MovieChat Forums > Hello, Larry (1979) Discussion > Ratings Info, If You're Interested

Ratings Info, If You're Interested

posted 16 years ago by tgibbs279
1 reply | jump to latest

There used to be something called the Reader's Digest Almanac. For a while, it included the yearly Nielsen ratings, top to bottom. Not just the top 20 or 25, the way other reference books do.
According to the 1980 and 1981 RD Almanacs, 'Hello, Larry' was number 70 during the 1978-79 season. It had a rating of 15.7.
During the 1979-80 season, it was in 56th place, with an average rating of 17.0.
I'm posting this, because I thought fans of the show might be curious about how it did in the ratings. I find these numbers interesting, because NBC renewed the show when it was in 70th place, and cancelled it after its ratings had IMPROVED. That seems like a strange decision to me, especially since NBC was a distant third at the time. For NBC, a show in 56th place wasn't great -- but it wasn't horrible either.

[–] blazerfan40 16 years ago

That's funny because I read just the opposite on a Hello Larry fan page. That page had info claiming that during it's first season it finished in the top 40 (37th I think) and during it's second season it finished around in the high fifties. This would make more sense but I have no clue what his info was based on or if it was accurate. One thing that might have to be taken into consideration is that Hello Larry was a mid season replacement that premiered at the end of January in 79 which may factor in somehow if it got that late start. It may have rated in the low 30's during it's run but compared to the whole tv season it came up 70.
I do see your point though if your info is correct because it showed an increased audience during it's second season and you're right that NBC was in the tank at that time so that is puzzling. The only thing I can think of is that since it had a plumb spot right after Different Strokes, which was the networks one hit and had three crossever episodes with HL, the execs felt the dropoff in ratings during the night was too big. One other thing that might factor in is that during the second season they kept adding more cast, both at the beginning and during the season, which may have made the show more expensive. When the show started there were only five regular cast members, by the time the show was cancelled the cast had swollen up to nine not counting recasting the older daughter and having Shelly Fabre around constantly as the ex wife. It should also be noted that the show was constantly being made fun of by Johnny Carson and was hated by the critics.