>>31570416In short:
1) The ratings of a given episode has far more to do with what aired on other channels and what other events were going on at the same time than they have to do with the content of that specific episode, since they represent the amount of viewers, not the opinion of the viewers on the episode
and 2) Ratings for all TV shows have been steadily going down because of the growing ability to stream shows and to record shows to watch at a later point. You can't compare the ratings of a show today with the ratings that show got 7 years ago and make the connection that people are losing interest or that the show changed for the worse and drove people away. The shows get "worse ratings" because more and more people don't bother watching TV shows live.
Also, nothing that makes it onto those top 10 lists are getting bad ratings. It's a list of the top 10 most watched show in that category, the fact that they make it on the list in the first place means they get great ratings. The stuff that gets bad ratings has never been anywhere near the list.
