TV Ratings: NBC’s ‘Little Big Shots’ Samples Huge, ABC’s ‘Kings and Prophets’ Struggles

The Steve Harvey-hosted series holds nearly all of its 'Voice' lead-in and ranks as the Big Four's biggest alternative launch in nearly 5 years.Little Big Shots  Courtesy of NBC

The Steve Harvey-hosted series holds nearly all of its 'Voice' lead-in and ranks as the Big Four's biggest alternative launch in nearly 5 years.

Tuesday proved to be an especially strong night for NBC, with The Voice and a preview of Little Big Shots dominating all three hours of primetime.

After a steady episode of The Voice nabbed a 3.1 rating among adults 18-49, a 10 p.m. showing of reality venture Little Big Shots brought in a 2.9 rating among adults 18-49 and 12.7 million viewers. Holding nearly all of its lead-in from the network's top-rated show, the preview did as good of a job as could be expected in building awareness for its move to Sundays.

The Steve Harvey-hosted series — part variety show, part Kids Say the Darndest Things — stands as the best Big Four alternative launch in nearly five years.

Midseason premieres continued to be less kind to ABC. The network's pricey period drama, Of Kings and Prophets, limped onto the schedule with just a 0.8 rating among adults 18-49 and 3.3 million viewers. Earlier in the night, The Real O'Neals made a softer move to Tuesdays (1.1 adults) after a steady Fresh Off the Boat (1.4 adults). Agents of SHIELD was also down from its last original with a same-day return score of a 1.1 rating among adults 18-49.

The Fox block of comedies was only partially new, with only steady episodes of New Girl (1.2 adults) and Grandfathered (0.8 adults) airing originals.

On CBS, a new Limitless earned a 1.0 rating among adults 18-49 after repeats of NCIS.

TV Ratings

Michael O'Connell