NEW YORK 鈥� ABC 鈥淭he Bachelor鈥� ended a season that had as much drama off the set as on with its most-watched episode of the year and final appearance of host Chris Harrison 鈥� at least for a while.
The pre-taped season finale with Harrison reached 6.1 million viewers last Monday and the 鈥淎fter the Final Rose鈥� special, hosted by Emmanuel Acho, was seen by 5.67 million, the Nielsen company said.
Harrison was criticized last month for defending a contestant after she was seen in racially-insensitive pictures attending a plantation-themed ball in 2018. Harrison later apologized but it was announced he would be stepping away from the show for an undetermined period.
It's not clear whether he will be back. Former bachelorettes Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe will host the upcoming season of 鈥淭he Bachelorette.鈥�
Ratings for the most recent season of 鈥淭he Bachelor,鈥� where Matt James was the franchise's first Black bachelor, have been down but ticked up in its last few episodes.
James had selected contestant Rachael Kirkconnell, who had appeared in the plantation-themed pictures. During the 鈥淎fter the Final Rose鈥� special, he revealed that he had broken up with her after the controversy came to light.
It's tough to judge whether Harrison's absence had any impact on the 鈥淎fter the Final Rose鈥� ratings, because ABC hadn't done one of those specials since 2018.
CBS won the week in the ratings, with an average of 4.5 million viewers in prime time. NBC had 3.6 million, ABC had 3.4 million, Fox had 2 million, Univision had 1.4 million, Ion Television had 1.2 million and Telemundo had 1.1 million
Fox News Channel led the cable rankings, averaging 2.23 million viewers. TBS had 1.88 million, MSNBC had 1.65 million, TNT had 1.41 million and HGTV had 1.2 million.
ABC's 鈥淲orld News Tonight鈥� led the evening news ratings race with an average of 8.7 million viewers, NBC's 鈥淣ightly News鈥� had 7.1 million and the 鈥淐BS Evening News鈥� had 5 million.
For the week of March 15-21, the top 20 shows, their networks and viewerships:
1. 鈥淣CIS,鈥� CBS, 9.99 million.
2. 鈥淔BI,鈥� CBS, 8.08 million.
3. 鈥�60 Minutes,鈥� CBS, 7.89 million.
4. 鈥淭he Voice鈥� (Monday), NBC, 7.85 million.
5. 鈥淐hicago Fire,鈥� NBC, 7.49 million.
6. 鈥淐hicago Med,鈥� NBC, 7.1 million.
7. 鈥淔BI: Most Wanted,鈥� CBS, 6.26 million.
8. 鈥淐hicago PD,鈥� NBC, 6.22 million.
9. 鈥淭he Bachelor,鈥� ABC, 6.1 million.
10. 鈥淭he Bachelor: After the Final Rose,鈥� ABC, 5.67 million.
11. 鈥淎merican Idol,鈥� ABC, 5.64 million.
12. 鈥淭he Neighborhood,鈥� CBS, 5.39 million.
13. 鈥淭he Masked Singer,鈥� Fox, 5.13 million.
14. 鈥淏ull,鈥� CBS, 5.123 million.
15. 鈥淎merica's Funniest Home Videos,鈥� ABC, 5.122 million.
16. 鈥淪tation 19,鈥� ABC, 5.106 million.
17. 鈥淏ob Hearts Abishola,鈥� CBS, 5.105 million.
18. 鈥淭his is Us,鈥� NBC, 5.01 million.
19. 鈥淕rey's Anatomy,鈥� ABC, 4.99 million.
20. NCAA Men's Basketball: Wisconsin vs. North Carolina, CBS, 4.44 million.
David Bauder, The Associated Press
