Seriously, what the heck is going on with True Blood? Where do all of these people keep coming from? The show managed to set another series high this week, with 5.3 million viewers. That alone is cause for celebration. Even better, the DVDs continue to sell like hotcakes. In its 13th week of release, the season was still the number one TV show. That set has now racked up over $40 million in sales. It’s crazy. But that was just one of the many stories from cable last week. We also saw huge numbers for the Wizards of Waverly Place movie, records for Warehouse 13 and Burn Notice, and new seasons announced for Leverage and Drop Dead Diva. Over at the networks … well, we’re getting close to the fall premieres. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s another week where the ratings news from cable is much more interesting than anything happening on the networks. The big story was the premiere of Project Runway (finally) on Lifetime, but there was plenty more fun to be had. Also getting in on the premiere game was Mad Men, Kourtney and Khloe, Hoarders, Ghost Hunters, and Flipping Out. There were also finales for Hawthorne, and Saving Grace. All that, plus records for True Blood, and the Degrassi kids. The networks countered with Octomom, and Shaq Vs. But not Shaq vs. Octomom, although I wouldn’t rule that out at this point. Read the rest of this entry »

Highlights of the Week

• Woah, man, like let’s get totally stoned tonight and watch Woodstock: Then & Now. Ever seen a burned out hippie? I have. It’s not pretty. (Mon. 8pm, History)
• The first season of Merlin wraps with a two-hour block starting at 7pm. While it’s been picked up for a second run in native Britain, there’s no word on whether NBC will go again with it. (Sun.)
• I can take him. And while I don’t think we’re going to see Shaq vs. Jason Hughes anytime soon, the series does premiere with the basketball behemoth taking on Ben Roethlisberger. The kick is that Shaq takes them on in their sport, not his. (Tue. 9pm, ABC)
• It’s Invitation Only with Reba McEntire, but don’t worry, CMT has yours so you can check it out. (Fri. 9pm)
• I’ll call this a lowlight of the week … so of course it’s on FOX. Hopefully, they’ll show her for the disaster she is. That’s right, it’s Octomom: The Incredible Unseen Footage. (Wed. 8pm, FOX)
• Project Runway flexes its muscles on its new home, Lifetime, with a two hour “All Star Challenge” special. That’s followed by the season premiere, so you get three hours for the price of one! (Thu. 8pm)
• But it’s still not over. Lifetime is so stoked, they’re debuting Models of the Runway, which follows the models of Project Runway as they try and make it in the world of high fashion. (Thu. 11pm)

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You know spies — bunch of bitchy little girls. And this week in the ratings post, our favorite spies were beaten by some little girls. It was very close though, if that makes the shot to the ego a little easier to take for Sam and Michael. Those two were the headlines for what was a big week on cable. Also clocking in with records were True Blood, Warehouse 13, Kendra, Nurse Jackie, and Tori & Dean. Back on the networks, there weren’t really a lot of records to be had. Reality continued to rule with good outings from America’s Got Talent, Hell’s Kitchen, and So You Think You Can Dance. Read the rest of this entry »

The repetitive nature of the summer ratings have me so looking forward to the return of full schedules in the fall. Remember what that’s like? When CBS runs more than Big Brother, and The CW offers more than one burn-off episode of Easy Money. It was another week very much like so many of the previous weeks. Each of the big four networks has its summer reality tent-pole, and not a lot more. Meanwhile, over on cable, more good news for True Blood, Warehouse 13, and the Real Housewives. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s that time of the year where it becomes painfully obvious just how lacking the summer television schedule is.  Hopefully, you’re getting some nice weather in the exchange. The good news is that the summer television season is now half over. We can now start counting down the weeks until the fall premieres. As for the numbers, things mostly held to form. Although, there were a few interesting additions on the schedule this week. Hell’s Kitchen, Dating In The Dark, and Ruby And The Rockits all had premieres, while Samantha Who? and Kings had finales. Read the rest of this entry »

Okay, I did edit the original “Talkin’ Baseball’ lyrics just a bit for the title, for context. While the All-Star game was the big deal in ratings this week, there was some great news over on cable for Michael and the gang. And really, most of the exciting stuff, where ratings are concerned anyway, was on cable this week. Warehouse 13 had a strong second outing, TNT had premieres for Leverage and Dark Blue, and HBO dusted off Entourage for another go. There was even a Potter sighting. With the networks, it was baseball, and a lot more of the same. Read the rest of this entry »