SAG-AFTRA Sued For Witholding Foreign Residuals And … 
Zach Braff Ends $3+M Kickstarter Campaign 
Fox Unscripted TV Czar Mike Darnell To Exit 
FIRST BOX OFFICE: ‘Fast & Furious 6′ Easy … 
NBC Sets Oklahoma Tornado Benefit Concert For May 29 
Cannes: Directors’ Fortnight Honors ‘Les … 
SHOCKER: Tom Cruise Exits ‘Man From … 
A+E Rebuild: BBC’s Jana Bennett To Run Bio And LMN … 
RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘Hannibal’ Hits Low, … 
‘Katie’ Shakeup: Rachel Miskowiec Replaces … 
Hammond On Cannes: French Hero Jerry Lewis On His Return To … 
Cannes: Another Jewelry Heist? $2.6M Necklace Missing After … 
Hammond On Cannes: Leo DiCaprio’s Moon Trip Tops … 
Specialty B.O. Preview: ‘Before Midnight’, … 
2012-2013 Season Network Rankings: CBS Sweeps In Final … 
Full 2012-2013 TV Season Series Rankings 
TOLDJA! Paramount Pocketing $190M From Disney For Marvel … 
‘Good Morning America’ Hits 19-Year Viewership … 
MGM Buys ‘Modern Family’ Producer Ben … 
‘Fashion Police’ Writers Chant On Picket Lines: … 
Universal Makes Seven-Figure Deal For ‘The School For … 
ABC‘s Red Widow arguably had the biggest marketing campaign of any midseason series, including plum spots during the network’s Oscar broadcast last Sunday. For all that promotional blitz, the two-hour premiere of the mob drama fell short, extending the underwhelming track record of this year’s crop of broadcast midseason replacements. Red Widow drew a 1.4/4 among adults 18-49 from 9-11 PM and 6.9 million viewers. That was down 36% from last midseason’s debut of GCB and this fall’s opener for 666 Park Avenue. Both Sunday 10 PM ABC dramas had hourlong premieres and both have been cancelled. On the bright side, Red Widow saw very little audience erosion throughout its two-hour debut, indicating a possible future cult following. Leading into Red Widow was Once Upon a Time (2.1/6), which didn’t benefit from the Oscar exposure either, down 13% from its last original two weeks ago to a series low.
Like it did with the debut of GCB last March, the two-hour season opener of The Celebrity Apprentice (1.6/4) topped the premiere of Red Widow last night in 18-49. But the NBC series starring Donald Trump suffered a big 38% drop from last year’s debut to post the lowest ever premiere for a celebrity edition of the reality franchise.
At CBS, The Amazing Race (2.4/6) rebounded after facing the Oscars last Sunday, up 26% to rank as the top program of the night among adults 18-49. The Good Wife (1.6/4) also was up after a week off, 23%, while The Mentalist (1.5/4) slipped 6% from its last original two weeks ago.
With three of its animated series posting gains, Fox tied CBS for No.1 on the night in 18-49. The Cleveland Show (1.5/5), which is not producing new episodes, was up 36% from its last original two weeks ago, The Simpsons (2.3/6) was up 15% and The Cleveland Show (1.9/5) was up 6%. Following a Family Guy repeat, Bob’s Burgers (1.7) was down 11% from American Dad‘s episode in the time slot two weeks ago when it followed an original Family Guy.
TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.
Loading ...
There was far better fiction playing on History channel last night…
The Bible
I was waiting to see an anti-Christian bigot weigh in. You win – if you call it winning. If you can’t stay on topic try to restrain yourself from posting nonsense.
Okay?
Dude was on topic, dude.
We’re talking last-night TV, right?
Wow. A couple of guys that hate religion. Original.
Whatever. Red Widow was a great show. Hope it finds another home-channel to continue. Really enjoyed it…
I fell asleep after the first 10 minutes of watching Red Widow..
Same here – when I read the script last year it didn’t seem to move so slow!
With OUAT starting to tank (and they actually promote this show unlike a lot of shows on ABC), the only full-season shows they can rely on are Modern Family, Greys Anatomy, Scandal, Castle and the Middle. What a mess ABC has become.
RED WIDOW reminds us all just how truly gifted Marc Cherry is.
