TVNZ 2 Ditches Will & Grace

TVNZ 2 is dropping Will & Grace from its vulnerable Wednesday night comedy block and bringing forward an improving Australian Survivor.

The changeover will occur November 28, when Survivor will air at 8.30, a re-run of Hotel Hell at 9.30, and reinstated re-runs of Two and a Half Men and 2 Broke Girls from 10.30.

Survivor will screen on Wednesday nights for the first time this week, after its struggling Sunday run was interrupted for movies.

TVNZ 2 had previously re-jigged Wednesdays to burn off low-rating Kevin Can Wait so Survivor could replace it and Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation from 9.00.

While the Sunday broadcasts haven’t rated well against Three’s male-skewed movies, weeknight viewership did pick up last week.

Monday’s episode averaged a lacklustre 1.9% of 2’s 18-49 audience but Tuesday’s average improved to a competitive 3.0%.

The 25-54 ratings were better — 3.3% on Monday, 4.2% on Tuesday — and the show won with household shoppers with kids on Monday and with 18-39s on Tuesday.

With Young Sheldon and The Big Bang Theory rating solidly on Wednesdays against tough competition from Three’s Grand Designs NZ, programmers will be banking on Survivor building enough momentum to capitalise on this lead-in.

It also will put Survivor directly against Buying Blind at 8.30 rather than trying to draw viewers away from the Aussie home buying hit half-an-hour into its broadcast.

As for when Will & Grace will return, TVNZ 2 says it will screen at a later date. But given the reboot has never been the hit programmers hoped for, it’s likely to be in a 9.00 slot sandwiched between a strong lead-in and strong lead-out.