R.I.P. James Gandolfini 
Photos: James Gandolfini, 1961-2013 
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It was an extraordinary night on cable last night, with a high-profile series debut (USA Network’s Covert Affairs), a high-profile series finale (MTV’s The Hills) and an extraordinary event episode on Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch. After weeks of ratings build-up, the late Capt. Phil Harris’ final episode on Deadliest Catch last night drew a record 8.55 million viewers at 9 PM, with 6.8 million staying on for After the Catch at 10PM. This was an all-time high for Deadliest Catch in total viewers as well as adults 18-49 (5.2 million) and adults 25-54 (5.7 million), shattering the series’ previous all-time record posted just last week (5.3 million total viewers, 2.6 million in 18-49 and 3.1 million in 25-54).
Airing against the huge Catch and the series finale of The Hills (3.0 million viewers at 10 PM, 2.3 million of them in the 18-49 demo) were the debuts USA’s freshman Covert Affairs and sophomore White Collar, which did respectable business under the circumstances. It was another solid premiere for a new original cable series this summer as Covert Affairs drew 4.9 million viewers for its opener at 10 PM. It performed well in the younger demos: its adults 18-49 average, 2.104 million, makes Covert Affairs the highest-rated scripted cable premiere this year in the demographic, edging out the 2.079 million 18-49 tally for TNT’s new drama Rizzoli & Isles (Rizzoli easily tops all cable newcomers in total viewers with 7.6 million)
Covert Affairs’ premiere audience of 4.9 million is lower than the debuts of USA’s Royal Pains and White Collar (5.6 million and 5.4 million, respectively) last year, but those series had more established lead-ins (Burn Notice and Monk, respectively). Covert Affairs followed the second-season premiere of White Collar (4.3 million), which was down 20% from its first season premiere as the show has moved to the anchor position on Wednesday and faced the much-hyped episode of The Deadliest Catch last night. The show still finished 12% above its average for the lower-rated winter portion of Season 1. Stylish spy drama Covert Affairs starring Piper Perabo, built on its White Collar lead-in by double digits in all key measures. USA’s Collar/Covert combo finished ahead of TNT’s Hawthorne/Memphis Beat, which averaged 2.6 million and 3.0 million viewers, respectively at 9PM and 10PM, and tied (Hawthorne)/hit (Memphis Beat) series lows in 18-49.
Overall, it’s been another summer of strong launches for original cable series: Rizzoli (7.6 million), Covert Affairs (4.9 million), TV Land’s Hot In Cleveland (4.8 million), TNT’s Memphis Beat (4.3 million) and A&E’s The Glades (3.6 million).
As for The Hills, the show’s series finale hit a season high and was up 72% from last season’s finale.
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Really enjoyed Covert Affairs. It wasn’t perfect, but it was solid escapism entertainment and fits USA’s menu of programs. I think USA has another hit on their hands. I have to say regarding summer programs, cable is absolutely killing the broadcast networks creatively and in the ratings. Hope the suits at the big 4 networks look at this and finally gets the stick out of their butts and takes more chances creatively and spend some money.
I watched Covert Affairs rather than the All-Star game, which I mainly boycotted because Youkilis should have been named over Konerko. As a viewer who has enjoyed 24, Alias, and Chuck, I enjoyed the show and think it will attract regular viewers who were away for the game, which was a close scoring affair.
“which was down 20% from its first season premiere as the show has moved to the anchor position on Wednesday and faced the much-hyped episode of The Deadliest Catch last night.”
and in spring? the finale had 4,0M viewers versus all the network originals. up from that is not bad.
R.I.P. Capt, Harris
I watched Covert Affairs, but won’t be making that mistake again. The writing is brutally bad, the premise preposterous, and the direction and acting pretty poor.
I expected much better from Kari Matchett, and Anne Dudek for that matter. Perabo is as expected.
There’s nothing new or imaginative about the show. Same old, same old, but inexpertly crafted.
R.I.P. Capt. Phil. He was our favorite at my house.
So hard to watch, you could tell he was going downhill really fast. And even harder to watch his kids in AFTER THE CATCH not be able to sit at a table for 20 minutes without puffing on the fake cigarettes that clearly killed their father at the age of 53!!! I just wanted to slap it out of their hands, and looks like Jake made no progress in rehab, he was still drinking, that was no Shirley Temple in front of him.
I thought it was weird that Jake was drinking too. But then I did a bit of Googling and found out that he didn’t go to rehab for alcohol, it was for opiates. I know, he was probably supposed to abstain from all substances but it didn’t appear as though he was abusing alcohol or even mildly drunk. One or two drinks is no big deal for someone who does not have a problem with alcoholism.
As an ex-opiate addict and a current drug counselor I could see, without a doubt, that Jake was not using in that episode. The eyes say it all when it comes to that stuff and it is impossible to hide it no matter how hard you try. I truly believe he is on the right path now. He has millions of people praying for him and his family to continue living life the way their father would have wanted.
