This season, NBC can once again claim bragging rights. Fueled by “This Is Us,” “The Voice” and a slew of Dick Wolf shows, it will finish the season No. 1 in the 18-to-49 age demographic that is so important to advertisers. Though CBS had the biggest declines of the big four, it will finish as the most watched network for the 14th time in the last 15 years.

Fox will finish No. 2 in the 18-49 demographic because of the Super Bowl and the World Series, but it sorely needs prime-time sizzle. As 21st Century Fox’s executive chairman, Lachlan Murdoch, told investors last week, the performance at the network has been “frustrating for us all.” And ABC — weathering another season without a hit while watching old franchises limp along — will finish last among 18-to-49-year-olds for the second consecutive year.

As the networks prepare for the new season, here is a look at some of the bigger story lines from the past one:

‘Empire’ in Free Fall