The NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS: New Orleans ratings are moving in the right direction as the current seasons approach their conclusions.
In fact, in the updated March 22 ratings, NCIS: L.A. and NCIS: NOLA set new high-water marks for the Sunday night time slots.
That’s great news.
NCIS: Los Angeles ratings for Season 11
A new episode for NCIS: L.A. aired on March 22, and it had a great lead-in with a rebroadcast episode of NCIS. Maybe that helped because the final numbers are very nice for CBS.
It was estimated that just over 7.4 million viewers tuned in for Season 11, Episode 18. That is the first time that more than seven million viewers have watched an episode of the show live this season.
We don’t know the total DVR viewers yet — which are measured in the seven days following the episode date — but they could push the episode past 10 million total viewers.
The most Live +7 viewers for an episode of NCIS: Los Angeles this season was roughly 9.4 million and that was for Season 11, Episode 2.
We expect that number to get surpassed and we also expect the March 29 episode to challenge everything for the most-viewed episode of the season.
When you can’t catch a break. ??#NCISNOLA pic.twitter.com/teOO9Li4Ol
— NCIS: New Orleans (@NCISNewOrleans) March 30, 2020
NCIS: New Orleans ratings for Season 6
A nice bump was received by the March 22 episode of NCIS: New Orleans as well. It drew just over 6.5 million estimated viewers, making that the biggest draw the show has had since moving to Sunday nights.
That’s a number that CBS has to love — or any network would love to see — during the 10/9c time slot on a Sunday night.
We also expect that number to get surpassed by the March 29 episode, especially with so many people on lockdown around the country.
When it comes to the DVR viewers for NCIS: NOLA, those numbers are even more impressive than NCIS: L.A., with the show averaging more than three million viewers watching each episode later on.
With those numbers, it’s possible that the Live +7 mark for the March 22 episode could slide past 10 million total viewers.
As we previously reported, CBS has not yet renewed any NCIS show, so there are questions surrounding the shows as they wind down this spring.
It didn’t help that production had to be shut down, but with more people watching television, the bumps in overall numbers could help any show trying to get renewed.
If we had to make a prediction, we feel that NCIS: Los Angeles will return in the fall with Season 12 and that NCIS: New Orleans will return with Season 7 — especially with the impressive TV ratings numbers taking place.
NCIS: Los Angeles airs at 9/8c and NCIS: New Orleans airs at 10/9c Sunday nights on CBS.