• by Wayne Friedman , October 16, 2019

About a month into the new syndication season, viewership for new shows is slowly rising week-to-week  -- but still down overall versus a year ago on a season-to-date basis.

U.S. syndication's leading TV show -- CBS Television Distribution's “Judge Judy” -- is off 8% in total viewers to a Nielsen 8.8 million viewers, looking at the period from September 2 through October 6, compared to the similar period a year ago.

The next three shows -- game programs  -- posted lesser mid single-digit percentage declines. CBS's “Wheel of Fortune” was off 6% to 8.6 million, while CBS’ “Jeopardy” slipped 2% to 8.53 million and CBS’ “Family Feud” was down 4% to 8.5 million.

That said, all three game shows have seen modest improvements of 2% to 10% on a week-to-week basis in the current season so far.

Warner Bros’ “The Big Bang Theory” lost a big 30% to 4.6 million, yet continues to be highest-rated off-network sitcom. “Big Bang” ended its long 12-season original episode run on CBS last May.

Disney-ABC Domestic Television’s “Last Man Standing” is next -- down 9% to 2.9 million. Disney's “Modern Family” has lost 21% to 2.3 million.

Among talk shows, CBS’ “Dr. Phil” has lost 19% to 3.1 million, while Disney-ABC Domestic TV’s “Live with Kelly and Ryan” is off 7% to 2.6 million and Warner Bros.' “Ellen DeGeneres” has fallen 17% to 2.4 million.

“Kelly Clarkson,” a new talk show from NBCUniversal, is at 1.9 million for two weeks of shows -- growing slightly in its second week.

Two CBS entertainment shows have fallen by similar percentages: “Inside Edition” is down 10% to 3.76 million and “Entertainment Tonight” is 9% lower at 3.75 million.

Three shows have improved versus a year ago: NBC's magazine "Access Hollywood" is 13% higher to 1.9 million, and the weekly airing of NBCU's “Chicago PD” has added 15% to 1.6 million.

And CF Entertainment's gamer, “Funny You Should Ask” is up 1% to 678,000 viewers.