Sunday, April 05, 2009

Week 28 Ratings and Analysis; How the Sitcoms Did

Week 28 numbers (first four nights final averages, Mon-Thurs):

Households: Fox 8.3/12.9; CBS 7.7/12.3; ABC 5.8/9.3; NBC 5.7/9.1; The CW 1.8/2.8; MNT 0.9/1.3.
Total Viewers: Fox 14.13 million; CBS 12.44 million; ABC 9.02 million; NBC 8.9 million; The CW 2.67 million; MNT 1.34 million.
Adults 18-49: Fox 5.0/13.3; CBS 3.4/8.9; NBC 3.2/8.5; ABC 2.6/6.9; The CW 1.2/3.3; MNT 0.5/1.2.

Analysis: Week 28 sees CBS and Fox battle it out so far this week, as ABC's big Thursday guns were not on. Through the first four days, Fox is on top in all categories, with CBS in second everywhere, ABC is third in HH/viewers, with NBC just behind them in fourth. NBC is third though in 18-49 thanks to the ER series finale.
Last week, CBS won in week 27 in HH/viewers, but Fox once again took 18-49 but by a closer margin, over NCAA-fueled second place CBS. ABC was second for the week in HH, with Fox a close third, but it was the other way around in viewers. ABC was third in 18-49, while NBC was back in a distant fourth of course in everything.
Monday it was all ABC as Dancing with the Stars continues to dominate. ABC aired a two-hour episode of Dancing with the Stars at an impressive 20.48 million, up some from the previous week. After that, ABC aired a new episode of crime-romance drama Castle doing 9.09 million...on par really from previous week. That was a good plot and another good one for tomorrow involving a frozen body. CBS did decent starting with all-new episodes of its comedies, The Big Bang Theory did a solid 9.74 million, followed by How I Met Your Mother doing 9.2 million, up nearly two million from previous week when it aired at 8pm and on its own. #1 sitcom Two and a Half Men did 14.56 million, clearly the best of the sitcoms. A new Rules of Engagement followed and did 11.02 million, up nearly two million week-to-week when its lead-in was a repeat. At 10pm a new CSI: Miami did 13.46 million, which was down a tad from previous week. Fox started with a new episode of House and did 12.51 million, then Fox had an all-new 24 doing 11.26 million, up a million from previous week when its lead-in was a repeat. NBC was next with its sluggish Monday. A new Chuck did 5.72 million, down from previous week. The downfall of Heroes continues as this show did just 6.42 million, down just a bit from previous week in HH/viewers, but it was up a bit in 18-49 at least. Medium followed with 7.27 million for a new episode, up from previous week. The CW was next with a new episode of Gossip Girl doing 2.45 million, up some from previous week as ABC Family's Secret Life is no longer against it. A new episode of One Tree Hill did 2.36 million, down a tad from previous week.
Tuesday it was Fox on top. Fox started with an 86 minute American Idol doing just 24.41 million, then at 9:26pm to 10:02pm Fox aired the special Osbournes: Reloaded at just 8.4 million. Fringe returns this week and needs to do better or it cold be in trouble. CBS started with a new NCIS doing 17.23 million, down a bit from previous week when it aired at a special 9pm time. A new episode of The Mentalist was next and did a great 16.96 million, but that was down from previous week when it aired in a special 10pm slot. Without a Trace was next at 12.53 million. ABC was next and started with encores of the first two episodes of Better Off Ted doing only 3.18 million. Dancing with the Stars: The Results was next at 9pm doing 13.51 million, down from previous week as it faced Idol. No more Idol now until the finale vs. Dancing's Results. ABC followed by airing the series premiere of Cupid doing 7.22 million...needs to do better than that, but with a better Dancing lead-in in the coming weeks, it should do better. It's a simple lot...Cupid tries to hook up a new couple each week, so this isn't serialized folks! NBC was next with a two-hour The Biggest Loser doing 8.78 million, down over a million from previous week when it aired from 9-11pm and no Idol. NBC finished the night with a new Law & Order: SVU at 10pm doing 9.37 million...which is nothing what it used to do. The CW aired a new episode of Reaper and did 2.37 million, down some from previous week's season high, and the return of 90210 on a new time did 2.04 million, that is not good news! It needs to do better than that.
