Idiot Box Update: January 22
Inauguration sets viewing record, we get Mad Men for another two years and new shows a'plenty
Here's a list of the top 20 prime-time shows by viewership numbers, compiled by Nielsen Media Research for Jan. 12-18:
1. AFC Championship: Baltimore vs. Pittsburgh, CBS, 40.65 million viewers.
2. "American Idol" (Tuesday), Fox, 30.42 million viewers.
3. "American Idol" (Wednesday), Fox, 30.32 million viewers.
4. AFC Championship postgame show, CBS, 25.44 million viewers.
5. "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 24.25 million viewers.
6. "NCIS," CBS, 18.62 million viewers.
7. "The Mentalist," CBS, 18.07 million viewers.
8. "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 17.10 million viewers.
9. "The Mentalist" (Sunday), CBS, 16.39 million viewers.
10. "CSI: Miami," CBS, 15.83 million viewers.
11. "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (8 p.m. Thursday), CBS, 15.52 million viewers.
12. "Criminal Minds," CBS, 13.78 million viewers.
13. "Eleventh Hour," CBS, 13.16 million viewers.
14. "Grey's Anatomy" (9 p.m. Thursday), ABC, 13.10 million viewers.
15. "Desperate Housewives," ABC, 13.08 million viewers.
16. "CSI: NY," CBS, 12.67 million viewers.
17. "Without a Trace," CBS, 12.42 million viewers.
18. "24," Fox, 12.31 million viewers.
19. "The Big Bang Theory," CBS, 11.81 million viewers.
20. "How I Met Your Mother," CBS, 11.76 million viewers.
CBS smashed the competition in the last Nielsen block, beating out its rival networks with 19 of the top 24 most-watched shows. The single biggest broadcast of the week was the Super Bowl-bound Pittsburgh Steelers in their win over the Baltimore Ravens. The AFC championship game was watched by a massive 40.7 million viewers.
The Tuesday and Wednesday editions of "American Idol" were the week's second and third most-watched shows for the week, and honestly there's really no way to blame those numbers on the collective idiocy of American couch potatoes. After all, this is the beginning of the season, when all the really bad singers get their time to shine. Hell, I'll even admit to watching the first episode. But eventually that shit just becomes an overload of cotton candy for the brain.
Anyway, the AFC postgame show followed up at #4, while "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" locked fifth place as 24.3 million viewers tuned in to watch the farewell episode of departing star William Petersen.
President Barack Obama's inauguration generated a far-and-away coverage record, with an unprecedented 35,000 stories in major newspapers, television and radio broadcasts across the world over the past day. That amounts to roughly 35 times the coverage of the last presidential inauguration, of George W. Bush in January 2005. His resulted in about 1,000 stories in major media worldwide, Paul JJ Payack, president of Global Language Monitor said. Pissing contest? Nah...
7.7 million people were reportedly watching video streams at the same time during the inauguration, according to Akamai Technologies Inc., which delivers Internet video for many Web sites.
At the time of the last inauguration, YouTube didn't even exist. But this time, the popular video site - as well as all the major news portals — Yahoo.com, CNN.com, MSNBC.com, AOL News, The New York Times, ABCNews.com, CBSNews.com, FoxNews.com, WashingtonPost.com, etc — all streamed the festivities, some with video embedded on their home page for the first time ever.
In another apparent attempt to show the world just how quirky it is, Canada has enlisted none other than "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek to join the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. as host of the reality competition series "Canada's Next Prime Minister."
On March 18, Trebek will lead three former prime ministers as they listen to pitches from four would-behopeful politicos before choosing a winner. The CBC got itself in a bit of trouble after admitting to breaking contestant recruitment rules and contacting political organizations to invite young former political candidates to compete on the series, but it looks like the show is going ahead as planned on the BBC.
"Mad Men" fans have reason to celebrate this week. Matthew Weiner, creative genius behind the award-winning AMC drama, has just signed a two year, seven-figure deal with Lionsgate TV to continue working on the series.
"Since the beginning, the show has been a charmed experience, made possible by my partnership with AMC and Lionsgate," Weiner said in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter. "I am proud to work so closely with these two companies who love taking risks and value creativity and I am thrilled to get back to work with the most talented cast and crew in the business."
With the right papers signed, Mad Men's writers are immediately getting back to work on the show's third season, which is set to premiere sometime this summer.
NBC didn't waste any time in announcing early renewals for three of its shows, while promising that the ratings-sagging "Heroes" still has a "very secure" future. Another season has been ordered for "The Office," "30 Rock" and "The Biggest Loser," while NBC also set a premiere date for its untitled Amy Poehler comedy: 8:30 p.m. Thursday on April 9.
As for other new shows on NBC, "Southland," the new police drama from "ER" executive producer John Wells, will replace "ER" on Thursdays at 10 p.m., beginning April 9, while "Kings" will air at 8 p.m. Sundays starting March 15. New cooking competition series "The Chopping Block" is set to premiere at 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 11, filling the rightfully abandoned "Knight Rider" slot.
Fox signed contracts on seven different show pilots this week, which includes four half-hour comedies and three hour-long dramas, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
As far as comedies, Ben Stiller's production company Red Hour Films will produce "The Station," which follows a CIA agent and his team as they try to oust a dictator of a small South American country.
"Two Dollar Beer" is a blue-collar family sitcom set in Detroit, and in a move that sounds a lot like Kevin James' film Paul Blart: Mall Cop flick, "Walorsky" will focus on a lazy mall security guard in Buffalo, New York who's assigned an utterly incompetent partner. Sounds.... stupid, actually.
Finally, "Sons of Tucson" centers on three wealthy brothers who hire a slick hustler to act as their father while their real dad serves prison time for a white-collar crime.
On the drama end of things, "Maggie Hill" is yet another hospital show - only this one's got a female lead that is an expert surgeon who also happens to be... schizophrenic.
McG is on board for DC Comics' "Human Target," the premise of which sees main character Christopher Chance assuming the identities of people who are being targeted for death. Sounds exciting.
Lastly, a still-untitled addition focuses on a team that investigates the past lives of clients and use the ideas of reincarnation to help their present lives. Sounds absolutely ridiculous, "Fringe" style. Stay tuned for more details.
We've excitedly been keeping tabs on the upcoming NBC sitcom starring "Saturday Night Live"'s Amy Poehler, and producers finally let a little more info slip by way of a generous look at the pilot script at the Television Critics Association press tour, currently underway in Los Angeles.
Poehler is set to play Leslie Knope, who works for the Parks and Recreation Department in Pawnee, Indiana. Aziz Ansari will play a rival government official, while the gorgeous Rashida Jones (formerly of "The Office") will play a local nurse, and Upright Citizens Brigade vet Aubrey Plaza will play Leslie's intern. Leslie will reportedly team up with Jones' character to lobby for a construction pit to be turned into a city park.
As earlier reported, the comedy will be shot in the same "mockumentary" form as "The Office," which is great news for any fan of the folks at Dunder Mifflin.
