Sunday, May 25, 2008

Week 35 Numbers (First Four Nights); How the Sitcoms Did

The final week of the season was week 35 (the season ended Wednesday but Thurs-Sun will count for week 35, but not in the 07-08 season ratings). I don't have final numbers for this past Thursday, which did have ABC program the season finales of Ugly Betty & Grey's Anatomy, but they will not count in the 2007-08 averages unfortunately. Since I don't have final numbers for Thursday, I'll give you the final May sweep ratings instead of the week's first four night numbers:

May 2008 Sweep Ratings (April 24-May 21, 2008):

Households: CBS 6.8/11, ABC 6.3/11, Fox 6.1/10, NBC 3.9/7, The CW 1.7/3, MNT 0.8/1
Total Viewers: CBS 10.66 million, Fox 10.01 million, ABC 9.68 million, NBC 5.95 million, The CW 2.66 million, MNT 1.19 million.
Adults 18-49: Fox 3.8/11, ABC 3.1/9, CBS 2.8/8, NBC 1.9/5, The CW 1.1/3, MNT 0.5/1

Week 35 Analysis: Week 35 goes through tonight, but the season ended Wednesday, with Fox on top the final three days of May sweep/07-08 season. ABC still had Betty/Grey's finales on Thursday, so through the first four days, they are second. Last week, week 34, CBS edged ABC for number one in HH and viewers again, as Fox was third in both categories, but not by much. Fox had the lead in 18-49. ABC was second, while CBS was third in 18-49 and NBC was an uncompetitive fourth in everything.
On Monday, ABC was on top with Dancing with the Stars doing 19.22 million for 65 minutes for the final Monday airing, up from the week before. The Bachelorette two-hour premiere did a solid 8.08 million...so if it is close to that this summer, ABC will be happy. CBS started with season finale of its sitcoms and leading it off was The Big Bang Theory at 7.34 million, down week to week, the season finale of How I Met Your Mother followed and built on that and did 7.99 million...down from previous week, #1 sitcom Two and a Half Men followed and closed its season with 14.7 million ... up from previous week. Closing the sitcom block was the season finale of Rules of Engagement at 12.29 million, also up a lot from previous week. Season finale of CSI: Miami closed the night for CBS at 16.26 million...up a ton from previous week. Fox aired the season closer of Bones to start off the night and it did a solid 10.3 million, up from the previous week and following at 9pm was the season finale of House doing 16.36 million, also up over a million week to week. NBC was in the bottom with American Gladiators at just 4.03 million for 90 minutes, down even from previous week, and Dateline NBC closed the night off with 5.85 million, for the second half of the night. The CW had the finale of Gossip Girl doing 3.0 million, up from previous week and the finale of One Tree Hill perked up to 3.23 million, up from previous week...these two shows will air again together in the fall.
On Tuesday, Fox was on top thanks to Idol at 27.06 million at 8pm, up nearly 3 million week to week. At 9pm Fox aired a new Hell's Kitchen and it did solid with 11.44 million...up a tad from previous week. ABC was next with a repeat of Monday's Dancing with the Stars doing 8.74. Then at 9pm, it was the two-hour live season finale of Dancing with the Stars: The Results and it did 20.12 million, down from the fall's finale by a bit, as Kristi Yamaguchi wins it all! CBS was next with the two-hour season finale of NCIS at 16.52 million, this show is a very quiet big hit, followed by the now canceled Shark with 10.27 million, as it aired its series finale. NBC was in the gutter again as a new Most Outrageous Moments at 8pm did just 3.95 million, just like previous week and a repeat followed with 3.99 million, down a tad week-to-week. A repeat of Law & Order: SVU followed with just 3.88 million at 9pm (that was nearly down three million from previous week), and another Law & Order: SVU followed at 10pm with just 5.76 million. NBC seriously needs help. The CW aired a repeat of Reaper at 1.56 million, followed by the season finale of Reaper at a solid 2.53 million, as it went up from previous week.
On Wednesday, it was Fox on top again. American Idol Results closed the season as David Cook won it all with 31.66 million for the two-hour finale. CBS was next with Price is Right Primetime at 8pm and did 7.59 million, up actually week to week and Criminal Minds and CSI: NY closed its season with the finals and they did 13.15 and 11.83 million, but the latter was down a tad week to week. NBC was next with two repeats of Law & Order starting the night off with just 5.4 and 5.05 million and the season finale of Law & Order followed with 8.57 million, up a bit from previous week. ABC was next with two repeats of Lost at just 3.03 million...too bad the season finale couldn't air on this night, as Thursday, May 29 seems to far out, but production issues couldn't make it possible. Damn strike. Closing the night for ABC was the season finale of Boston Legal at 6.47 million on its own...so not its fault it was not good. The CW had a repeat of Farmer Wants a Wife at 1.61 million, followed by an original episode of Farmer Wants a Wife at 1.86 million, down slightly from the previous week. MyNetworkTV aired a new Under One Roof starring Flavor Flav and it did 1.04...up over a million for the first time in 3 weeks. Season officially ends after this night!
On Thursday, the TV summer season started. But ABC still had two season finales to air. We don't have final numbers yet though. Ugly Betty finale and the two-hour Grey's Anatomy finale obviously won the night for ABC, as Grey's built on each half-hour and had its best outing since returning from the strike. Lost will have its two-hour season finale this Thursday. Fox did solid for the season premiere of the summer series So You Think You Can Dance?. NBC did better from 8-9:30 than usual with Deal Or No Deal airing instead of the sitcoms and the season premiere of summer's Last Comic Standing didn't do much. CBS aired repeats all night, as CSI did very below number for a repeat at 9pm.
Like usual, no Friday finals yet. CBS won though with reoeats of Ghost Whisperer and NUMB3RS. It was a worse Friday than usual. Saturday ratings had the NBA Playoffs on ABC so decent, while CBS's original movie couldn't get above 1.0 18-49 rating (prelim).
Tonight will be repeat filled, as the season is over and tomorrow is Memorial Day. So no one will be watching TV probably. NBA Playoffs on TNT will probably be the best draw of the night at 9pm along with NASCAR on Fox.
As for the week, since Thurs-Sun is primarily repeats, I think Fox will have enough to win the week. ABC will be 2nd likely after a strong Thursday.
This coming week sees more summer programming and repeats, but you'll find the season finales of According to Jim and Lost, too. But after this week, it is all over for regular season series.


Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of May 12-18)

  • Everybody Hates Chris (The CW) - The season finale did 1.48 million, up from the previous week. Not bad...but was doing better on Mondays...will be Fridays at 8 next fall.
  • Aliens in America (The CW) - The last episode did 1.28 million, also up week to week.
  • The Game (The CW) - The season finale did 1.66 million, up from the previous week...moving to Fridays at 8:30 next fall.
  • Girlfriends (The CW) - A repeat did 1.2 million, on par really, but down a tad from previous week.
  • The Simpsons (Fox) 2 episodes - Season finale did just 6.19 million...up a bit from previous week..but this is way too low. Earlier at 7:30 a repeat did only 3.79 million....up just a bit from previous week.
  • King of the Hill (Fox) 2 episodes - A repeat at 7pm did just 2.68 million, up a bit from previous week. Season finale at its normal time of 8:30 did 5.4 million...up from previous week, but still way low.
  • Family Guy (Fox) - A repeat did 6.18 million...while that is not good, it was a repeat and nearly beat the others on Fox.
  • American Dad (Fox) - Just 5.64 million for the season finale...but its lead-in was a repeat once again, but the episode was down a bit from previous week.
  • The Office (NBC) 4 episodes - 4 repeats did pathetic. 2.72, 2.65, 2.79 and 3.14 million...don't understand why they repeated them the last few weeks.

Monday Sitcoms

  • The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - 7.34 million tuned in for the season finale, down from previous week sadly.
  • How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 7.99 million for the season finale, down a million from previous week which had Britney.
  • Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 14.7 million for the finale, up a good margin over the previous week.
  • Rules of Engagement (CBS) - 12.29 million for the season finale, up even a better margin over the previous week. Factor? No Deal on NBC and no Samantha on ABC.


Tuesday Sitcoms

  • None

Wednesday Sitcoms
  • Under One Roof (MyNetworkTV) - 1.04 million, over a million yes, but should be doing a bit better. This is no House of Payne.
Thursday Sitcoms
  • None
Friday Sitcoms
  • None

Saturday Sitcoms
  • None.


Airing tonight (Sunday) are a mix repeats of sitcoms on The CW from 8-10.

Summing it up. Two and a Half Men & Rules of Engagement, were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory) or just plain old terrible (Under One Roof, Aliens in America).


We will have a full 2007-08 season (Sept. 24-May 21) wrap-up with complete final numbers soon.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, July 3

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "A Sportsbook and a Breakup" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Mandy finds out Meemaw runs an illegal sportsbook and decides she wants in on the action. Meanwhile, Georgie struggles to keep Mandy’s new job a secret.

Ghosts - "His Girl Shiki" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Pete makes good on his promise to find someone for Sasappis by bringing in a wisecracking 1940s screenwriter who also has the ability to roam.

Bob's Burgers - "The Shell Game" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Bob competes in a competition to inherit Mr. Fischoeder's 100-year-old tortoise.

Grimsburg - "Molly" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Flute forgets to buy Stan a gift for his birthday, he steals an AI doll from the evidence locker; Wynona is forced to confront her ex-boyfriend.

