The air outside is getting cooler, school is back in session and if you live in L.A., traffic suddenly went from horrible to Armageddon in the blink of an eye, these are all signals that fall is in full force and it’s time to lock ourselves in our bunkers for all the TV premieres. And, as is always the case in TV land, some shows have fared better than others.

We’ve learned from losing some of our favorite shows (R.I.P “Selfie”) that, it doesn’t matter how good or bad a show is, all that really matters is how many people watch it.

So for better or for worse, let’s figure out how all the hyped about shows did during the first week of fall premieres (September 20 to September 27). Since there were so many premieres, we are going to focus mainly on new shows –except in the case of incredibly bad or unexpectedly good numbers for those returning.

We divided the shows’ performances into one of three categories, and added a little analysis where necessary. We’ll also do the same for the next two weeks of premieres.

Awesome-sauce:

Blindspot (NBC, Monday at 10pm) 10.61 million viewers, 3.1 rating in the 18-49 demographic

The Muppets (ABC, Tuesday at 8pm) 9.01 million, 2.9 rating

Quantico (ABC, Sunday at 10pm) 7.1 million, 1.9 rating

With all the pre-premiere hype around “Blindspot” we’re glad it’s turning out to be an early breakout.  The constant ads and buses plastered with Jaimie Alexander’s naked and tatted-up bod must’ve contributed quite a bit –and it’s a good thing because otherwise it would’ve been a lot of marketing dollars spent for nothing. NBC has already ordered nine more scripts and we’re pretty sure it will end up being a full-season order. Meanwhile, ABC’s “The Muppets,” garnered the second-highest rating of any new series last week and did better than any of ABC’s Wednesday night comedies outside of “Modern Family.” Did the audience tune in just for curiosities sake? Nostalgia? We’re not sure, but the plethora of celebrity cameos is sure to keep it afloat for at least a little while.

“Quantico,” also made it on the awesome list because it was ABC’s biggest Sunday night show and improved greatly on its “Blood & Oil” lead-in (6.3/1.4), which doesn’t usually happen, especially in that difficult time slot. That means bringing in former Miss World Priyanka Chopra as the title character worked and viewers are actively seeking this show out. Plus, the show is chock full of other attractive characters for viewers to gawk at –and there’s drama, lots and lots of drama. It’s a very Shonda-Rhimes-esque formula. “Quantico,” could be a sneaky hit for ABC and help fix its Sunday night desert.

Meh:

Scream Queens (Fox, Tuesday at 8pm) 4.04 million viewers, 1.7 rating in the 18-49 demographic. *7.3 million adjusted across multiple days/platforms

Life in Pieces (CBS, Monday at 8:30pm) 11.28 million viewers, 2.6 rating

Limitless (CBS, Tuesday at 10pm) 9.86 million, 1.9 rating *13.4 million adjusted across multiple days/platforms

Heroes Reborn (NBC, Thursday at 8pm) 6.09 million, 2.0 rating

On the surface, “Life in Pieces'” numbers look great, but the new CBS single-camera comedy dropped off significantly from its “Big Bang Theory” lead-in, losing 7 millions viewers, and that is NOT good. It was also below what “The Millers“ did in its debut (13/3.3) last season.

Another bummer was “Scream Queens'” whose initial numbers looked pretty mediocre considering all the effort Fox put into marketing the Ryan Murphy show. A quick gander on Twitter during premiere night did not reflect the sad 1.7 the show first received. However, even though the show started off fairly slow, “Scream Queens” experienced the biggest percentage lift, 59 percent, in the three days following premiere night. Murphy’s new horror-comedy drew in an audience of 1 million on streaming platforms Fox Now and Hulu – the largest three-day non-linear lift ever for a Fox premiere, with a final tally of 7.3 million. The network also estimates that the total social activity over the first three days grew from 1 million to 2.3 million. “Scream Queens” appears to be a model for contemporary viewership where people watch shows on their own time and from a variety of different platforms. So, not all is bad for the new show, Fox just has to hope people keep buzzing about it.

“Limitless” had a totally bland debut for CBS and barely did better than “Person of Interest” in the same time slot last year. But, “Limitless” also saw a big three day gain when accounting for multiple platforms and DVR viewing, shooting up from a 1.9 in the demo to a 2.9. Its ratings were also higher than “NCIS: New Orleans'” in the hour before (1.7). Lastly, while 2.0 is nothing to throw your head in the oven over, NBC probably expected better digits for “Heroes Reborn” considering the original series’ popularity (and its initial debut of debut 14.29 million viewers and 5.9 rating way back in 2006.) The premiere also didn’t face a full roster of competition; The CW and Fox both aired repeats that night. This week’s ratings, which will be the first with “The Blacklist” added to NBC’s Thursday block, will be something to keep an eye on.

