Zach Braff Signs on for Another Year of Scrubs
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, Prime Time, INHD, Scrubs, Ratings, Renewals,
I’m a huge Scrubs fan, so this news made my day. Zach Braff has just finished negotiating a payraise for a seventh season, so it looks like a pretty safe bet that the show will return next year. Now I know, some fans of the show have not been as entertained as much as in years’ past, but it is still a solid show with excellent writing and characters. Compared to some of the drivel on TV, I think this show still continues to bring the funny. While this could mean a big payday for Braff, there is one teensy issue—his pay is contingent upon the show returning for a seventh season. No renewal, no big payoff—which rings up in the neighborhood of $350,000 per episode for the one year deal. This puts Braff’s paycheck in Charlie Sheen territory, although Sheen’s Two and a Half Men averages 15.2 million viewers each week and Scrubs only draws about 6.9 million. Braff will next be seen in The Ex, a comedy co-starring Jason Bateman. Two of my faves on the big screen? Be still my heart.
Read More 
| Yahoo! News
Gallery: Zach Braff Signs on for Another Year of Scrubs
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Knights of Prosperity Pulled from Lineup
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, Prime Time, ABC, American Idol, Cancellations, Ratings,
I tried to like this show, I really did. I like Donal Logue, but there just wasn’t enough going for this show to keep me sticking around. Seems a lot of viewers felt the same way because ABC is pulling the plug on The Knights of Prosperity. I don’t think that it was really ever in the cards, with the tough competition against American Idol, but I imagined that In Case of Emergency would get the boot before Knights. It’s questionable when the three remaining episodes of the comedy will even air. A repeat of According to Jim will fill the void Wednesday, with George Lopez reruns taking over the slot for the remaining two weeks. ‘Tis the kiss of death, although ABC refers to the unaired episodes as “not yet rescheduled.” The freshman mid-season entry averaged a little over 5.03 million viewers over the eight episodes that aired.
Read More | Zap2it
Gallery: Knights of Prosperity Pulled from Lineup
Black Donnellys Brings in Disappointing Numbers
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Drama, Prime Time, NBC, Ratings,
NBC certainly hoped that The Black Donnellys would bring in better numbers than the show it replaced, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Turns out it didn’t perform well either, despite the hype. Donnellys only average 8.4 million viewers for its debut, only slightly assisted by the lead-in audience from Heroes. Heroes ran over into Black Donnellys’ timeslot, so the 14.3 million who were watching may have held on for the debut of Donnellys. However, they didn’t stick around—the numbers dropped to 6.8 million at 10:30 p.m. Studio 60, by comparison, averaged 6.1 million viewers during its last episode. I saw a clip on E! with Kritin Veitch where she said that Studio 60 is as expensive to cancel as it is to create, so NBC is certainly between the proverbial rock and hard place.
Read More | AOL
Gallery: Black Donnellys Brings in Disappointing Numbers
‘5th Grader’ Game Show a Huge Ratings Hit
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Games, Music, Prime Time, Reality, FOX, American Idol, Ratings,
Apparently lots of people tuned in to find out if they are indeed smarter than a fifth grader. Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, hosted by Jeff Foxworthy and created by Mark Burnett, proved the silly concept can translate into superb ratings. It did so well, in fact, that it was the highest-rated series premiere on any network in nine years. That’s kind of crazy, if you think about it, especially for a game show. I suppose it doesn’t hurt to have uber-popular American Idol as your lead-in either. Idol has been bringing consistently high numbers and you’ve got to think that a majority of them will stick around for the next show. Overall Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? grabbed 26.6 million viewers. Idol led the night with 30.4 million viewers. Interestingly, it bested the previous winner for best series premiere—Jesse on NBC, which debuted in 1998. Remember that show? Nah, me neither.
Read More | Yahoo! News
Gallery: ‘5th Grader’ Game Show a Huge Ratings Hit
Las Vegas Loses Two Main Players
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Drama, Prime Time, NBC, Internet, Ratings, Renewals,
Wow, two posts about Las Vegas in two days… and I’ve never even seen the show. Yesterday, we reported that Las Vegas had been renewed for a fifth season. The big news today is that two of the stars, James Caan and Nikki Cox, will be leaving the series. Caan is bailing so that he can get back to the movie business; Cox is leaving because of budget cuts. From what I’m reading online, seems that many feel the show can’t go long with Caan’s absence. He is really the heart of the ensemble and the show will be weaker without him. As for Cox, I haven’t seen much outcry over her leaving the series, so I guess the other women are more than easy on the eyes to fill Nikki Cox’s void. Caan commented on his first venture into television, saying, “I’ve had a wonderful four years, worked with great people and made friends for life working on Las Vegas, but I’m eager to return to where my heart is, which is film, and due to the show’s schedule, I missed some great opportunities to do that. I wish the show and everyone involved with it continued success.” Makes you wonder what roles he had to pass on, doesn’t it?
