Tag Archives: TV ratings

NBC moves ‘Smash’ to Saturdays–the show is all but cancelled

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Sorry Smashers, I’ve got some bad news. On Wednesday NBC announced that it would be banishing its musical-driven drama Smash to Saturdays at 9 starting April 6. Since Gossip Girl‘s Josh Safran took over the reigns of the show from creator and Broadway vet Theresa Rebeck, Smash tanked in the ratings in its second season. On February 5 the new season premiere to 4.5 million viewers and a meager 1.1 rating in the adults 18-49 demo. Since then those numbers have dropped and fluctuated but remained dismally low–so low that the Peacock had every right to pull it from the schedule and call it a day; the most recent airing attracted only 2.9 million viewers and fell below the 1.0 rating threshold to a 0.9. However they are playing nice with the series’ small yet passionate fanbase and they’re letting it run its full 17-episode course before (very likely) pulling the plug on this thing.

In an interview with TVLine, Safran acknowledged the move to Saturdays. “I didn’t see it coming, being relegated to Saturday,” he said. “We’re all aware the show is not successful, but I guess I had hoped we would see what happened when The Voice came back [or] maybe they’d move us to a better time slot. But I understand from the network’s point of view. We hit a number and we stuck there.”

Despite the poor ratings, Safran stands behind his creative changes. “Everyone here from the top down is incredibly proud of the work,” he admitted. “I know that there are people who have their opinions and that’s totally acceptable, but that doesn’t change our viewpoint that we’re really proud and we love the show.”

Thankfully for fans Safran says the season 2 finale (which will most likely serve as the series’ final installment) “was constructed as a series finale.” He went on, “I don’t want [viewers] to think they are going to be left hanging, because they won’t be. The season has a beginning, middle and an end… [And] it just gets better and better.”

Currently Smash airs Tuesday nights at 10PM; to reiterate the show moves to Saturdays at 9PM on April 6 and will remain there until the end of its run on May 26.

TV reminder: ‘The Walking Dead’ resumes tonight at 9PM on AMC [Update: record ratings]

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War is brewing. It’s Rick and his Prison pack versus The Governor and the wily town of Woodbury. Before The Walking Dead‘s midseason break, Rick infiltrated Woodbury to rescue Glenn and Maggie who had been kidnapped by Merle. Rick’s ambush was a success and his nemesis The Governor (who he hasn’t even met yet!) came out of it all with vengeance on his mind. Michonne killed his zombie daughter Penny right in front of him and then she gauged one his eyes out. (I think it’s now safe to say that The Governor will never see eye-to-eye with anyone from here on out.) The major cliffhanger, of course, was the surprising reunion of the Dixon brothers under not-so-ideal terms; The Governor blames Rick’s attack on the one-handed Merle, after all, because he had lied about taking out Michonne in the woods.

What will be the fate of the Dixons? What is Rick’s next move and will he continue to lose his mind during a strenuous time when he needs it most? Which side will Andrea end on when the dust settles; will she choose to stick with the one-eyed (don’t-call-him-Phillip) Governor or return to her original group at the Prison? After her battle with The Governor Michonne’s wasn’t acting like herself–has she gone soft? How will the latest addition to our group Tyrese factor into it all? The Walking Dead resumes the second half of its 16-episode third season tonight (2/10) at 9PM on AMC. Watch a preview here. The Talking Dead–now in a one-hour format airing immediately after TWD with special guests Steven Yeun and Kevin Smith–follows.

Note: Since Dead has been on hiatus, news broke that for the second time the series’ showrunner is departing. Like Frank Darabont before him, Glen Mazzara is leaving the show due to creative differences. However, you should know that Mazzara had his hand in the making of the back half of this season. His successor Scott M. Gimple (the show’s supervising producer/writer) takes the reins during the production of season 4.

Update (2/11): Back from another break and The Walking Dead reaches a new series high in ratings. Sunday night’s midseason premiere drew 12.3 million viewers, besting the previous record holder that was the season 3 premiere (that episode garnered 10.9 million viewers). Across the first 9PM airing and the three encores that AMC showed Sunday night, the midseason premiere attracted a grand total of 16.6 million viewers. That’s huge people.

