Summer's first hit is... "Windfall"??

from variety

NBC scores a 'Windfall'
Peacock's lottery drama pays off
By RICK KISSELL

The NBA Finals got off to a pretty good start for ABC on Thursday,
but that didn't keep NBC from cashing in solid numbers for new drama
"Windfall." "Windfall's" demo delivery bested the bows of Fox's "The
OC" in 2003 and of every other scripted summer drama to preem in the
past six years....

karl...

How can something be a 'hit' based on one episode? People tuned in, at
best, to see what it was about. At worst their viewing was a reflexive
habit. Neither makes the show a 'hit'. Commander-in-Chief was proclaimed a
'hit' after the first episode too.

David...

It's just a heading, people. It was meant to convey my surprise that a
shoiw that's so obviously a burn-off could get off to such a good
start. Obviously it's very likely to decline in week 2 but so far it
does make for an interesting story.

(though "Commander in Chief" would probably still be a hit if it didn't
go through all the backstage turmoil)

If it has big numbers after a dozen episodes then it's fair to call it a
'hit'.

I can't say it did anything for me. A night time soap about a bunch of
lottery winners I care nothing about. Though to be fair I had it on as
background while at the computer. It never drew me in.

I'm so tired of police/legal dramas. I like the genre but it's just too
much. Between that and night time soaps there is really nothing at all for
me in the hour long drama space. Outside NBC's sitcom troika of Scrubs,
Earl, Office there isn't much in the sitcom area either.

allenkirshner...

Spin, spin, spin.

1) How many scripted summer drama series have their actually been in
the last few years (or ever)?

2) The numbers look good in comparison to those of lead-in 'My Name is
Earl' but not unto themselves.

3) The show finished third in its TIMESLOT as per overnight ratings
reported by Zap2it.com:

"Without a Trace" finished CBS' night with a 7.8/13 at 10 p.m. ABC's
NBA coverage improved to 6.9/12. The premiere of "Windfall" on NBC
delivered a 5.8/10.

(snip)

and tv week

ABC Takes Thursday Demo Win with NBA Finals
Fox's 'Dance,' NBC's 'Windfall' Both Perform
By Christopher Lisotta

ABC was the top-rated network Thursday in the adults 18 to 49
demographic thanks to its telecast of the NBA Finals game featuring
the Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks, but Fox and NBC were also
able to enjoy a couple of ratings three-pointers.

The NBA game scored a 4.0 preliminary national rating in the demo, a
number that includes live-plus-same-day viewing, according to Nielsen
Media Research. That game tied with an original episode of Fox's "So
You Think You Can Dance" at 9 p.m. (ET) as the top-rated program for
the night.

At 10 p.m., NBC pre-empted regular time period holder "ER" to debut
the lottery-winner drama "Windfall," which scored a 3.3 in adults 18
to 49. That was good enough to tie for third place with a repeat of
CBS's 9 p.m. procedural "CSI."

"Windfall" improved the 10 p.m. time period by 57 percent over last
week and grew 27 percent from its lead-in, a repeat of comedy "My Name
Is Earl" (2.6).

CBS's summer reality series "Gameshow Marathon" scored a 1.9 in adults
18 to 49 at 8 p.m., declining 17 percent from its debut in the time
period last week.