Read More | Yahoo! News
Gallery: Las Vegas Loses Two Main Players
Are Ten-Year-Olds Smarter Than You?
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Kids, Prime Time, Reality, FOX, Gossip, News, Ratings,
Leave it to FOX to ask the question no other network dares: Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? Most adults would say yes, of course. In a new big-budget game show (a deviation for FOX, a network that relies largely upon animated series, intense dramas, and reality TV) college grads will be pit against a class of five fifth graders in an effort to test their general knowledge smarts. There’s only one catch: all of the questions range from first to fifth grade class teachings. The show will run every night this week after FOX’s mega-hit American Idol, in an effort to boost up ratings for the fledging program. Cute little nine, ten, and eleven-year olds, a famous redneck for a host (Jeff Foxworthy), and plenty of money to throw around (the prize for answering only eleven questions? One million dollars) – FOX is banking on a hit. Think you’ve got what it takes to beat fifth graders at school trivia? Then you probably aren’t watching the show.
Read More | TV Squad
Gallery: Are Ten-Year-Olds Smarter Than You?
Las Vegas Signed on for Fifth Season
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Drama, Prime Time, NBC, Ratings, Renewals,
Las Vegas seems like one of those shows that just floats by, quietly… and the next thing you know, it’s in its fifth season! I feel like I must have dozed off during a couple of seasons in there, because I had no idea that it had been on that long. Now I realize, just because I don’t watch it, doesn’t mean that there aren’t plenty of viewers out there. In fact, about 9 million viewers tune in each week. The renewal will put Las Vegas into the 2007-08 season, leading to the 100 episode mark, which translates to syndication. According to Kevin Reilly, NBC Entertainment Chief, “The cast and producers have consistently given us what we want from Las Vegas—pure entertainment—and we’re looking forward to another fun ride next season with the show.” The last episode for this season airs March 9th.
Read More | Zap2it
Gallery: Las Vegas Signed on for Fifth Season
Oscar Ratings See a Significant Bump From Last Year
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Award Shows, Prime Time, ABC, Internet, Ratings,
So, how did the biggest awards show of the year go, ratings-wise? Many critics predicted that this year’s broadcast would not be a big ratings hit, but boy were they wrong. Viewership for this year’s Academy Awards ceremony averaged 39.9 million viewers, which is about 1 million more than last year, according to Nielsen estimates. Most critics and viewers were not too kind, saying that Ellen DeGeneres’ hosting job was so-so, the broadcast ran too long, and the show was a bore overall. All that aside, seems people are still interested in the Oscars—and a million more were interested this year. If you hung in there for the almost four-hour tour, then you deserve your own miniature statuette for going the distance. Even with the swell in viewership, turns out the broadcast is no big winner in the scheme of Oscars past. The 1998 Oscars drew 55.2 million. I made it about half-way through, then checked out the results online this morning. Heck, with enough Internet coverage of the ceremony, you can even catch video highlights and bypass the snooze-worthy moments.
Read More | Yahoo! News
Gallery: Oscar Ratings See a Significant Bump From Last Year
What Went Wrong at the Oscars?
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Award Shows, Late Night, Prime Time, Reality, Specials, ABC, Ratings,
Though the 79th Annual Academy Awards were scheduled to take three hours (not including all the pre-coverage and after-coverage, of course), it actually ran almost one hour longer. What went wrong at the Oscars this year? Was it long-winded speeches (many of which were cut off by the music), unimportant backstage coverage, somewhat tedious tributes? The entire broadcast was just shy of the four-hour mark at three hours and fifty-two minutes, which many fans dutifully sat through just to hear which flick won Best Picture. Though host Ellen DeGeneres tried to liven the broadcast up with humor, a lot of it (even her banter) was tedious and seemed to take for ever. Without all the extras, the Academy Awards could run like clockwork, instead of putting audiences to sleep.
Read More | NY Times
Gallery: What Went Wrong at the Oscars?
Is American Idol Losing the Ratings War?
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Drama, Music, Prime Time, Reality, CBS, FOX, American Idol, Grey’s Anatomy, Ratings,
America’s most-watched reality show may be losing some of its appeal – or, at the very least, some of its viewers. Last year’s season of American Idol drew record numbers, some nights bringing in thirty million viewers or more. This year…well, the ratings are a little lower. Idol is still definitely on top even with a paltry seventeen million viewers, but the FOX hit is just barely the most popular show. Coming in at a too-close second is Grey’s Anatomy, the runaway CBS hit that has everyone talking and watching. Though American Idol and Grey’s Anatomy air at different times, the scripted drama is slowly overtaking the King of reality shows. Right now, fans can still watch both – but will Grey’s go for a more direct competition next season? And if they do…will Idol still continue to win the ratings war?
(You can find all the American Idol 6 posts here.)
Gallery: Is American Idol Losing the Ratings War?
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