ABC’s Tuesday Dramas Soar With Midseason Premieres

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ABC’s Tuesday dramas dominated during the network’s midseason premiere week, with “The Rookie,” “High Potential” and “Will Trent” all rising over notable benchmarks over seven days. In fact, “High Potential” and “Will Trent” were the top two scripted programs of the week among Total Viewers, leading the return of NBC’s “One Chicago” lineup and the midseason premiere crossover event for “Law & Order” and “Law & Order: SVU.”

“High Potential” (9 p.m.)

• In its new timeslot, “High Potential” shot to 12.33 million Total Viewers and 1.97 rating among Adults 18-49 after seven days of viewing on ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and digital platforms, leading the show’s fall season average among Total Viewers (+3%; vs. 11.97 million) and shooting past the show’s fall finale (+7%; vs. 11.52 million).
• On linear over seven days, “High Potential” delivered a season high with 8.68 million Total Viewers, ranking as the No. 1 scripted program of the week across broadcast and cable, and earning the second highest audience to date for the series.

“Will Trent” (8 p.m.)

• The Season 4 debut of “Will Trent” earned 8.91 million Total Viewers and 1.05 rating among Adults 18-49, rising above last season’s finale episode in Total Viewers (+12%; 7.99 million on 5/13/25) and notching its best performance in nearly a year — since 2/11/25.
• The season opener also grew over the Season 3 average in Total Viewers (+5%; vs. 8.52 million).
• On linear, the show earned 7.21 million Total Viewers, ranking as the No. 2 scripted program of the week across networks.

“The Rookie” (10 p.m.)

• “The Rookie” returned strong for its new season with an episode filmed on location in Prague, earning 9.35 million Total Viewers and 1.97 rating among Adults 18-49, rising over last season’s premiere among Total Viewers (+6%; 8.86 million on 1/7/25) as well as last season’s average (+6%; vs. 8.80) with its strongest performance since last March.
• In fact, “The Rookie” Season 8 opener delivered its best ratings among both Total Viewers (9.35 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.97) in over six years, since its Season 2 premiere (9/29/19).
• “The Rookie” earned the biggest premiere for the series on streaming and ranks in the top five ABC premieres of all time on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ (based on seven days of views).

“The Rookie” took the crown as the most social program of the entire week across broadcast and cable with 475,627 social interactions, up +93% over the Season 7 debut (vs. 246,646 on 1/7/25) and leading the premieres of “The Masked Singer” (1/7/26) and the “Law & Order,” “Law & Order: SVU” premiere crossover event (1/8/26).

As announced earlier, “The Rookie” moves to its new timeslot next Monday, Jan. 26, following “American Idol,” (10 p.m. ET/PT) with ABC’s new drama, “RJ Decker,” joining ABC’s powerhouse Tuesdays on March 3 (10 p.m. ET/PT).

Source: Nielsen National Live+7 Day Big Data Plus Panel Program Ratings and ABC Multiplatform +7 Day data for 1/6/26 (w/o 1/5/26 – 1/11/26), 24/25 based on Big Data Plus Panel, while prior years are panel-only. Talkwalker SCR.

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