
Big life celebrations scored in the ratings last night. The Liz Lemon wedding episode of NBC’s departing 30 Rock drew a 1.3/4 in adults 18-49 and 3.6 million viewers. That was up 8% from its last original two weeks ago and the comedy’s best demo rating since Oct. 11 and largest viewership this season. Meanwhile, ABC’s sophomore drama Scandal (2.2/6) popped 10% from its last episode two weeks ago to hit a season high. (In adults 18-34, it hit a series high). That is with Scandal‘s lead-in, Grey’s Anatomy (3.0/8), dipping 6% from two weeks ago to tie its season low. No dead cat bounce for ABC’s Last Resort. In its first airing post cancellation news, the freshman drama (1.0/3) fell 17% from two weeks ago to a series low.
Fox’s Glee (2.2/6), which featured the latest cover of Psy’s ubiquitous Gangham Style, bounced back 47% following the depressed numbers last week when the network aired originals on Thanksgiving. (Fox’s fast nationals for last night may be slightly inflated because of an NFL preemption in New Orleans). The X Factor (2.7/8) was actually down a tenth from last week’s telecast, which was boosted by a football lead-in.
The CBS lineup won the night comfortably in adults 18-49 and total viewers despite most of its series slipping slightly from their last originals two weeks ago. The only show that kept steady was Two And A Half Men (4.1/16), which may have benefited by the wave of publicity surrounding the controversial comments of co-star Angus T. Jones to match its season high from two weeks ago. Its lead-in, The Big Bang Theory (5.4/16) was down a tenth from its season-high rating two weeks ago but still ranked as the top-rated program of the night, followed by Men. Person of Interest (2.9/7) was down 6% from two weeks ago; Elementary (2.2/6) dipped a tenth to tie its lowest rating to date.
Besides the small ratings bump for 30 Rock, there was nothing encouraging about NBC’s ratings performance last night as all five of the network’s program finished below a 2 demo rating point vs. only one, ABC’s now-defunct Last Resort, on the other three major networks. Up All Night (1.2/3) was down 8% from two weeks ago, The Office (1.9/5) was down 10% to a series low, Parks & Recreation (1.4/4) down 18% to a series low, and Rock Center With Brian Williams (0.9/2) down 18%.
The CW posted gains but its numbers were likely inflated by an NFL football preemption in Atlanta and a high school football one in Baltimore. Vampire Diaries (1.5) was up 15% from 2 weeks ago, Beauty And The Beast (0.8 adults) was up 33%.
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Only on NBC could a primetime show with 3.6 million viewers still be on the air. And only in America could such a show (and it’s creator) get the ridiculous level of media attention as if they’re actually relevant.
Critical favorite means advertising sells for a premium + they own it, making it a cash cow for years to come in syndication. Try harder to understand the business. It’s not just about the overnight ratings.
Nobody outside of NYC or LA watches the garbage. Try harder to understand facts. On any other network, a show with the ratings 30 Rock gets would be canceled immediately. Then again, it’s not like NBC has anything that gets much higher in the ratings other than the Olympics every four years in order to replace it with.
Do you think Two and a half men and The Big Bang Theory are better?
2 1/2 Man and Big Bang Theory are very stupid shows that appeal to the lowest common denominator, but that’s acknowledged by most. Tina Fey on the other hand is held up as this comedy icon and “brilliant” writer who can do no wrong. I’m sure that she is very smart and a nice person who’s worked very hard to get where she is in her career but she does not deserve anywhere near the amount of praise that she gets IMO. Really what she’s been is the head writer on two moderately amusing shows (SNL and 30 Rock)
Try harder to just state your point of view without sounding like a condescending tool.
Only on NBC is a 1.3 Demo good news.
Well, if NBC is bragging about those numbers for 30 Rock, the Whitney, is a shoo-in for renewal. I LOVE Whitney.
The model is changing people especially for the networks. Look up. The stupidest witty show ever, a classic and an original. You’re just jealous because Liz Lemon bought up all those hot dogs from the pushcart in the pilot something Mary Richards would have NEVER done. There’s a lot of comedy progress going on here on a number of different levels too.