TV Ratings: 'The Undoing" Became A Water Cooler Hit

The dramatic conclusion to “The Undoing,” HBO’s whodunit starring Hugh Grant and Nicole Kidman, proved how it’s still possible to bring people together in today’s fragmented television world.

Citing Nielsen Data, The Associated Press reports three million people tuned in Sunday to find out who really killed the girlfriend of Grant’s adulterous character in one of three showings on HBO and on the streaming service HBO Max.

That’s likely to be a fraction of who eventually sees it, given how television is consumed today. The premiere of the six-episode series was seen by 1.4 million people the night it first aired, and by now has been seen by 9 million and counting.

“It’s a good example of how you can still have a water-cooler hit,” said Casey Bloys, HBO Programming president. “I will always point to good acting, writing and directing. It was a good story.”

“The Undoing” has generated more conversation on social media than any other new scripted television series this year, Nielsen said. Coupled with the streaming-only series “The Flight Attendant,” HBO Max had its biggest week since the service was launched.

NBC was the top-rated broadcast network in prime time for Thanksgiving week, averaging 3.64 million viewers. CBS had 3.55 million, ABC had 2.4 million, Fox had 1.6 million, Ion Television had 930,000, Univision had 890,000 and Telemundo had 530,000.

ESPN was the most-watched cable network, averaging 2.95 million viewers. Hallmark hit 2.53 million, Fox News Channel had 2 million, MSNBC had 1.59 million and CNN had 1.41 million.

➤Top 20 Prime_Times Shows (Ttotal Viewers):

1. NFL Football: Chicago at Green Bay, NBC, 16.48 million.

2. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 13.78 million.

3. “NFL Pregame” (Sunday), NBC, 13.32 million.

4. NFL Football: L.A. Rams at Tampa Bay, ESPN, 13.14 million.

5. “The Masked Singer,” Fox, 11.42 million.

6. “NFL Post-Game” (Sunday), Fox, 11.11 million.

7. “Football Night in America” (Sunday, 7:55 p.m.) NBC, 10.78 million.

8. “NCIS,” CBS, 10.16 million.

9. “FBI,” CBS, 8.4 million.

10. “Football Night in America” (Sunday, 7:30 p.m.), NBC, 7.38 million.

11. “The Voice” (Monday), NBC, 7.08 million.

12. “The Voice” (Tuesday) NBC, 7.07 million.

13. “Dancing With the Stars,” ABC, 6.42 million.

14. “Monday Night Kickoff,” ESPN, 6.22 million.

15. “I Can See Your Voice,” Fox, 6.07 million.

16. “FBI: Most Wanted,” CBS, 5.66 million.

17. “The Neighborhood,” CBS, 5.46 million.

18. “Bob Hearts Abishola,” CBS, 4.9 million.

19. “Bull,” CBS, 4.68 million.

20. “The Bachelorette,” ABC, 4.49 million.

ABC’s “World News Tonight” led the evening news ratings race with an average of 9.5 million viewers. NBC’s “Nightly News” had 8.8 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 6.3 million.

In other ratings news, CNN finished November with its most-watched month in the network’s 40-year history, showing growth in the aftermath of the election compared to rivals Fox News Channel and MSNBC.