#Hawaii season 1 sets ratings high after NFL football

NCIS: Hawaii season 1 episode 12 aired last night after the epic NFL showdown between the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs. Because of that game going into overtime, we expected some big ratings here — did that end up happening?

In a word, yes. Last night’s new episode “Spies, Part 1” ended up generating a 2.2 rating in the 18-49 demographic and close to ten million viewers, making this by far the most-watched episode of the show. It’s enough to make you feel like this was easily the right decision for CBS to program the show after the game — the hope for them is that Hawaii will be around for many years to come, and financially they likely want to support a show with long-term potential over one that is already several years into its run.

Does this make the Vanessa Lachey series all the more of a slam-dunk for a season 2 renewal? We’d say yes, but it’s also worth noting that NCIS: Hawaii was never in that much danger in the first place. This show was always going to be coming back unless the numbers cratered over the next couple of months.

So will this performance mean a larger audience checks out the show tonight? We’d love to say the answer here is “yes,” but typically special episodes like this rarely carry big numbers over after the fact. (The same goes for post-Super Bowl outings.) The goal for CBS here is probably that NCIS: Hawaii retains roughly 5-10% of the people who watched it for the first time last night. If they do that, it will have to be considered a success and then some. It certainly helps the show that tonight’s episode is only 24 hours after the last one; it makes the story feel more continuous that way.

Related – Be sure to get some more news on NCIS: Hawaii, including other updates on what’s coming up tonight

What did you think about the ratings for NCIS: Hawaii last night?

Do you think this helps to ensure the show will get a season 2 renewal? Be sure to share right now in the attached comments! Once you do just that, stick around to get some other updates on the show. (Photo: CBS.)