Wednesday saw you Fox dominate. Fox was lead by the results show of American Idol at 9pm doing 24.34 million. New Fox drama Lie to Me started the night off at 8pm doing 9.18 million, not bad but seems lower than usual. CBS started with the April Fool's special I Get That A Lot at a surprising 10.35 million, much more than the usual Old Christine and Gary Unmarried, so those shows need to pick it up. A repeat of Criminal Minds followed and did 10.03 million. CSI: NY followed with repeat as well doing 10.06 million. Both seemed to be at below repeat levels. ABC was next with a new Scrubs and a new episode of the new Better Off Ted doing 4.97 and 4.67 million...both seemed to be affected by the April Fool's special as that skewed the audience these do. A new episode of Lost followed at 9pm doing 9.57 million, up from previous week And the series finale of Life on Mars at 10pm did 5.64 million, it improved from previous week once again. That was a good sign going up each week the last few weeks. NBC opened the night with a repeat of Law & Order: Criminal Intent doing 5.03 million, a new showing of Life followed and did an improved 5.7 million, up from previous week. Law & Order followed at 10pm with a repeat and did 6.34 million. The CW was on the map with America's Next Top Model doing a nice 3.97 million, up over a million from previous week as there was no Idol meddling...The CW followed with an encore of...what else...90210 at 1.09 million, up from previous week. That was an encore from the previous night.
Thursday saw NBC with the win as the series finale of ER took home the night. When was the last time NBC finished first besides the Super Bowl? NBC started with a retrospective special of ER doing a solid 10.63 million at 8pm. My Name is Earl was preempted. Then the ER two-hour send-off aired and did 16.38 million, which is up six million from previous week. Great numbers. Though this doesn't compare at all with other big series finales at all, which has to be disappointing. The Office and 30 Rock were preempted. CBS was next with the return of Survivor: Tocantis at a below normal 11.27 million. CSI celebrated its 200th episode with series lows of 14.63 million and only a 3.8 18-49 rating. And the finale (series maybe?) of Eleventh Hour closed the night at 10.37 million. Fox started with Bones at 9.25 million, which off a bit from usual but expected. An all-new Hell's Kitchen followed at 9pm did 6.95 million, off from previous week obviously. ABC started with a new In the Motherhood doing 5.01 million, down a lot from the premiere. Not a good sign. An all-new Samantha Who? was next and did 4.7 million, down two million from previous week. A repeat of Grey's Anatomy was next and did 4.9 million! Too bad we have to wait until April 23 for the final batch of episodes of the season. A repeat of Private Practice followed and did 3.74 million at 10pm. Smallville was all-new on The CW and did a solid 3.85 million, up a bit from previous week, followed by a new Supernatural at 3.27 million, up some from previous week.
Now, as usual final numbers for Friday and Saturday are not available, but CBS won Friday with Ghost Whisperer, Flashpoint, NUMBERS, though two of those were repeats. ABC finished second for the night helped by 20/20. Sarah Connor Chronicles and the new Dollhouse did terrible for Fox, and NBC was not much better with Friday Night Lights. Why is that on the air?
Saturday numbers were above normal again as CBS won with some NCAA Final Four, as we now have the final two of North Carolina and Michigan State battling for the title on Monday!
Tonight CBS also should win. CBS has a new 60 Minutes followed by the 44th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards. ABC will have all repeats of AFV, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters, so they will be out of the battle. NBC has Dateline at 7pm, followed by big-time dud Kings, and a two-hour Celebrity Apprentice, which could do a season high tonight with limited competition. Fox has a mainly repeat lineup of its animated comedies again...except The Simpsons is new at 8pm.
As for the week, CBS should win the week in HH/viewers. Fox in 18-49 likely but CBS could take it thanks to NCAA. Fox will be second in HH/viewers, while ABC or NBC could take third in HH/viewers, but I think NBC will take third in 18-49 for the week much thanks to the ER finale, leaving ABC in fourth thanks to no Thursday and Sunday new showings. As for the coming week...ABC premieres new comedy Surviving Suburbia tomorrow at 9:30pm, hope you saw our review on Friday. And on Wednesday ABC premieres new cop show The Unusuals, which is very good. Fox returns Fringe tomorrow at 8pm. Thursday NBC premieres new comedy Parks and Recreation at 8:30pm, which we hope to have a review up by Wednesday. Tomorrow also is the championship game of the NCAA Tournament!



Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of March 23-29, Week 27)

  • The Simpsons (Fox) 2 episodes - 6.62 million for an all-new episode...up from previous week. A repeat did better at 8:30 doing 6.63 million.
  • King of the Hill (Fox) - A repeat at 7:30 only did 2.96 million, but better than the previous week.
  • Family Guy (Fox) - A new episode did 8.12 million, up week-to-week.
  • American Dad! (Fox) 2 episodes - 6.02 million...up some from previous week. Earlier in the night a repeat at 7 did just 2.4 million, but it was better than previous week.