Too bad for Radha Mitchell. She’s a fox. And talented…
Too bad for “Once” as it was a strong episode. As for the History Channel, those were some really cheezy programs last night. Both the Bible and Vikings were underwhelming to say the least.
Yes, OUAT was really good last night. Love the little girl who plays Snow. Maybe they should do more episodes like this with a more in-depth focus on just one character at a time and not try to jam every single character into every other scene.
I also watched RED WIDOW. although there were some problems with it, I think it has potential. It was well-produced, looks expensive and is very cinematic. A lot of exposition last night but I think it will really kick in next week.
It helps that ABC has switched it’s advertising to a miniseries effort. It’s just eight weeks and done. Too bad they didn’t start the ad campaign like that. ABC has done a number of shows that if they’d been done as limited runs to begin with would have had a better shot: Zero Hour, Last Resort, 666 Park Avenue, Missing, and The River. Knowing there’s an ending in sight with these movie-like concepts makes people more confident that they’re get to see the mystery solved. With an open-ended series, it’s just going to drag. In fact, they could take a page from American Horror story. Call it “Tales of Mystery” and then every one of those could have been a 13 episode run. Oh well.
Loved “Mob Doctor” and now “Red Widow.” Wonder why these female lead tough gals don’t get the ratings? I’m continually disappointed that shows we fall in love with are given so little time to develop a following. These were intelligent women thrust into being tough and smart in ways they never imagined. Perhaps if people had to pay to see them on Showtime etc, they’d do better? We’re also fans of OUAT and it continues to surprise. Sure hope they don’t get rid of this creative take on the fairytales of our time. Becoming more and more difficult to let myself get attached to anything new – too late for the old.
Cannot stomach watching trump any longer.
He was always on the pompous side of things to begin with. However, after his political antics in the last year or so, to listen and/or watch this clown speak is like water boarding.
Modern family hasn’t been very good this year. It sits on my DVR for weeks before I watch. A shame ABC killed other smart comedies like HAPPY ENDINGS by not giving them a chance.
I liked Red Widow.
What a bunch of hooey. Modern Family is just as good as ever and Happy Endings was never good
Wrong and wrong.
second that. Modern Family is still great, and happy Endings is the wittiest show on tv.
It’s true, Modern Family has slipped significantly this year– feels like we’ve seen all their moves. It’s still the best show on network, but that is faint praise indeed. Interestingly, Girls will win the comedy Emmy. Happy Endings was never good but that doesn’t mean it can’t be a hit on network.
No show in the 9pm or 10pm hour got over a 2.0 in the demo.
Sunday is suddenly becoming the new Friday for the networks.
Everybody is watching Walking Dead on Sundays at 9:00, there’s no point in trying to compete at this point.
Sorry, I meant to fill that out a bit more. Both The Walking Dead and The Bible were on last night, nothing can compete with that. Considering how few 18 – 49 year olds use OTA antennas and the limited packages you can get from cable providers I’d say a majority of people who get ABC also get AMC and History at this point in time.
Red Widow is Mob Doctor sans the medical degree.
OUCH!
… but true.
Trailer looked awful.So No real reason to watch. I assume they will pull this fast
There is or was a Mob Wives unscripted. There was a short lived Mob Doctor. And Red Widow , or at least its bad campaign , looked like the okay parts of both of them.
Celeb Apprentice is turning into a cringe inducing mess.
They both had the same problem that most of the other failed series have. Audiences don’t LIKE these people. The actors may be ones viewers dont like the characters. This seems to be a big problem with a lot , scripted and unscripted alike. We just do not want to spend our time with these people.
Who’s going to invest the time to watch RED WIDOW after what they just did to ZERO HOUR? You’re pretty much letting your audience know that they shouldn’t invest time in your shows for the first season because you’re just going to cancel it a few episodes in.
Maybe for a change ABC (and the other networks) should try playing the shows through the first season before even considering cancelling them. Otherwise a 1.4 rating will begin to be the best you can hope for.
Absolutely! This seems to be the overwhelming feeling of viewers of shows recently yanked after 2-3 episodes. They are simply going to boycott shows on networks that do this until they know that shows they have let themselves care about are not going to be pulled. Here’s hoping that “Red Widow” at least gets to air its short 8 episode season to see if it picks up after the first 3-4 episodes and potential viewers start to have faith it won’t be yanked in the middle of a continuing plot line that will leave them permanently hanging.