“When you look at numbers like this, the first thing that comes to mind is how grateful we are to the fans of this show,” said AMC president Charlie Collier. “They embrace The Walking Dead in a way that we wanted to believe was possible but we never take for granted.The cast and crew put everything they have into making this show. They’re a phenomenally talented group who truly give their all. We congratulate everyone involved.”

NBC cancels ‘Do No Harm’ after two episodes, benches ‘1600 Penn’

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After the extremely dismal ratings the Do No Harm pilot received, it is no surprise that the Jekyll and Hyde-esque medical drama was canned after its second airing. NBC’s midseason effort debuted to 3.1 million total viewers and a meager 0.9 rating in the 18-49 demo, making it the the lowest-rated in-season broadcast scripted series debut on any of the Big Four networks in history. Sealing its fate were its second week numbers: only 2.2 million viewers came back for more and its demo rating dropped 22% to a 0.7. This show had zero chance of survival from the get-go. Since the pilot wasn’t all that stimulating, here’s hoping that those who did tune in didn’t get too attached to this short-lived cast led by Steven Pasquale.

Not too long ago at the TCAs Do No Harm‘s executive producer David Schulner said, “I think ultimately you can only write the show that you want to watch, and this was a show that I wanted to see on TV. I wanted it to be fun. I wanted it to be thrilling. I wanted it to be a roller-coaster ride. And I wanted it to have stakes. I also wanted there to be a love story at the center of it. Hopefully those ingredients will make it different than what has come before.” Fail. And want to know the saddest part of all? All 13 episodes have been produced and the remaining 11 may never see the light of day.

Elsewhere on NBC, 1600 Penn is getting benched this week in favor of a double airing of departing comedy The Office. Now, Deadline reports that the move was made because the upcoming Valentine’s Day themed episode of The Office came in supersized and needed the extra schedule space to fit. However, you cannot shake the fact that the at-times uproariously funny, stuffed-with-heart White House sitcom is performing poorly in the ratings (most recently it scored a low 1.1 in the 18-49 demo); such a sudden pull from the schedule is certainly not a good sign.

Super Bowl XLVII: the not quite record ratings and the commercials

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Power outage and all, Super Bowl XLVII proved to be an exciting game after all. Joe Flacco and the Baltimore Ravens dominated the game early on and the San Fransisco 49ers used the approximately 35 minutes of dark downtime to reenergize and make an unexpected comeback that nearly ended the game in their favor. When the fourth quarter came to a close, however, it was the domineering Ravens and MVP Flacco on top besting the 49ers 34 to 31.

Unlike previous years, last night’s Super Bowl did not break ratings records to become the most watched telecast in history. 108.41 million people tuned into the big game making it the third most watched TV program behind Super Bowl XLVI (111.3 million) and Super Bowl XLV (111 million). (And if you’re curious, the hyped post-Super Bowl episode of Elementary attracted 20.8 million viewers with a 7.8 rating in the 18-49 demo. These numbers are huge for the CBS freshman procedural, but they do not match the 37.6 million viewers that tuned into The Voice‘s post-game telecast last year.) Maybe we’ll see another record-breaking explosion in eyeballs next year?

Moving onto the ‘mericals. This year companies had to fork over a whopping four million dollars for a 30-second spot. I’ve posted a bunch of my personal favorites after the break, including those from Volkswagon, Oreos, Doritos, and Taco Bell and trailers for anticipated movies like Iron Man 3 (see the extended cut!), Star Trek, and Fast and Furious 6. You can rewatch nearly all of them at YouTube’s Ad Blitz center. Which are your favorites? Continue reading Super Bowl XLVII: the not quite record ratings and the commercials →

ABC grants full season orders to ‘Scandal’ & ‘The Neighbors’

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Bet you weren’t expecting to hear this news before the TV season started. Today ABC handed out back-nine orders to Shonda Rhimes’ Scandal and (wait for it) Dan Fogelman’s The Neighbors. Scandal, starring Kerry Washington, is currently in its second season but the Alphabet network was hesitant and only gave it a 13-episode order to see how it would fare following its so-so rated first season. Averaging 8.1 million viewers and a 2.5 ratings share in the adults 18-49 demo, the political drama has proven itself to be a worthy contender on Thursday nights and will get to play with a full season consisting of 22 episodes this year.

