New Year's Eve (Up All Night)

"New Year's Eve" originally aired on NBC in the United States on January 12, 2012.[1] The episode was viewed by an estimated 4.24 million viewers and received a 2.0 rating/5% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49.[10] This means that it was seen by 2.0% of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 5% of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. This marked a 5% rise in the ratings from the previous episode, "First Christmas".[10] The episode finished third in its time slot along with The Office, being beaten by Grey's Anatomy which received a 3.8 rating/9% share and the CBS drama Person of Interest which received a 3.2 rating/8% share in the 18–49 demographic.[10] The episode, however, did manage to beat the Fox drama series The Finder and the CW drama series The Secret Circle.[10] Added with DVR viewers, who viewed the episode within seven days of the original broadcast, the episode received a 3.0 rating in the 18–49 demographic, adding a 1.0 rating to the original viewership.[11]

"New Year's Eve" received several positive reviews from critics. New York writer Steven Heisler praised the episode for avoiding "sitcom-y territory" with the emotional ending.[12] He also called the series a better choice to follow The Office then Whitney.[12] The A.V. Club reviewer Margaret Eby complemented the believability of the main Reagen-Chris plot.[13] Despite this, she criticized the Ava-Kevin subplot comparing it to a storyline from Sex and The City.[13] She also noted the plotline didn't stay true to the characters following their plotline in the previous episode, "First Christmas".[13] She ultimately rated the episode with a B.[13] Adam Victavage of Paste called the episode a perfect transition from the previous episodes and allowed Ava to be "a loveable third wheel to a completely strong duo in Chris and Reagan".[14] He also reacted positively for the scenes featuring Missy, comparing her scenes to "early Ava, but less obnoxious".[14] He ultimately gave the episode an 8.7/10 calling it "commendable".[14] Bradford Evans of SplitSider praised Jennifer Hall's performance calling her the "unsung hero" of the series.[15] He also reacted positively towards the episode's ability to unify the show and "keep all of the characters on the same turf".[15] He concluded that he hoped the series could make itself a vital part of the network's lineup.[15] HitFix reviewer Alan Sepinwall called the episode "one its [the series] strongest episodes to date".[16] He wrote that the addition of Jason Lee humanized Ava more and gave her a more natural reason to visit Reagan and Chris at home.[16] He also wrote that the episode worked on a "character level".[16]