Many are calling this summer’s Mr. Robot USA’s Breaking Bad moment - ​the scripted drama’s summer debut is doing for USA what Breaking Bad and Mad Men did for AMC years ago.

But Mr. Robot’s standout success and word-of-mouth buzz make it the exception, rather than the rule, this summer.

Ad Age ran down this summer’s scripted series before the TV world gets ready for the fall debuts, and it looks like numbers are down. Returning scripted series weren’t able to crack a 1.0 rating all summer, except for Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty, which saw ratings growth in its second season.

New series Fear the Walking Dead made cable ratings history, becoming the highest-rated launch ever and is still averaging 9 million viewers two episodes in.

Mr. Robot is another standout this summer on USA, but buzz for the show outshines on-air ratings, a fact that have many thinking delayed and catch-up viewing will help this show enormously. The show has so far been viewed more than 17 million times online, with VOD hitting 9 million views.

Ad Age also gives kudos to NBC’s unscripted programming, with American Ninja Warrior and Hollywood Game Night both growing in key demos, and the aging America’s Got Talent still counting more than 10 million viewers per week.

On the other hand, Fox’s unscripted fare (Knock Knock Live, Home Free, MasterChef) isn’t doing so well, yielding less-than-stellar ratings results and a cancellation for Knock Knock Live.

Elsewhere on cable, FX’s The Strain, TNT’s The Last Ship, AMC’s Halt and Catch Fire and Syfy’s Defiance all saw a loss of viewers, with only AMC’s Humans and ABC Family’s Pretty Little Liars happy with ratings numbers for the summer.

Read more at Ad Age.

Brief Take: Broadcasters are starting to take the summer season seriously, beyond just a testing ground for new shows that may live up to a midseason debut the following year. By taking over coveted time slots that get dominated in September, shows like Mr. Robot have proven that summer dramas can work if done right.

[Image courtesy of USA]

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