On a night of season finales, Scandal‘s closer dwarfed them all, drawing a 3.4 in adults 18-49 and 10.5 million total viewers Thursday. The twisty ABC drama was up 13% in 18-49 and 14% in viewers from last week to log its second highest numbers ever in both categories and the highest-rated finale to date.
Related: ‘Scandal’: Shonda Rhimes Whips Up Spoiler Storm With Season Finale
Against the Scandal closer, the season finale of NBC’s Parenthood (1.3) was up 18% from last week. But versus last year’s finale, which aired in January in the series’ previous Tuesday 10 PM slot, it was down 24%. Community (1.0) also inched up in its season finale, up 11% from last Thursday. (Compared with last May’s finale, it was down 23%). The bumps help as both shows are being considered for (possibly partial) final-season orders. Community edged the only NBC comedy already assured a return next season, Parks And Recreation (0.9), which slipped a tenth (10%) from last week to hit a series low. Hollywood Game Night (0.9) was down 18% from its most recent original two weeks ago, also marking a series low.
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CBS’ bubble comedy The Crazy Ones had the odds stacked against it for a strong final impression as its hourlong season finale was the only original on the network last night. With no original lead-in, the back-to-back episodes averaged a 1.5 in 18-49, down 12% from last week and a series low. Despite a rerun at 8 PM (Grey’s Anatomy), ABC easily won the night in 18-49 (2.2), finishing neck and neck with CBS in total viewers (7.323 million vs. 7.369 million).
Fox’s unscripted series were up from last Thursday: Hell’s Kitchen (1.7) by 21%, American Idol (1.9) by 12%. But midseason comedy Surviving Jack (1.0) continues to fade, down 17% from last week to a new low. The CW’s The Vampire Diaries (0.7) was down a tenth from last week, while Reign (0.4) was flat.
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