American Idol has become such a ratings juggernaut that it’s always a little surprising when something actually tops it. The Grammy Awards were able to do just that last week, thanks to the best ratings for the show since 2004. The other big event for the week was the return of Lost on ABC. It didn’t approach the Idol or Grammy numbers, but it did finish the week as the number one scripted show in the adult demo. Granted, it was the season premiere, but knocking off Grey’s, House, 2 ½ Men, and Big Bang Theory is always worth noting. On cable, the big surprise was probably the performance from USA’s White Collar and Psych. Both were well down from last week. Read the rest of this entry »

The complete implosion of Heroes just never gets old. I’m fascinated by it, and the show found an all new low last week. Over the years we’ve seen plenty of shows fall from their once lofty heights. But to see one crash so fast, and in such a dramatic fashion, is a rare thing. On a brighter note, the week that was also brought a host of premieres, including 24, Human Target, White Collar, Burn Notice, and American Pickers. And if you want to see some really crazy numbers, click through and take a look at what iCarly did. Read the rest of this entry »

FOX has been waiting all season to drop the big hammer, and the time has finally come. Idol returned last week, and the ripple effect of adding over 20 million viewers to Tuesday and Wednesday was felt by a number of shows, but not all of them. Despite Idol adding some 24 million viewers to the numbers that So You Think You Can Dance was delivering, Gibbs and his NCIS team still managed to garner 20.85 million viewers of their own. Read the rest of this entry »

At least, that’s the delusion that Angela Bromstad (President, Primetime Entertainment, NBC and Universal Media Studios) seems to be operating under. Asked about the show at NBC’s TCA presentation, Bromstad said, “”It’s been performing very strongly in its 8 p.m. time slot.” I would argue that finishing in fourth place every week, and losing to repeats of the CBS comedies, is a far cry from “very strongly.” Also… last week it performed even worse in the 9PM hour. That really makes one question the thinking behind a return to the Chuck/Heroes Monday from last season. Haven’t we already seen how that story plays out? Read the rest of this entry »

The scheduling shenanigans continue as we race toward the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. Last week saw more holiday themed specials, and a lot of repeats. Fortunately, there were a few interesting numbers mixed in with all of the seasonal offerings. Things like big gains for The Middle, which is looking much better now that it’s not lugging around that Hank sized bag of stink. Or, Bones hitting season highs. Of course, not all of the interesting numbers were of the good variety. Melrose Place, Dollhouse, and Find My Family all found some coal in their ratings stockings. Read the rest of this entry »

ABC has now announced that FlashForward will be taking a little break, with new episodes returning March 4th. And that really couldn’t have come at a worse time. Television is not usually a place where absence makes the heart grow fonder. More likely, viewers forget what you were up to and can’t be bothered to return. If that wasn’t bad enough, the show took it’s fall bow with it’s worst performance yet. Elsewhere this week, Sons Of Anarchy had a big finale, with some big numbers, and Dollhouse returned to be run over by a reindeer. Read the rest of this entry »

The biggest premiere last week came from cable, as AMC finally released their modern take on The Prisoner. I had been planning for months to make a comparison between that and media-darling Mad Men. I always find the amount of coverage that Mad Men is able to generate, despite the fact that its latest season hovered around 1.7 million viewers for most of its run, fascinating. We can still make that comparison, of course, but it didn’t work out the way that I expected. The initial sampling was good, with (2.22m/.8) checking out the two hour Prisoner premiere. Unfortunately, those people were clearly not impressed. The following nights were both a forgettable (.95m/.3). That’s really not good.

Back on the networks, it was a tough week for genre. Heroes found a new low, V dropped again, there is cause for concern at FlashForward, and the must-see Fringe managed to lose two-tenths in the demo. The news was better for Dancing With The Stars, The Mentalist, and Melrose Place. Although, “better” where Melrose is concerned is a very relative term. Read the rest of this entry »