Welcome to CraveOnline's Idiot Box Updates, where we run down all the latest TV news and separate the facts from the rumors and nonsense on and about the small screen.
Here's a list of the top 20 prime-time shows by viewership numbers, compiled by Nielsen Media Research for June 1-7:
1. "NBA Finals Game 2: Orlando vs. L.A. Lakers," ABC, 14.06 million viewers.
2. "NBA Finals Game 1: Orlando vs. L.A. Lakers," ABC, 13.04 million viewers.
3. "Law and Order: SVU," NBC, 11.56 million viewers.
4. "NCIS," CBS, 11.26 million viewers.
5. "The Mentalist" (Tuesday, 9 p.m.) CBS, 10.88 million viewers.
6. "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 10.1 million viewers.
7. "Inside the Obama White House" (Tuesday), NBC, 9.17 million viewers.
8. "Inside the Obama White House" (Wednesday), NBC, 9.04 million viewers.
9. "60 Minutes," CBS, 8.89 million viewers.
10. "Law and Order," NBC, 8.87 million viewers.
11. "So You Think You Can Dance" (Wednesday), FOX, 8.85 million viewers.
12. "Criminal Minds," CBS, 8.64 million viewers.
13. "The Mentalist" (Tuesday, 10 p.m.), CBS, 8.55 million viewers.
14. "CSI: Miami," CBS, 8.52 million viewers.
15. "Wipeout," ABC, 8.44 million viewers.
16. "Rules of Engagement," CBS, 8.31 million viewers.
17. "So You Think You Can Dance" (Thursday), FOX, 8.18 million viewers.
18. "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 7.86 million viewers.
19. "CSI: NY," CBS, 7.75 million viewers.
20. "48 Hours Mystery" (Tuesday), CBS, 7.73 million viewers.
Top 15 shows on cable networks as compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the week of June 1-7:
1. "Jon & Kate Plus 8" (Monday, 9:30 p.m.)
2. "Burn Notice" (Thursday, 9 p.m.)
3. "Royal Pains" (Thursday, 10 p.m.)
4. "Jon & Kate Plus 8" (Monday, 9 p.m.)
5. Auto Racing: NASCAR-Poconos (Sunday, 1:59 p.m.)
6. "NASCAR Post Race Show" (Sunday, 6:02 p.m.)
7. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 10 p.m.)
8. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 9 p.m.)
9. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Monday, 5 p.m.)
11. "NCIS" (Wednesday, 8 p.m.)
12. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Tuesday, 5 p.m.)
13. "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (Sunday, 9 p.m.)
14. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9:30 a.m.)
15. "Penguins of Madagascar" (Saturday, 10 a.m.)
The recently canceled Fox animated comedy "Futurama" is returning with an order from Comedy Central for 26 new episodes to run over two seasons.
Show creators Matt Groening and David X Cohen already are working on stories for the new batch of episodes of the sci-fi cartoon, slated to premiere on Comedy Central in mid-2010. Following in the footsteps of the animated series "Family Guy," whose unlikely TV return was triggered by big DVD sales and solid ratings for the show's reruns on Cartoon Network, the performance of "Futurama's" repeats on Comedy Central and on DVD was key to its return.
The 26-episode order from Comedy Central was preceded by four feature-length original "Futurama" specials: "Bender's Big Score," "The Beast With a Billion Backs," "Bender's Game" and "Into the Wild Green Yonder," which have done well on DVD and on Comedy Central.
"There is nothing like new, self-contained episodes week to week," said Comedy Central's senior vice president programing David Bernath. "This is all about reinvigorating the franchise, giving it a new burst of energy."
A match made in superficial, nothing-as-it-seems heaven: MTV has chosen Washington as the next location for "The Real World."
The cable network announced Wednesday that the 23rd season of the ridiculous reality series will begin taping in the nation's capital later this summer and premiere in 2010. Previous editions have focused on young strangers living together in front of cameras in such cities as New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Boston, London, Las Vegas, Paris and Austin, Texas.
More than 2 million homes are in danger of seeing their major broadcast TV channels disappear into a fuzz of static when analog service ends Friday, according to surveys.
The shutdown was delayed for four months at the request of the Obama administration, who understood that few would be ready when the original date, back in February, was set to knock out the rock.
Research firm SmithGeiger LLC said Thursday that about 2.2 million households were still unprepared around the beginning of June. Sponsored by the National Association of Broadcasters, it surveyed 948 households that relied on antennas and found that 1 in 8 had not connected a digital TV or digital converter box.
Nielsen Co., which measures TV ratings with the help of a wide panel of households, put the number of unready homes at 2.8 million, or 2.5 percent of the total television market, as of Sunday. In February, the number was 5.8 million.
A New Jersey mom that many will remember from the reality show "Wife Swap" has been accused of stabbing her husband.
Jamie Czerniawski tells The New York Post it was self-defense. Her husband's lawyer has called unequivocal bullshit on that claim.
She is charged in Monmouth County with aggravated assault and is free on $75,000 bail.