Week 28:
Monday Sitcoms

  • The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - 9.74 million for a new episode, this show is clearly a self-starter.
  • How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 9.2 million for a new showing is two million better when CBS tried to self-start this show the previous week...and didn't work.
  • Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 14.56 million for new episode is of course #1 for sitcoms.
  • Rules of Engagement (CBS) - 11.02 million for a new episode...up from previous week when its lead-in was a repeat.

Tuesday Sitcoms

  • Better Off Ted (ABC) 2 encores - First two episodes encored at 8pm doing just 3.18 million.
Wednesday Sitcoms

  • Old Christine (CBS) - preempted.
  • Gary Unmarried (CBS) - preempted.
  • Scrubs (ABC) - New showing did 4.97 million, down some from previous week.
  • Better Off Ted (ABC) - 4.67 million for a new episode...up a bit week-to-week!

Thursday Sitcoms

  • My Name is Earl (NBC) - preempted
  • In the Motherhood (ABC) - Second episode did just 5.01 million, it was way down from the premiere and needs to do better.
  • Samantha Who? (ABC) - 4.7 million, down two million from previous week.
  • The Office (NBC) - preempted.
  • 30 Rock (NBC) - preempted.

Friday Sitcoms

  • Everybody Hates Chris (The CW) - A new episode did a prelim 1.79 million...down a bit from previous week's prelim numbers.
  • The Game (The CW) - A new episode did a prelim 1.86 million. Down some from previous week's prelim numbers.

Saturday Sitcoms

  • None.

Airing tonight (Sunday) are a mix of new and repeats of Fox animated comedies from 7-10pm!

Summing it up. Two and a Half Men, Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Rules of Engagement, were impressive for the week. Nothing else was OK as we had a lot of just plain old terrible (such as Samantha Who?, Better Off Ted).


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, June 25

Children Ruin Everything - "Connection" (The CW, 9:00PM ET/PT)
With work keeping him busy, James feels even more disconnected from Felix; when Felix shares a personal secret with Astrid, James goes too far trying to learn the secret himself.

Children Ruin Everything - "Adulthood" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT)
When James finally pays off his student loans, he celebrates by buying an expensive chair; the kids threaten to ruin it with their stain-inducing activities; Astrid discovers that someone from her past has taken out a peace bond against her.

Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "House of Second Chances" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Curtis and Floyd must navigate the intricacies of business, while Jazmine grapples with her rollercoaster of emotions.

Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Diamond in the Rough" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Cora has a new romantic suitor, which causes a rift between her and Mr. Brown; everyone celebrates Philip for his recent academic achievements, and he receives an unexpected gift.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 23)

Wednesday, June 25

  • Abby Elliott (The Bear/Indebted/Odd Mom Out) - Watch Abby on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. She also talks about The Bear on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
  • Brandy Norwood (Zoe Ever After/The Game/Moesha/Thea) - Brandy and Monica are guests on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Allison Williams (Girls) - Allison appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. She also chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Andy Richter (Andy Barker, P.I./Quintuplets/Andy Richter Controls the Universe) and Tim Bagley (The Great North/Teachers/Grace and Frankie/Web Therapy/Stril Mall) - Andy and Tim are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Frankie Grande (Henry Danger/Danger Force) - Frankie talks about Rhythm of Love on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
  • Luna Blaise (Fresh Off the Boat) - NBC's Today catches up with Luna in the 9am hour.
  • DulcĂ© Sloan (The Great North) - DulcĂ© joins Tamron Hall (repeat) for a DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE as she serves laughs and looks from her brand-new tour, 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

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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
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06/16 - Hulu's Chad Powers Teaser; Prime Video's Jesse Williams Series
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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
06/01 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 2, 2025)
05/31 - SitcomsOnline Digest: New King of the Hill Reboot Details; CBS Makes Late Night Changes
05/30 - FX's Adults Pilot Available on Social Platforms; BET and BET+ Premiere New Tyler Perry Series in June
05/29 - Netflix's New Chuck Lorre Sitcom Leanne; Apple TV+ Season 4 Premiere of The Morning Show
05/28 - Max Renews Hacks for Season 5; Byron Allen Coming Back to CBS Late Night
05/27 - Antenna TV Summer 2025 Schedule; Rewind TV Summer 2025 Schedule
05/26 - Memorial Day 2025 TV Sitcom Marathons
05/25 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 26, 2025)
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