Family Guy - "Row v. Wade" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Brian wins a boat on "The Price is Right" and decides to sail to Texas to help women seeking legal abortions.

The Great North - "Silence of the Dams Adventure" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Honeybee accidentally revives an old Lone Moose curse, sending a terrifying creature after her and the Tobins.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 30)

Thursday, July 3

  • Steve Martin (Only Murders in the Building) - Catch Steve on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Zach Cherry (Duncanville/I Feel Bad/Crashing) - Zach is a guest on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Joel McHale (Animal Control/The Great Indoors/Community) - Joel appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Sandy Honig (Three Busy Debras), Mitra Jouhari (Clone High/Three Busy Debras) and Alyssa Stonoha (Three Busy Debras) - Sandy, Mitra and Alyssa are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Rob Lowe (Unstable/The Grinder/Parks and Recreation/A New Kind of Family) - Rob discusses cancer research and how it changed his life with GMA lifestyle contributor Lori Bergamotto on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
  • Laurence Fishburne (black-ish) - Laurence chats with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Justin Bartha (The New Normal/Teachers) - Justin talks about Nuked on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am and on CBS Mornings Plus in the 9am hour.
  • Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Brooke guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Adam Scott (Ghosted/Veep/Parks and Recreation/Party Down), Britt Lower (Ghosted/Man Seeking Woman/Big Lake) and Ben Stiller (Arrested Development) - Adam, Britt and Ben talk about Severance on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/08 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

07/02 - FETV Acquires The Rookies; Hulu Renews The Bear for Season 5
07/01 - Bert Kreischer Gets Netflix Sitcom; NBC Gets Into Survival Mode This Summer
06/30 - The Comeback Makes Another...Comeback; First Look at Black Rabbit at Netflix
06/29 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 30, 2025)
06/28 - SitcomsOnline Digest: The Comeback Returning for a Third and Final Season; South Park to Remain on HBO Max
06/27 - The White Lotus Star Teams Up with Netflix; Remembering Bobby Sherman, Lynn Hamilton, and Rick Hurst
06/26 - The CW's Fall Movie of the Week; First Look at New York Comic Con 2025
06/25 - Netflix Renews Ransom Canyon for Season 2; My Life with the Walter Boys First Look for Season 2
06/24 - Marc Maron Gets Second HBO Comedy Special; Outlander Prequel Renewed for Season 2 Ahead of Series Premiere
06/23 - MeTV Summer Changes, Adds Adventures of Superman; Jimmy Kimmel Live! Summer Guest Hosts
06/22 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 23, 2025)
06/21 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Night Court Officially Dead After Not Finding New Home; Weigel Announces New WEST Network
06/20 - Great American Media Announces New Danica McKellar Movie; Jennifer Love Hewitt ID True Crime Series
06/19 - Bad Thoughts Renewed for Season 2 at Netflix; Zarna Garg Gets Hulu Special This July
06/18 - Weigel Broadcasting Announces WEST Network with Classic TV Westerns; Hulu's Season 2 of Such Brave Girls
06/17 - Gary Coleman's Ex-Wife on A&E Series; Digman! Returns July 9 on Comedy Central
06/16 - Hulu's Chad Powers Teaser; Prime Video's Jesse Williams Series
06/15 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 16, 2025)
06/14 - SitcomsOnline Digest: NBC Mulls Airing The Paper on Primetime Lineup; Fox Revives Baywatch Reboot Talk
06/13 - My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman Renewed for 2 More Seasons; Hanna-Barbera Developing Adult Animated Series
06/12 - Comedy Superstar Jack Black Is the King of Comedy at Nickelodeon; Doc Adds Felicity Huffman
06/11 - Celebrities for Celebrity Family Feud Season 11; Netflix's Little House on the Prairie Starts Production
06/10 - Warner Bros. Discovery Separates Company; Peacock's Jennifer Garner Series Adds to Cast
06/09 - Comedian Ms. Pat Gets Season 3 of Courtroom Series; Disney Branded Television Animated Slate
06/08 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 9, 2025)
06/07 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Fox Cancels Alert: Missing Persons Unit and The Cleaning Lady; Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune Headed to Streaming
06/06 - Hulu's First Look at Amanda Knox Drama; Prime Video Lands Spy Thriller
06/05 - Disney's Electric Bloom Gets Premiere Date; Conan to Guest on NBC's Late Night
06/04 - Netflix Announces Haunted Hotel with Comedic Voices; Prime Video Unveils Trailer for Thriller
06/03 - Netflix's Nobody Wants This Returns October 23; The CW Renews All American for Final Season
06/02 - Remembering Loretta Swit of M*A*S*H, Valerie Mahaffey of Young Sheldon, and The Simpsons Composer Alf Clausen