Ranking the TV Premiere Ratings of Fall 2021’s New Shows

Queens, NCIS Hawai'i, La Brea
ABC/Annette Brown; Karen Neal/CBS; NBC

Now that all the new fall shows have premiered, it’s the right time to look at which ones started off strong and which have not.

When La Brea premiered on September 28, it was the top-rated new show at the time, but did it hold that title after others made their debuts? CBS procedurals always bring in viewers, but did people tune in to new series in three hit franchises: NCIS: Hawai’iFBI: International, and CSI: Vegas? (The first two have received full-season pickups.)

Scroll down for a look at the new fall shows ranked by rating in the key demo among adults 18-49, highest to lowest, with the rank for total viewers listed on each slide. (Note: The Big Leap was available on Hulu prior to its premiere, and FBI: International premiered at 10/9c instead of its usual 9/8c time slot.)

Zyra Gorecki as Izzy and Natalie Zea as Eve in La Brea
NBC

La Brea (NBC)

Rating: 0.77

Total viewers: 6.37 million (3rd)

Elisha Williams as Dean playing baseball in The Wonder Years
ABC/Erika Doss

The Wonder Years (ABC)

Rating: 0.67

Total viewers: 3.23 million (7th)

Dasharra Bridges as Queen Dynamite in Alter Ego
FOX

Alter Ego (FOX)

Rating: 0.65

Total viewers: 2.93 million (8th)

Heida Reed, Luke Kleintank, and Vinessa Vidotto in the pilot of FBI International
Katalin Vermes/CBS

FBI: International (CBS)

Rating: 0.59

Total viewers: 6.43 million (2nd)

Utkarsh Ambudkar as Jay, Rose McIver as Samanthan in Ghosts
Cliff Lipson/CBS

Ghosts (CBS)

Rating: 0.56

Total viewers: 5.52 million (4th)

James Wolk as Joe Kimbreau in Ordinary Joe
Parrish Lewis/NBC

Ordinary Joe (NBC)

Rating: 0.52

Total viewers: 3.85 million (6th)

Vanessa Lachey as Jane Tennant, Tori Anderson as Kate Whistler in NCIS Hawai'i
Karen Neal/CBS

NCIS: Hawai'i (CBS)

Rating: 0.51

Total viewers: 6.58 million (1st)

Paul Newsome, Jorja Fox, Matt Lauria, Mandeep Dhillon in CSI Vegas
Sonja Flemming/CBS

CSI: Vegas (CBS)

Rating: 0.46

Total viewers: 4.12 million (5th)

Queens - Eve, Brandy, Naturi Naughton, Nadine Velazquez in Queens - '1999'
ABC/Annette Brown

Queens (ABC)

Rating: 0.36

Total viewers: 1.75 million (9th)

Yaya DaCosta, Alana Bright in Our Kind of People
Brownie Harris/FOX

Our Kind of People (FOX)

Rating: 0.35

Total viewers: 1.65 million (10th)

Scott Foley as Nick in The Big Leap
Sandy Morris/FOX

The Big Leap (FOX)

Rating: 0.29

Total viewers: 1.47 million (11th)

Jaye Ladymore, TL Thompson, Khailah Johnston, Derrick A. King, Brittany Adebumola in 4400
Adrian S. Burrows Sr./The CW

4400 (The CW)

Rating: 0.1

Total viewers: 0.54 million (12th)

Legends of the Hidden Temple
Tina Thorpe/The CW

Legends of the Hidden Temple (The CW)

Rating: 0.1

Total viewers: 0.28 million (13th)