TV Ratings: ‘Legends of Tomorrow’ Dips in Monday Night Debut

The Legends of Tomorrow have finally returned, but The CW’s time-travelling team struggled a bit in their Monday night debut.

This week marked the first new episode of Legends since the show went on hiatus in December, as well as the first episode in the new Monday time slot, where it took over for Supergirl. Despite the appearance of fan-favorite warlock John Constantine (played by Matt Ryan), the series returned to a dip in the ratings.

“Daddy Darhkest” began its Monday night run with 1.5 million viewers and a 0.5 rating in the 18-49 demographic. These numbers are down slightly from the show’s midseason finale (1.6 mil/0.6), Season 3 average (1.67 mil/0.55), and last week’s episode of Supergirl (2.1 mil/0.6).

While Legends of Tomorrow‘s numbers weren’t stellar, the odds were stacked against the series last night. The first episode on a new night or time slot can be difficult for any TV series, and Legends have the added challenge of returning against NBC’s coverage of the Winter Olympics. The games averaged 20.5 million viewers during the broadcast, earning a 5.2 rating in the demo.

In addition to the massive competition coming from the Winter Games, Legends of Tomorrow was up against a night of popular reality programming. ABC’s The Bachelor (5.9 mil/1.5) took a slight hit while Big Brother: Celebrity Edition (5.2 mil/1.3) rose for the second night in a row.

Legends of Tomorrow will continue to air on Monday nights for the remainder of its third season, with its finale airing on April 9. One week later, Supergirl returns to the time slot to air the remainder of its Season 3 episodes.