Yahoo Answers Visitors, Chuck has been renewed. Read all the announcements about the Broadcast TV Fall 2009 Schedules Here.
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ABC’s According to Jim has returned to dreadful ratings, but like a zombie it refuses to die. Such are the massive profits to be found in off network syndication, that a ratings black hole in prime time is worth the back end money. ATJ debuts on our Renew/Cancel list with the worst index of any currently surviving scripted show. It started off with two airings in a row, perhaps ABC is just trying to get the episodes aired as quickly as possible and move on. Let me add that while I’ve marked it as “Not Likely To Be Renewed”, I really have no idea what will happen. It survives without ratings now, who knows how long it will live!
The holiday rerun season has begun, and with some specials mixed in will continue until late January/early February, so don’t expect much meaningful action in the list before then. What you should expect is that CBS’s averages, which depend heavily on scripted procedurals which rerun well, will likely maintain themselves better during reruns than some other networks, ABC in particular, which depends on two big serial dramas, Desperate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy, which rerun poorly.
While the Renew / Cancel index is most geared toward predicting potential renewal for *next* season, my color coding of the shows are guesses on what might happen this season: Cancelled/Not Returning, Not Likely To Be Renewed, or Renewal Likely for 2009-10.
| PROGRAM | Net | STD 18-49 (LIVE+SD) (000) | Network Avg. STD 18-49 | Renew/ Cancel index | Status |
| EASY MONEY (1) | CW | 288 | 1,230 | 0.23 | cancelled |
| VALENTINE (1) | CW | 345 | 1,230 | 0.28 | cancelled |
| CRUSOE | NBC | 1,428 | 3,670 | 0.39 | on Sat |
| LIPSTICK JUNGLE (2) | NBC | 1,996 | 3,670 | 0.54 | cancelled |
| DO NOT DISTURB | FOX | 2,097 | 3,670 | 0.57 | cancelled |
| EX LIST, THE (2) | CBS | 2,443 | 4,050 | 0.60 | cancelled |
| ELI STONE | ABC | 2,378 | 3,910 | 0.61 | cancelled |
| PUSHING DAISIES | ABC | 2,389 | 3,910 | 0.61 | cancelled |
| ACCORDING TO JIM-TU 9PM | ABC | 2,480 | 3,910 | 0.63 | |
| ACCORDING TO JIM-TU 9:30P | ABC | 2,484 | 3,910 | 0.64 | |
| TIL DEATH | FOX | 2,364 | 3,670 | 0.64 | off sched |
| DIRTY SEXY MONEY | ABC | 2,584 | 3,910 | 0.66 | cancelled |
| NEW ADVS OF OLD CHRISTINE (3) | CBS | 2,850 | 4,050 | 0.70 | |
| LIFE – WED (4) | NBC | 2,596 | 3,670 | 0.71 | |
| EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS (2) | CW | 884 | 1,230 | 0.72 | |
| BOSTON LEGAL | ABC | 2,852 | 3,910 | 0.73 | finished |
| MY OWN WORST ENEMY | NBC | 2,689 | 3,670 | 0.73 | cancelled |
| NUMB3RS (2) | CBS | 2,969 | 4,050 | 0.73 | |
| KNIGHT RIDER | NBC | 2,696 | 3,670 | 0.73 | |
| TERMINATOR: SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES | FOX | 2,743 | 3,670 | 0.75 | |