G, it used to be that way. Nets generally let a show run a full season, regardless. Even the occasional absolute tanker got its 13. I remember how stunned everyone was when ABC yanked Tammy Grimes’ sitcom after only four weeks. Today that’s SOP. And that’s why it’s almost impossible for any non-CBS drama series to gain traction.
Suggestion for clueless Network development folks:
After Red Widow and Mob Doctor — you might want to cut back on the “good women of the Mafia” concepts.
SNAP!!
…but a good insight that should be taken to heart.
PAN AM was getting stronger ratings than anything ABC has tried after it. What a mess. REVENGE has become a parody of itself. NASHVILLE continues to hold its quality. Hope it gets a second season.
Nashville is currently my favorite show. The music is wonderful, not the stereotypical country stuff and Hayden Panetierre has been a revelation. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable one-hour escape from reality on Wednesday nights and I also hope it gets another season.
Musical chairs of programming is what’s killing abc shows..
Fans cannot get behind a show (especially serialized) if they have to keep guessing if its on next week or if theyre letting the show sit on ice for 3-4 weeks….
ie Revenge…..etc..
Get it together execs.
Jeff B
Yep. That’s why I was relieved when Desperate Housewives got cancelled because it meant I didn’t have to go through all that crap (having to figure out if a new episode would be on next week or if it’d get yanked off the air for up to a month at a time during the season).
Needless to say, I don’t watch network dramas anymore.
Im bocotting NBC while celebrity apprentice is on.
I have agree with the Bible series outlook what was the deal with Ninja angels did that I miss in Sunday School
BTW Vikings I Think it was good it slow in the beginning pick up pace after first commerical
Red widow is now the best show on Sunday nights. Celebrity apprentice is so boring.
Red Widow is actually pretty good — after the first half hour or so but you need the exposition and it is well worth it — the problem is that I am getting tired in investing in a show that will just get cancelled. I hope that people will give it a look. I think with Revenge finally getting back on track storywise after a horrible first half of the season, sundays should be looking up for ABC.
Otherwise maybe ABC should consider moving dancing with the stars to Sundays/mondays or Tues/wed — it really should not have to face the voice.
Once Upon a Time is getting ridic. Am I watching Lost? So confusing to follow and some of characters…why? Captain Hook…really wheres Peter Pan. Its losing steam and Sunday Night without the Good Wife is really a crapshow for Broadcast tv.
ABC seems to have squandered much of its stock. Too quick on the cancellation trigger? Too much reliance on focus groups? Trying to hard to be perceived as hip? (Well, there is the AFVIDEOS SHOW! LOL) Copying concepts too many times?
Surely there is someone who can “Tartikoff” ABC into the powerhouse it has been during its decades of existence. The current climate reminds me of the late 1990s when the web had a few quality gems — ONCE AND AGAIN — but little else. Where are the dramas that matter? Have relevance? That take time to tell the story? Where are comedies that do not fall over themselves to be snarky and artificially hip?
Watch Castle. Seriously. Now in it’s 5th season, it really has used the time to develop and tell it’s story. The procedural shell is just that, a shell. One which contains the fun an quirky mystery components of this dramedy. Then there’s the characters that surround Castle and Beckett, they add the feel of an ensemble show to the mix. However, the heart of the show is actually a drama about two people with complicated histories – and very different personalities – who develop an intimate relationship as they deal with the issues that stem from their pasts. It’s a well-written, solid and good quality show that I find is very underrated.
Boom – winner. I won’t even consider watching an ABC drama until it has gone at least 13 episodes. I likely wouldn’t have watched Zero Hour (too many bad reviews) anyway, but some of the others, like Last Resort, I was wait and see.
I’ll keep waiting, I guess, and spend my time not watching ABC dramas.
I was sad when ABC canceled 666 Park Avenue, and wish they would at least put the final four episodes online. Show some respect for your viewers!
As for NBC, I refuse to watch any of their shows until they get rid of the tacky birther.
Episodes 10 and 11 are online. They were really good. I can provide links if you are interested in watching those two episodes. What *I* am waiting for is episode 12, which is the series finale. That’s the one I want to see now. The last 2 shows set up that finale really well!
This is me pressing your “like” button –
Even before seeing a thing or reading a script, Red Widow and Zero Hour were the two shows I was wondering how the heck they made it past the pilot stage last May.