (0.47 rating, tied with Ghosts).

The L+SD viewership for Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage was above that for such stalwarts as CBS’ NCIS and FBI franchises, which debuted earlier this week, and NBC’s One Chicago, which means that the multi-camera comedy is headed into the weekend as the most watched entertainment program Monday-Friday (with Matlock a close second).

Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage was off from the last fall’s premiere of Young Sheldon (7.991M), which was buoyed by the show’s Netflix run and Season 7 being the show’s final chapter. Versus the Season 6 debut (6.879M), the sequel’s premiere was on par.

From Warner Bros TV, Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage follows Georgie (Montana Jordan) and Mandy (Emily Osment) as they raise their young family in Texas while navigating the challenges of adulthood, parenting and marriage. The cast also includes Rachel Bay Jones, Will Sasso, Dougie Baldwin, and Jessie Prez. Series creators Chuck Lorre, Steven Molaro, and Steve Holland serve as executive producers. Mark Cendrowski directed and executive produced the first episode.

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