Losing a parent at such a young age is never easy. I can’t even imagine going through rehab at the same time, and on top of all that having the extra pressure of being on national TV. Thankfully the Harris family is as strong and tight knit as a family can possibly be. Plus the entire fleet of crab fishermen has their back, big time. I wish them nothing but the best on the tough road they have ahead. Jake and Josh will be in my prayers every single day.
I would say ‘Rest In Peace, Phil’ but as John Hillstrand said “Rest was not in my his vocabulary” (which just makes me laugh and cry at the same time). I know he is in a good place now watching over his two sons with strict attention. He will be sorely missed and never forgotten.
I don’t really think comparing White Collar to its series premiere is a fair comparison. It was up in the numbers against its Season 1 average. You’ve taken what was most likely to be its biggest number and used that as a benchmark.
It was a great season 2 premiere anyway. High quality writing and acting. Hopefully it’ll do better when up against less extreme competition.
I expect Covert Affairs to show a significant drop. Buzz is very mixed.
Looks like I must have been the only one watching the All Star game!
You failed to mention White Collar was up 12% over Season 1 average in one of the most brutal time slots of the week. White Collar is among the top 3 best written, quailty shows on cable or tv for that matter, certainly the best of USA. And above all it has Mr. Bomer leading an amazing cast. It has more of a ‘high brow’ appeal than most shows, cable or broadcast so would not appeal to the Two and a Half Men type crowd that attracts huge numbers. USA execs love it; it’s here for as long as Matt chooses to do it. Good job White Collar!
“White Collar is among the top 3 best written, quailty shows on cable or tv for that matter, certainly the best of USA.”
…Let’s just stick with best of USA. Have you forgotten about Breaking Bad or Friday Night Lights?
Watch White Collar, Breaking Bad, and Lights. White Collar easily on a par with them – with a more attractive, appealing cast. Please don’t confuse genres – Dramady/Drama – a well written drama doesn’t always supercede a well written dramady.
I thought USA’s new “Covert Affairs” was terrific. I can’t believe the attack the above comment just made. The show fits perfectly with the USA brand and as an “Alias” fan, I’m excited to have a solid replacement on cable now.
USA has moved “White Collar” 3 times in just its first year, so a 12% increase over its average is not bad at all. Word on the net has a lot people saying they DVRed it to watch this week. Hopefully, now that Catch is done the numbers will rise. It is a breezy, well acted romp (Bomer and DeKay are quite good with the banter).
I have to give Discovery credit for the classy way they handled this season. We got to give a proper goodbye without it feeling cheap and wrong to witness Capt Phil’s final days.
You can just tell these fellas are all genuine. (Except for Keith – I never believe anything he says). I hope the big ratings keep up for them.
Hey, Keith can be a jerk sometimes when he’s dealing with his crew (just like most of the guys), but he seems like a good guy otherwise. His kids seem smart and loving of their dad, and he’s quick to show his emotions, doesn’t shy away from grief. Not to mention he’s a pretty damn good crab fisherman too.
with the tv audiences fragmented between cable channels and traditional networks, it’s a shame we can’t see the “real” top ten shows when we get the overnight ratings. All we get are the traditional abc, cbs, nbc, fox and maybe cw.
i think it would change perception out there if the all the shows were ranked just as they performed instead of seeing the top shows and then seeing the cable performers later.
I was also a devout Alias fan, and Covert Affairs pales in comparison. I was very disappointed by the premiere. USA rarely misfires these days, but this show needs a lot of work. White Collar was solid.
Did not love Covert Affairs. Didn’t even like it. Zero depth, and not entertaining enough to qualify as candy. I don’t think Piper Perabo is much of an actress. I cannot imagine people will return,
RE:Covert Affairs aka Alias 2.0 .
Covert Affairs was awful. From the very first scene, in which this character (Parebo) who is supposed to be a spy smiles repeatedly when asked by the lie detection examiner about past relationships, this was absolute garbage. It was terribly written, directed, and acted.
Don’t know how it happened, but for whatever reason, I tried to watch Hawthorne. Jada’s not completely untalented but that show is a real stinker. It should be cancelled, STAT!
Covert affairs premice is that Annie can be anything, it spins an Agency that is both beyond approach and out of control, and basically has the CIA doing the FBI’s job regarding domestic investigations. Not realistic, not well written, Piper is noce eye candy but horrible as an actress, not very well written nor acted and completely unbelievable. Simply put, it makes too much of a joke out of a very serious way of life and doesn’t even touch on the evil that permiates that world. Remember folks these e guys who gave Collin Powell 6 year old intelligence about Iraq which he used to go before the UN. These are the guys whose budget isn’t even accounted for in full and who armed radical islamists during the Soviet invasion of afghanistan and didn’t plan to get the weapons back. And these are the guys who overflated soviet capabilities during the Reagan administration to get funding for said build up. Sure they built a girls school as Author bragged about, but believe me that comes with strings and the CIA is not into charity.