After All That, Ratings for The View Are Down

To some, The View is simply a daytime talk show to fold laundry to. To others, it is a modern day Shakespearean play that we’re watching unfold in real time. The show has had its comedic moments, at times it feels like a tragedy and there’s even a bit of romance. And now, we have yet another page in saga of 4-5 women sitting around a table talking about stuff.

After what seemed like an endless road to the finally locking in new castmembers, we can’t even call this new cycle of the The View a success. In its 18th season, ratings for The View are down. As The Hollywood Reporter notes, their numbers aren’t horrible, but it’s certainly not the rebranded hit they were likely hoping for.

It’s not that the numbers are bad. View recently averaged a competitive 2.8 million viewers and a 1.0 rating in women 25-to-54. But its showing in the key demo is pacing downward for the fourth straight season and is 30 percent south of where it was five years ago. It doesn’t help that The View‘s advantage over CBS’ The Talk now is negligible. Recent weeks have seen the two shows evenly matched in the two key female demos.

Womp womp womp. Perhaps in addition to The Talk, viewers are giving The Real a try? Perhaps The Chew or The Doctors? Or maybe everyone is just holding out for the premiere of The F.A.B.