One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other

Oh, Happy Endings. Have I told you recently how much I love you? And how worried I am for you? Yes, yes, you hit series highs coming out of Modern Family (while losing a veritable bleep-ton of MF's audience, which you inexplicably continued to bleed throughout your 29 minute run-time despite the fact that you are awesome and, in my estimation, The New Friends). But I worry.

Here's why. You're far too young-skewing for ABC's current audience, even the demo-friendly Modern Family.

Here's what happened in A50+ on ABC this Wednesday.
- The Middle: 4.5/9
- Suburgatory: 4.8/9
- Modern Family: 5.0/9
- Happy Endings: 2.7/5
- Revenge: 4.8/10

See? One of these things is not like the other.

It's like the old people took a fiber-pill induced 30-minute bathroom break before settling in for Revenge.

Meanwhile, A18-34 and A18-49...
- The Middle: 2.0/7 and 2.7/8 (-0.7)
- Suburgatory: 2.7/8 and 3.3/9 (-0.6)
- Modern Family: 5.4/15 and 5.7/15 (-0.3)
- Happy Endings: 3.2/9 and 3.1/8 (+0.1)
- Revenge: 2.1/6 and 2.7/7 (-0.6)

Your A18-34 is better than your A18-49. In short, you are a CW show that happens to air on ABC.

And I love you. Never change. Just survive. Please.

Hopefully overall numbers and retention post-MF improves as the season goes along (though I think the A50+ is a lost cause... as is the upper end of the A18-49, the parents with teenagers watching MP... just keep working that A18-34/W18-34).

Happy Endings is a show about urban early-30somethings airing on a night of family comedies. When ABC sees what it has on its hands with Apartment 23 (FKA "The Bitch in Apartment 23"... which I personally loved for the improbably comedy dream team Krysten Ritter playing a bitch and James Van Der Beek playing himself... but did not love the straight woman lead character), also not a family comedy, maybe you two can go be together and have, hopefully, a long, hilarious run.

Year of Penny, suck it.

PS - I've been asked for quarter hour ratings... like I said, there was significant bleed... but my point re younger-skewing remains the same

9:31-9:45
- 7.976 million viewers (last minute of Modern Family: 12.542 million)
- 4.9/7 HH (MF: 7.4/11)
- 3.5/9 A18-49 (MF: 5.5/14)
- 3.5/10 A18-34 (MF: 5.2/15)
- 4.6/12 W18-34 (MF: 6.4/17)

9:45-10:00
- 6.572 million viewers
- 4.1/6 HH
- 2.8/7 A18-49
- 2.9/8 A18-34
- 4.0/10 W18-34