Also given a full season is the alien-family sitcom The Neighbors. Before it premiered critics widely panned the pilot, and following the episode viewers flocked to Twitter to discuss how bad it really was. I guess the word of mouth actually helped it because it has been performing modestly in the ratings, good enough for ABC to let it finish its first season with 22 episodes aired. The bizarre Wednesday night comedy averages 6.8 million viewers and a 2.0 in 18-49 and on the schedule it shall remain for now.

We are still waiting on the fates of Last Resort and 666 Park Avenue; ABC recently upped their script orders. The network has more time to decide on Nashville since it got a late start.

TV reminder: NBC airing Bryan Fuller’s ‘Munsters’ reboot ‘Mockingbird Lane’ as Halloween special tonight at 8PM [Update: The ratings are in…]

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If you were anticipating the bold Munsters reboot from Bryan Fuller, I have some bad news to report. NBC has decided not to go ahead with making the series. However, the network will air the pilot that was shot. The Peacock did not specifically state why they ultimately decided to pass on the show; instead the network’s Entertainment President Jennifer Salke released the following statement:

“This exciting new take on a memorable series will definitely blow out conventional wisdom and create its own legacy. Teaming this new show with a terrifying episode of Grimm makes the perfect pre-Halloween fright-fest.”

Mockingbird Lane stars Jerry O’Connell as Herman Munster, Portia de Rossi as his wife Lily, Mason Cook as their son Eddie, Eddie Izzard as Grandpa, and Charity Wakefield as Marilyn.

Tune into tonight at 9PM to catch an hour-long glimpse into Bryan Fuller’s imaginative, contemporary take on the classic 1960s sitcom. Rumor has it that if it does well in the ratings NBC may opt to pick it up for next season, but by planting it on a Friday night (aka where most shows go to die) I don’t see that happening. With Mockingbird Lane off his plate, the Pushing Daisies creator is now focusing solely on his upcoming midseason drama for NBC Hannibal.

Watch a trailer after the break.

Update: The ratings are in and they look like this. The pilot Halloween special drew 5.4 million viewers and scored a 1.5/5 rating in adults 18-49. Not too shabby. But is it enough for NBC to continue production on more scripts that have already been written? Don’t hold your breath. Continue reading TV reminder: NBC airing Bryan Fuller’s ‘Munsters’ reboot ‘Mockingbird Lane’ as Halloween special tonight at 8PM [Update: The ratings are in…] →

NBC cancels ‘Animal Practice’, ‘Whitney’ to replace it in November

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Today NBC cancelled the Justin Kirk/Crystal the Monkey comedy Animal Practice due to poor ratings. The Peacock did everything it could to promote the series, including airing a special preview during the Olympics this summer. That effort fared well for the Matthew Perry sitcom Go On, but for Practice it couldn’t do the trick. The most recent episode wrangled 3.8 million viewers scoring a low 1.0 rating in adults 18-49. Five episodes have aired, and NBC will show three more. Come Wednesday, November 14, Whitney will fill the vacant spot at 8PM. Community fans will sneer at this scheduling move, but it makes sense for the network; both Whitney and its soon-to-be lead out Guys with Kids are multi-camera shows so they go well together, stylistically at least. Community remains on the bench for the time being. And Guys with Kids is safe for now, having most recently attracted 4.3 million viewers and a 1.4 demo rating.

Animal Practice is the second show to get the axe this fall. Last week CBS cancelled legal drama Made in Jersey after only two episodes had aired; the premiere attracted 7.7 million viewers with a 1.1 demo rating and then things dropped in its second outing to 5.8 million viewers with a dismal 0.8 rating. Starting November 2 Undercover Boss takes over CBS’ Friday night at 8PM slot.

[Via EW]

TV reminder: ‘American Horror Story: Asylum’ premieres tonight at 10PM on FX [Update: The ratings are in…]

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The wait is over. Tonight is the night you commit yourself to American Horror Story: Asylum. As you already know, the second season of the Ryan Murphy/Brad Falchuk production will play out as an entirely different show than season one. Many familiar faces are returning (namely Jessica Lange, Zachary Quinto, Lily Rabe, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters) but they will be portraying brand new characters this time around. Joining them are Adam Levine, Jenna Dewan, Chloë Sevigny, Clea Duvall, Joseph Fiennes, and James Cromwell. Today, Murphy revealed that Dylan McDermott is also coming back at some point this season; he played lead Ben Harmon last year. Asylum goes back in time to the 1960s and replaces the haunted Harmon house with an east coast mental institution called  Briarcliff Manor.

