‘Minority Report,’ ‘Quantico’ Among New TV Shows Drawing Diverse Audiences

A trio of Fox programs — “Minority Report,” “Scream Queens” and “Rosewood” — and ABC’s “Quantico” are the new series drawing the most diverse audiences during the first week of the television season. Three of the four feature minority leads while the other has several minorities as part of its ensemble.

The networks have made a concerted push to diversify the casts (and leads) of their shows in a bid to draw viewership that better reflects a changing America. The country’s three largest racial minority groups — Hispanics, Blacks and Asians — account for 41.2% of the adults 18-49 in Nielsen’s TV universe estimates for this season. This is up from 40.5% for the 2014-15 season and 36.6% five years before that (2009-10).

According to an analysis of Nielsen data for Premiere Week (Sept. 21-27), Fox’s “Rosewood” drew by far the largest non-White young-adult audience (77% or 2.38 million of its 3.09 million adults 18-49) thanks to significant interest from African-Americans (65%). The Morris Chestnut-fronted show airs prior to Fox’s “Empire,” which has attracted a similar audience. Hispanics make up about 10% of its adults 18-49 viewership, and Asians about 2%.

“Minority Report,” starring Meagan Good, doesn’t quite live up to its name, but it’s close. Its adults 18-49 audience is comprised 49% of non-Whites, with Blacks (32%) leading the way. About 9% of the audience is Hispanic and nearly 8% is Asian.

The non-White audience for “Scream Queens” (49%) is higher than might be expected, but the Ryan Murphy horror comedy features Niecy Nash, Keke Palmer and Diego Boneta among its large cast, which is primarily fronted by Emma Roberts and Jamie Lee Curtis. A little more than one in four young adults watching are African-American (25.4%), according to Nielsen, the third highest percentage behind Fox’s two other new series. Nearly 16% of its 18-49 audience is comprised of Hispanics, tying it with ABC’s “Blood & Oil” as the highest in that category, and about 5% is Asian.

Joining the three Fox series as new shows with racial minorites comprising at least two of every five viewers is ABC’s “Quantico,” starring Indian-born actress Priyanka Chopra. According to Nielsen, non-Whites make up 41% of its audience, with 21% of 18-49 viewers Black, 12% Hispanic and a little over 8% Asian.

Three NBC series — “Heroes” (31.8%), “The Player” (31.6%) and “Blindspot” (30.8%) — and ABC’s “Blood & Oil” (30.4%) derive at least 30% of their audience from non-Whites. CBS’ “Limitless” (26.9%), ABC’s “The Muppets” (26.5%) and CBS’ “Life in Pieces” (19.1%) had the smallest chunks of their audience coming from racial minorities.

There are approximately 126.81 million adults 18-49 In Nielsen’s TV universe for this season. The biggest non-White minorities are Hispanics at 20.4%, Blacks at 14.3% and Asians at 6.5%.

MOST POPULAR PREMIERES BY RACE
(in adults 18-49)

Whites
1. Blindspot (NBC)
2. The Muppets (ABC)
3. Life in Pieces (CBS)
4. Limitless (CBS)
5. Heroes (NBC)

Hispanics
1. Blindspot (NBC)
2. Scream Queens (Fox)
3. The Muppets (ABC)
4. Rosewood (Fox)
5. Quantico (ABC)

Blacks
1. Rosewood (Fox)
2. Scream Queens (Fox)
3. Quantico (ABC)
4. Blindspot (NBC)
5. Minority Report (Fox)

Asians
1. Blindspot (NBC)
2. The Muppets (ABC)
3. Quantico (ABC)
4. Heroes (NBC)
5. Life in Pieces (CBS)

Source: Nielsen (Sept. 21-27)

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