Girl, Bye:

Nashville (ABC, Wednesday at 10pm) 4.9 million viewers, 1.22 rating in the 18-49 demographic.

Once Upon a Time  (ABC, Sunday at 8pm) 5.8 million viewers, 1.8 rating

The Player (NBC, Thursday at 10pm) 4.68 million, 1.2 rating

Blood & Oil (ABC, Sunday at 9pm) 6.3 million, 1.4 rating

Minority Report (Fox, Monday at 9pm) 3.10 million viewers, 1.1 rating in the 18-to-49 demographic

While “Once Upon a Time,” didn’t have the lowest number on our list of low ranked shows, but it did experience an extreme drop for a popular returning show. Last year’s season premiere drew in 10.2 million viewers and a 3.7 in the demo versus this year’s 5.8 million and 1.8 in the demo. That’s nearly a 50 percent drop off. It’s sad to see that fans didn’t return for this one because the premiere was a significant improvement over most of season 4. Several TV critics made note of how happy they were the show was coming back to original form.

Entertainment Weekly made note of how boring the “Frozen” storyline felt.

“It’ll be interesting to see where this season lands overall. Last year, we spent months entombed in a ‘Frozen’ arc that seemed to stretch on for so long, it made even the warmest of fans feel icy.”

And…
“Putting Emma in the spotlight as the Dark One seems like an attempt to bring some focus back to the show’s themes as well as its central characters, despite the fact there are certainly going to be many new ones popping in (and out) over the season.”

Fingers crossed that the positive reviews bring in more viewers next week. Also, it should be noted that “Once” did better than all of Fox’s Sunday night lineup, but if things continue on this route, it could still end up being the last season of the beloved fairly tale show.

“Blood & Oil” spelled even more bad news for ABC.  Surprise, surprise, people don’t really want to see a drama about oil drilling in North Dakota. While the show’s total numbers were slightly higher than Once Upon a Time’s, it took a dip in the demo from its lead-in (1.8) and didn’t do “Quantico” (1.9) any favors as a lead-out . When a new series does worse than the shows on either side of it, you can usually expect the network will scramble to shake things up. Maybe that means swapping time slots, or maybe ABC will do something more drastic. All we know is, there’s a reason North Dakota is the least popular midwestern state –nobody cares! I mean, is anyone really surprised a show about North Dakota isn’t a runaway hit?

Other underwhelming premiere’s included “Nashville,” and “The Player.” “Nashville” saw it’s worst premiere ratings in four seasons and “The Player” (1.2) got a very slow start, dropping down 14 percent from last fall’s final-season premiere of “Parenthood.” The action drama will get a second shot next week with “The Blacklist” as its lead-in, we’ll see how much that helps.

Honestly though, considering how terrible things have been for networks recently, even the worst numbers weren’t actually that bad of a week for shows. Except for “Minority Report,” which pulled a dismal 1.1 rating. The show dropped significantly from its “Gotham” lead-in (1.6) the hour before, and did half of “Scorpion’s” (its time-period competition) numbers (2.2). When you look at Sunday night and “Minority Report” together, this season is looking pretty disastrous for Fox, no two ways about it. No wonder they’re banking on all the “Scream Queens” Twitter hype.

Summer, the season of sand, surf, and sun… we’re sad to see you go, but with all the upcoming TV goodness in the weeks ahead, we say –good riddance! It’s time to get your onesie — or Snuggie^® — out because the fall TV season is upon us.

While there are a plethora of shows to start and continue watching, there are six shows in particular that had us experiencing severe withdrawal symptoms. Let’s take a look at the six addicting shows that will have us reuniting with our couches very soon.

1. “Empire,” FOX.

Season Premiere: September 23, 9pm ET/ 8pm CT

Now that the head Lyon is in prison, who will take the throne of Empire Records? Cookie, along with her three sons Andre, Jamal and Hakeem, battle it out for control of the company while hosting #FreeLucious concerts to benefit the patriarch. Isn’t that such a lovely family dynamic? Season 2 promises more romance for both Cookie and Hakeem, a darker side of Jamal, and several celebrity guest appearances (Vivica A. Fox as Cookie’s sister? Hell yeah!).

2. “How to Get Away With Murder,” ABC.

Season Premiere: September 24, 10pm ET/ 9pm CT

Viola Davis is back as the lead character (Annalise) of this ABC thriller and now has a new murder to solve. We know who killed Lila, but who the heck killed Rebecca?  We discovered Frank, Annalise’s right-hand man, was hired to kill Lila by Sam, Annalise’s husband. Now that Sam is out of the picture, we can’t suspect him nor Frank. We know from the trailer that Annalise confronts the killer,now we just have to wait an entire flashback-filled season to unmask the murderer.