To reiterate, AHS is an anthology series meaning each series will feature new characters, a new setting, and an original story with a beginning, middle, and end. So if you happened to miss out on season one, you can absolutely tune into tonight’s premiere without a problem. However, it is highly recommended you watch the first season because it was very good.

American Horror Story: Asylum premieres tonight (10/17) at 10PM on FX. If you want a taste of the season’s frights, jump after the break to watch a one minute trailer and catch some behind-the-scenes footage with the cast and creators. In the galleries below, browse creepy character profiles and check out the varied key art…if you dare.

Update: Nothing record-breaking to report here, but AHS: Asylum got off to a strong start, both creatively and in the ratings. 3.85 million total viewers committed themselves to last night’s season two premiere “Welcome to Briarcliff;” that’s up 21 percent from last year’s series premiere. In the important adults 18-49 demo the episode attracted 2.78 million viewers (a 2.20 rating, up 37 percent), trailing only CBS’ CSI for the night. In adults 18-34 the ep attracted 1.78 million viewers (2.63 rating, up 50 percent) making it the highest rated program at 10PM across cable and broadcast networks in that demo. The episode managed to rank higher in the ratings than every episode from the first season. Are you committed? Share your thoughts on the season premiere in the comment section below.

Continue reading TV reminder: ‘American Horror Story: Asylum’ premieres tonight at 10PM on FX [Update: The ratings are in…] →

TV reminder: ‘The Walking Dead’ premieres tonight at 9PM on AMC [Update: The ratings are in…]

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Michonne. The Governor. Woodbury. The prison. There has been so much excitement about what’s coming next on The Walking Dead and now the time has finally arrived to regroup with Rick and our gang of zombie apocalypse survivors. Eye this season’s key art above that features Rick Grimes front and center (once again) atop an overturned bus outside the zombie-infested prison. Gotta love the tagline: “Fight the dead. Fear the living.” Next dive in the galleries below to view character profiles and pictures from tonight’s season premiere, “Seed.”

The Walking Dead premieres tonight (10/14) at 9PM on AMC. And don’t forget to tune into Talking Dead immediately following the episode; host Chris Hardwick will be talking to showrunner Glen Mazzara and Michonne–er, Danai Gurira.

Ramp up anticipation by watching the season 3 trailer a couple more times. It’s that good.

Update: Get used to it–AMC’s The Walking Dead shatters records when it premieres. 10.9 million viewers tuned into the season three premiere last night; that’s up 50 percent from the season two opener. It also performed extremely well in the two coveted demos; in adults 18-49 it attracted 7.3 million viewers (up 52 percent from the season two premiere) and in adults 25-54 it attracted 6.1 million viewers (up 46 percent). If you include the two encore airings of the episode, a grand total of 15.2 million people saw “Seed.” The show managed to garner this many viewers while Dish subscribers were left out in the cold due to a contract dispute. AMC can rightfully boast that last night’s return of The Walking Dead is most-watched drama telecast in basic cable history and in the 18-49 demo it is the highest-rated series this fall–including cable and broadcast offerings. Hats off to the zombies. I don’t think you’ll ever have to tell this show to break a leg going into a premiere. Oops, sorry Hershel…too soon?

[Images via AMC]

NBC grants full season orders to ‘Revolution’, ‘Go On’ & ‘The New Normal’

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If you’ve been glued to the intriguing drama Revolution and eccentric but heartfelt comedies Go On and The New Normal, it’s time to celebrate because NBC has granted these three new series full season orders! This means these selected shows will fill out their premiere seasons with new episodes that will run into spring.

NBC Entertainment President Jennifer Salke released the following statement.

“We’re impressed with the imagination and creative direction of the entire team on Revolution, not to mention the immediately strong response we got from the audience. Ordering the full season of this show is a pleasure. Thanks to J.J. Abrams, Erik Kripke, Jon Favreau, and everyone at Bad Robot and Warner Bros. Television for their dedication to making a truly unique series. And I personally love to escape into a world where there is no power, the phone doesn’t ring, and the pace of life slows down — if only for one hour a week!”

