'Community' Ratings: Did the Social Media Campaigns Work?
For four days now, we've found ourselves living in the darkest timeline, following the news that NBC has yet to find a place for 'Community' on their midseason schedule. Though the Peacock insists that the cult comedy will return at some point, fans have taken to social media to register their disapproval of the scheduling snub, starting petitions and defacing their avatars with evil goatees. Even AOL TV's resident 'Community' skeptic, Mo Ryan, is on the "Save Community" bandwagon (read her open letter to NBC here).But did all of the righteous indignation result in a ratings bump for the perennially on-the-bubble show when it aired another hilarious episode last night?
Kind of ...
The comedy rose a tenth of a point to a 1.6 rating in adults 18-49, with 3.63 million viewers. Comparatively, 'Parks and Recreation' was up 11 percent to a 2.0 rating straight after. Fans -- and dubious NBC executives -- were likely hoping for a much bigger bump, given the increased critical support the show has seen in the past few days, but apparently none of those loyal viewers are in possession of Nielsen boxes. There's still some hope that the show will be adjusted up once Live+7 DVR numbers come in, but the news is a little disheartening.
NBC's other comedies slid too, with 'The Office' matching a season-low rating of 2.9 (5.5 million), and 'Whitney' slipping 10 percent to a series low of 1.9 in adults 18-49 (4.1 million). The recently-cancelled 'Prime Suspect' fell 15 percent to a 1.1 adults rating (4.4 million), equal with its series low.
Elsewhere on the schedule, Fox's 'Bones' ranked as the night's top drama with 8.8 million viewers and a 2.8 share, while CBS dominated the night overall in the demo for the first time this season, with 'The Big Bang Theory' scoring a 5.2 rating and 14.8 million viewers, 'Rules of Engagement' steady with 3.6 (11 million), 'Person of Interest' slipping just a touch with a 2.6 (11.6 million), and 'The Mentalist' dropping 14 percent to tie its season low of 2.5 in the demo, even as it dominated in total viewers (12.1 million). Check out TV By the Numbers for more.
Do you think 'Community' is in danger?

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