TV Ratings: 'Empire' Grows Yet Again as Season Finale Approaches

by Michael O'Connel

The Fox drama hits another season high in its eighth episode, marking its seventh week of consecutive growth.

With only three more weeks left in its freshman season, Empire is still growing.

For the seventh week in a row, the Fox drama clocked another series high — rising to a 5.3 rating among adults 18-49. That's technically even with last week's final score, but two-tenths of an improvement over last Wednesday's fast nationals. And with a minute of lower-rated American Idol bleeding into Fox's 9 p.m. hour, last night's Empire is all but sure to be adjusted upward.

As for total viewership, Empire rose to 13.75 million viewers — making it the most watched telecast of the night.

Empire's growth continues to leave many scratching their heads. Seven consecutive weeks of improvement for a freshman series in unheard of these days. Up 39 percent from its premiere, it has now grown more than any other broadcast drama since House M.D. in 2004. For Fox, it will only be able to get three more Wednesdays out of the show. Four hours of the freshman order remain, with a two-hour finale slated for March 18.

As for American Idol, the show was steady with a 2.6 rating among adults 18-49 — now less than half of its lead-out's haul.

Elsewhere on the broadcast dial, CBS went back-to-back with reality competitions. The returns of Survivor (2.3 adults) and The Amazing Race (1.5 adults) both were steady with their last spring season premieres.

On ABC, The Middle (2.0 adults) shed two-tenths of a point from last week's score. The Goldbergs (2.5 adults) and Modern Family (3.4 adults) each jumped three-tenths of a point from their recent episodes, while Black-ish (2.3 adults) and Nashville (1.4 adults) held steady.

The Mysteries of Laura (1.4 adults) also clocked some odd growth, rising three-tenths of a point from last week to its highest score since October. Law & Order: SVU (1.6 adults) was steady and Chicago P.D. (1.5 adults) rose two-tenths of a point.

Arrow (1.0 adults) shed two-tenths of a point on the CW ahead of a steady episode of The 100 (0.6 adults).