“We’re also very proud of our new comedy block of Go On and The New Normal. In partnering with Matthew Perry for Go On, creator Scott Silveri has created a comedy with a highly original voice that deftly combines humor and emotion. And Ryan Murphy and Ali Adler have created a truly unique family in The New Normal that is reflective of the changing dynamics of the world we live in. These shows are both welcome additions to our new lineup!”

If you’re into the ratings numbers, Revolution is averaging 3.6/9 in adults 18-49 and 9.8 million viewers (it’s also been noted as the fall’s strongest DVR performer thus far); Go On is averaging 3.2/9 in the demo and 8.6 million viewers; and The New Normal is averaging 2.2/6 in the demo and 6.0 million viewers.

The network is on a roll this week. In addition to granting the aforementioned FSOs, the Peacock was named the “winner of premiere week” averaging the highest share ratio in the coveted adults 18-49 demographic; they received a 2.9 and that’s up a solid 12% from last fall. The network can thank programming like Revolution, The Voice, and Sunday Night Football for the prize. In total viewers, however, NBC trails CBS and ABC averaging 8.2 million viewers (but that’s up 9% from last fall).

The fates of other new comedies Animal Practice and Guys with Kids hang in the balance. New drama Chicago Fire debuts next week.

Revolution airs Monday nights at 10. Go On and The New Normal air Tuesday nights at 9 and 9:30, respectively.

[Via Deadline; EW 1, 2]

TV reminder: ‘Mad Men’ returns tonight at 9PM on AMC [Update: record ratings]

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Tonight marks the season 5 premiere of AMC’s breakout drama Mad Men. Can you even recall the last time you watched an original episode on TV? To refresh your memory, the date was October 17, 2010. Those were the days…

I hope you’re excited to be reacquainted with the likes of Sterling Cooper Draper Price because tonight’s (3/25) premiere is extra long maxing out at two hours. It all starts at 9PM on AMC. Check out some cool stills in the gallery below, and watch a promo after the break.

Update: Last night’s Mad Men season 5 opener brought about record ratings for the period drama. 3.5 million total viewers tuned in to the two-hour premiere (that’s up a significant 21% from season four debut), crowning this episode the series’ most watched episode to date. And so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the important demo numbers are way up, too: in adults 18-49 the show drew 1.6 million viewers (an increase of 30% from the season four debut) and in adults 25-54 it attracted 1.7 million viewers (up 17%). Here’s one more tally for you to nod your head in amazement at: if you include the encore airing of the premiere, a total of 4.4 million people watched last night’s episode. These ratings can’t touch AMC’s other staple The Walking Dead but still I say, hot damn. AMC president Charlie Collier says, “Almost five years ago, with a focus on distinction and quality, AMC launched Mad Men as the first series in its commitment to original scripted dramatic television. Mad Men set the bar high and we are incredibly proud that it continues to engage audiences looking for unexpected, unconventional and uncompromising television.”

Continue reading TV reminder: ‘Mad Men’ returns tonight at 9PM on AMC [Update: record ratings] →

TV reminder: ‘Community’ returns tonight to NBC! [Update: solid ratings]

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Human Beings, rejoice! After an extended and dreadful three month hiatus, Community is back.

The 2+ minute trailer embedded above shouts “One community will rise again and everything we know will Chang.” It also previews what’s in store for the second half of the cult comedy’s third season: so much funny.

Hailed as “the entertainment event of the year” by the deep-voiced trailer narrator, Community makes it big comeback tonight (3/15) at 8PM on NBC. For the sake of all that is good in this world, do tune in, tell your friends, and make an effort to support a season renewal of this smart and refreshingly unique sitcom.

Update: The Community comeback episode was up a solid 47% in the ratings from its last original airing on December 7 in the all-important 18-49 demo (2.2/7); that’s a season high. 4.9 million total viewers were accounted for, and that’s up 36% from the last episode. A couple of accolades have been awarded to last night’s airing: it’s been crowned the #1 program in adults 18-34 and men 18-34 during its 8-8:30PM timeslot among the other big networks, beating out FOX’s juggernaut American Idol. Keep in mind, however, that all this went down when CBS aired March Madness in place of their own ratings monster The Big Bang Theory. Still, if Community stabilizes around these numbers and doesn’t drop too far from here a season renewal might be in the comedy’s future.