As “Shifting Gears” closed out its sophomore season, the ABC sitcom revved up its biggest audience since its fall premiere, TheWrap can reveal exclusively.
The finale, which aired Feb. 4 at 8 p.m. ET/PT at ABC, scored 6.9 million viewers and 0.99 rating in the key demo among adults 18-49 after a week of viewing on ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and digital platforms, according to Disney multiplatform data and Nielsen live-plus-seven-day big data plus panel numbers.
The delayed multiplatform viewing marks a 59% rise from the initial live-plus-same-day viewership of 4.33 million, as well as a 154% increase from the initial rating of 0.39.
The “Shifting Gears” finale left off on a cliffhanger as Riley (Kat Dennings) was left to choose between Gabe (Seann William Scott) and Andy (Jesse Williams), in a move showrunner Michelle Nader told TheWrap was a shift from the original plan of having Riley and Andy be over. “Jesse’s talent and their chemistry made us pivot,” Nader said. “I have no idea where this goes, which is the exciting part. I think that’s what’s exciting to the audience, too.” The show has not been renewed for Season 3 yet.
After “Shifting Gears,” “Abbott Elementary” also saw ratings wins as it scored a total viewership of 5.93 viewers — rising 110% over the initial live-plus-same-day viewership of 2.83 million —and a rating of 1.72 — rising 310% over the live-plus-same-day rating of 0.42.
On linear alone, “Abbott” scored 3.88 million total viewers and earned a 0.64 rating across seven days of viewing, marking the show’s best performance in both measures in nearly four months, since Oct. 15.
“Abbott Elementary” will return with a new episode on March 4, which will see Janine ask Ava for a classroom aide as the school seeks out a new gym teacher and Dominic confides in Jacob, per the official logline.
“Abbott Elementary” airs Wednesdays 8:30 p.m. ET/PT on ABC, and streams the next day on Hulu.
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