3. “Gotham,” FOX.

Season Premiere: September 21, 8pm ET/ 7pm CT

The show had a rough start in terms of dialogue and plot, but it definitely improved towards the end of the inaugural season. Jim Gordon is now a fallen hero of sorts and turns to Penguin for counsel (nothing like a criminal to help you in a time of need, amirite?).

We’re sad that Fish Mooney (played by Jada Pinkett Smith) and her fierce nails won’t be returning for season 2, but there are new villains to look forward to—the Joker and Mr. Freeze. Let’s just hope FOX’s version of Mr. Freeze is NOTHING like the Arnold Schwarzenegger version in 1997’s “Batman & Robin.”

4. “`black-ish,” ABC.

September 23, 9:30pm ET/ 8:30pm CT

When the show’s plot was released and advertisements appeared all over Los Angeles, we were a little worried. Thankfully enough, black-ish is a refreshing take on the nuclear family household and is a show we didn’t know we needed.  There were no cliffhangers in this sitcom so we’re just looking forward to kicking back and laughing our asses off to some incredible one-liners.

5. “The Mindy Project,” Hulu.

September 15, available at start of day.

Don’t be afraid to admit that you cried tears of joy when Hulu announced that they picked up “The Mindy Project” for 26 more episodes. Before the show was taken off Fox we left off with Mindy’s pregnancy reveal and Danny jet setting to India to formally ask Mindy’s parents for her hand in marriage. This season will grace us with an adventurous Danny, Mindy’s interesting journey into motherhood, a half-naked Morgan (the usual) and celebrity appearances by Joseph Gordon-Levitt (YES!). Take a look at the trailer below to see more.

6. “Scandal,” ABC. 

September 24, 9pm ET/ 8pm CT

Now that ABC just released the first season 5 trailer, we are left salivating over all the juicy goodness that is sure to come in the new season.  After the season 4 had Fitz (Tony Goldwyn) kicking Mellie (Bellamy Young) out of the White House and Olivia sharing a steamy kiss with him almost immediately after, we are pumped to see what will happen in the “Scandal” universe now that Fitz and Olivia (Kerry Washington) are officially together. And since we are very much team Jake (Scott Foley), we are anxious to see what will happen to his character now that he’s not rolling in the sheets with Olivia. If all the drama from last season didn’t already make you want to tune in, the NSFW season 5 trailer might just put you over the edge.

Shonda Rhimes, the queen of ABC drama, has given us the amazing TGIT drama lineup we love, with shows like “Grey’s Anatomy” and “How to Get Away With Murder,” and as much as we love our Thursday dramas, Rhimes has another ABC project up her sleeve — this time it’s a comedy.

The show, titled “Splitsville,” was conceived by “Trophy Wife” creators Emily Halpern and Sarah Haskins. Shondaland’s Betsy beers will also work on the show. So far all we know about “Splitsville” is that it will follow divorced residents of a suburban cul-de-sac who come together to raise their children.

Since Rhimes is typically known for her intense dramatic television shows, some fans were shocked to find out she would be working on a comedy. But, Beers assured that their expertise in screenwriting will help the new project work.

“We can definitely make it work,” Beers told Entertainment Weekly. “I started my career in comedy and Shonda also wrote comedies and started when she was a screenwriter. We’re really, really looking forward to the prospect of having one on a network sometime soon.”

We’re excited for a new show from Shonda and delighted that she’s venturing out into new territory. Here are a few guesses as to what the show will contain:

1. Kick-ass Female Lead: From a doctor who embraces her love for romance to a fierce lawyer/professor who knows how to get away with murder, Shonda Rhimes is known for her unforgettable female lead characters.
2. Scandal: Yes, it is the title to one of her hit shows and one of the main ingredients to her juicy drama shows. Since this will be a comedy show, we’re hoping any scandal will have us crying tears of laughter rather than agony.
3. Love Triangle(s): When the show is centered around divorced suburbanites, it’s definitely not far-fetched to think that a least a few of these divorcees will start sleeping with each other.

The premiere date of “Splitsville” has not been released yet but we’re sure it’ll generate a lot of buzz when it airs. Could this be the next big comedy? (RIP Modern Family?)

ABC has announced that Lady Gaga and the Muppets are teaming up for a holiday special for the network. “Lady Gaga & the Muppets’ Holiday Spectacular” will feature performances by Gaga with the muppet characters, as well as special guest appearances from Sir Elton John, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and RuPaul.

Gaga made her love for the muppets loud and clear when she wore a dress made up on Kermit the Frog stuffed animals in 2009, and when she a few months later took him as her date to the MTV Video Music Awards.

The episode is set to air Dec. 13 on ABC.