'Lopez' & 'Freddie' Premieres Delayed By 1 Week Each; 'Chris' Neck and Neck with 'Joey'

Friday, September 23, 2005

'Lopez' & 'Freddie' Premieres Delayed By 1 Week Each; 'Chris' Neck and Neck with 'Joey'

With the monster numbers for the Lost season premiere this past Wednesday, ABC decided to re-air the season premiere next Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. replacing the one-hour fifth season premiere of George Lopez. Lopez will have its one hour season premiere now the week after on October 5. So mark those calendars for this underrated sitcom. The series premiere of Freddie was all set for 8:30 p.m. on October 5, and now that will be on October 12 instead. Of note, technically the second episode of Freddie will be the premiere episode and the pilot episode is actually on October 19. I thought the pilot was a little weak (see our pilot reviews), so maybe ABC thought that too and will air a stronger episode for the show's debut.
Also of note on the third episode of the season for Lost (October 5), sitcom star Katey Sagal (8 Simple Rules, Married...With Children) is guest starring as Helen, a lady from Locke's past. I hope she appears in more than one episode. She is rumored to be appearing in more than one.

As today's topic is network television, we think we should mention the debut of UPN's most talked about series ever probably (sorry America's Next Top Model!). That is of course, Everybody Hates Chris. Chris beat NBC's Joey in adults 18-49 in its half hour (3.2 rating vs. 3.0) for second place (behind Survivor) and was virtually tied with Joey for third in total viewers for the half hour (behind Survivor and Dancing with the Stars: Dance-Off). You might say, 'so what Joey is not a ratings sensation,' but this is big step for UPN and if Joey continues to tumble, NBC might move the show (maybe Tuesdays?) or just cancel it. If My Name is Earl continues to do what it did in its premiere, then you might see that on Thursday nights. In the big apple, WWOR was #1 in its half hour for Chris in adults 18-49 by a wide margin over both Survivor and Joey. But after Chris' airing, Love, Inc. and the rest of the UPN comedies all came down to regular UPN levels.
Other impressive series premieres this week so far besides Earl and Chris include Invasion, Criminal Minds preview, Surface, How I Met Your Mother, and Out of Practice. NBC's E-Ring did OK, but will have a big drop against Lost and the regular time-slot debut of Criminal Minds, which will beat E-Ring for a distant second place behind Lost. Bad series premieres this week include Kitchen Confidential, Just Legal, Apprentice: Martha Stewart. FOX has already canceled Head Cases after just two airings, but two terribly rated airings.

So what do I think will do good based on the numbers for the first episode? I think Everybody Hates Chris, Invasion, How I Met Your Mother will be the ones to perform similar numbers or even higher. I'm not convinced yet about My Name is Earl. Out of Practice might have a good lead-in, but I'm still questioning if it can hold much of it in subsequent airings. Surface got a decent sampling with 11.18 million viewers, but I expect a big drop this week. NBC got lucky on Monday and Tuesday with decent nights, but the last two nights have been big disappoinments.

Season to date (first four nights):
Households: CBS: 9.0/13.9; ABC: 8.5/13.2; NBC: 7.4/11.4; FOX: 4.3/6.6; UPN: 2.8/4.2; The WB: 2.4/3.6
Total Viewers: CBS: 14.16 million; ABC: 12.88 million; NBC: 11.22 million; FOX: 6.78 million; UPN: 4.25 million; The WB: 3.49 million.
Adults 18-49: CBS: 4.9/12.5; ABC: 4.7/12.1; NBC: 4.2/10.7; FOX: 2.9/7.3; UPN: 1.9/4.9; The WB: 1.4/3.6

Analysis: With three nights to go and two nights being "weak" - Sunday will be the key and expect ABC to blow away the competition on that night. So, it looks like ABC will win the first week, is what I'm projecting. Lost's big jump has helped a lot and the premiere of Invasion was more than solid. Maybe those Housewives can draw 27-30 million viewers for its premiere this Sunday? I hope to try to do this once every week (either Friday or Saturday) so you can expect who will win each week.
I won't post final numbers as that is available usually everywhere on Tuesday afternoon.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Monday, December 1

DMV - "Splash Fountain" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Colette’s effort to redirect holiday plans takes an unexpected turn when it lands her trapped in a car. Meanwhile, a surprising new friendship stirs up jealousy among the team.

The Neighborhood - "Welcome to Babies and Bathwater" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Dave’s ambitious home improvement plans take a turn, prompting Calvin to step in, while Malcolm seeks Gemma’s help to overcome writer’s block. Meanwhile, Tina’s suggestion for Daphne sparks a parenting dilemma for Courtney.

St. Denis Medical - "I Left a Woman on the Table" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Matt struggles to deal with a patient from his past; Bruce tries to rekindle romance with a former flame; Joyce treats patients to cover a nursing shortage.

The Paper - "TTT vs the Blogger" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
After learning that a snarky high schooler's blog has more readers than the paper, Ned and Esmeralda team up to embarrass the corner-cutting brat; Mare and Oscar cover a beloved music teacher's last production.

TV We Love - "Touched by an Angel" (The CW, 9:00PM ET/PT)
"Touched by an Angel" star Roma Downey and executive producer Martha Williamson reflect on the moving stories of faith, hope, and inspiration that captivated millions.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 1)

Monday, December 1

Sydney Sweeney (Everything Sucks!) - Watch Syndey on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Kristin Chenoweth (Stumble/Trial & Error/Kristin) - Kristin appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Maya Rudolph (Loot/Bless the Harts/Forever/Up All Night) - Maya is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Adam Pally (Mr. Throwback/Indebted/Making History/The Mindy Project/Happy Endings) - Adam appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Adam Sandler (The Cosby Show) - Adam talks about Jay Kelly on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
George Clooney (Roseanne/The Facts of Life/ E/R (1984-1985) - George talks Jay Kelly with Michael Strahan on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Minnie Driver (Emily in Paris/Speechless/About a Boy) - Minnie talks about Emily in Paris on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Kyle Richards (Down to Earth) - Kyle talks about The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills on Live with Kelly and Mark and on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Vanessa Bell Calloway (Kenan/Survivor's Remorse/Under One Roof) - Tamron Hall has A DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE with rapper, writer and actor Vince Staples and award-winning actress Vanessa Bell Calloway, who play mother and son in the Netflix series The Vince Staples Show, so check your local listings.
Richie Moriarty (Ghosts) - Richie talks about Ghosts on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Cheyenne Jackson (Call Me Kat/30 Rock) - Cheyenne is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.
Reba McEntire (Happy's Place/Malibu Country/Reba) - Reba appears on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am and in the 9am hour.
Regina Hall (Black Monday/Grandfathered/Married/Second Generation Wayans) - Regina is a guest on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.