| GARY UNMARRIED | CBS | 3,067 | 4,050 | 0.76 | |
| GAME, THE (2) | CW | 987 | 1,230 | 0.80 | |
| LAW AND ORDER | NBC | 2,964 | 3,670 | 0.81 | |
| PRISON BREAK | FOX | 3,032 | 3,670 | 0.83 | |
| UNIT, THE | CBS | 3,352 | 4,050 | 0.83 | |
| WITHOUT A TRACE | CBS | 3,426 | 4,050 | 0.85 | |
| GHOST WHISPERER (2) | CBS | 3,449 | 4,050 | 0.85 | |
| UGLY BETTY | ABC | 3,406 | 3,910 | 0.87 | |
| KATH & KIM | NBC | 3,202 | 3,670 | 0.87 | |
| PRIVILEGED | CW | 1,095 | 1,230 | 0.89 | |
| COLD CASE | CBS | 3,648 | 4,050 | 0.90 | |
| CHUCK | NBC | 3,326 | 3,670 | 0.91 | |
| PRIVATE PRACTICE | ABC | 3,566 | 3,910 | 0.91 | |
| Last season shows below this line were typically renewed | |||||
| SAMANTHA WHO? | ABC | 3,589 | 3,910 | 0.92 | |
| LIFE ON MARS | ABC | 3,626 | 3,910 | 0.93 | |
| MY NAME IS EARL | NBC | 3,513 | 3,670 | 0.96 | |
| WORST WEEK | CBS | 4,025 | 4,050 | 0.99 | |
| ELEVENTH HOUR | CBS | 4,074 | 4,050 | 1.01 | |
| AMERICAN DAD | FOX | 3,995 | 3,670 | 1.09 | |
| BONES | FOX | 4,200 | 3,670 | 1.14 | |
| BIG BANG THEORY, THE | CBS | 4,638 | 4,050 | 1.15 | |
| MENTALIST, THE | CBS | 4,694 | 4,050 | 1.16 | |
| KING OF THE HILL | FOX | 4,258 | 3,670 | 1.16 | not renewed |
| NCIS | CBS | 4,700 | 4,050 | 1.16 | |
| CSI: NY | CBS | 4,793 | 4,050 | 1.18 | |
| E.R. | NBC | 4,548 | 3,670 | 1.24 | final season |
| BROTHERS & SISTERS | ABC | 4,852 | 3,910 | 1.24 | |
| HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER | CBS | 5,135 | 4,050 | 1.27 | |
| CSI: MIAMI | CBS | 5,172 | 4,050 | 1.28 | |
| CRIMINAL MINDS | CBS | 5,193 | 4,050 | 1.28 | |
| LAW AND ORDER:SVU | NBC | 4,786 | 3,670 | 1.30 | |
| FRINGE | FOX | 4,865 | 3,670 | 1.33 | |
| 30 ROCK | NBC | 4,922 | 3,670 | 1.34 | |
| SUPERNATURAL | CW | 1,705 | 1,230 | 1.39 | |
| SIMPSONS | FOX | 5,241 | 3,670 | 1.43 | |
| FAMILY GUY | FOX | 5,271 | 3,670 | 1.44 | |
| HEROES | NBC | 5,370 | 3,670 | 1.46 | |
| 90210 | CW | 1,939 | 1,230 | 1.58 | |
| TWO AND A HALF MEN | CBS | 6,458 | 4,050 | 1.59 | |
| OFFICE | NBC | 5,970 | 3,670 | 1.63 | |
| SMALLVILLE | CW | 2,047 | 1,230 | 1.66 | |
| GOSSIP GIRL | CW | 2,050 | 1,230 | 1.67 | |
| ONE TREE HILL | CW | 2,136 | 1,230 | 1.74 | |
| CSI | CBS | 7,102 | 4,050 | 1.75 | |
| HOUSE | FOX | 6,837 | 3,670 | 1.86 | |
| GREY’S ANATOMY | ABC | 7,608 | 3,910 | 1.95 | |
| DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES | ABC | 7,913 | 3,910 | 2.02 | |
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The Renew/Cancel Index is a show’s Season To Date adults 18-49 viewership divided by its networks Season to Date average 18-49 viewership.
(1) CW MRC Sunday – The CW leased its entire Sunday night to Media Rights Capital (MRC). 11/20 Update: That experiment is now at an end, the MRC shows will air for the final time on 11/23/08 and the CW will begin airing repeats and movies starting on 11/30/08.
(2) Friday night – Friday is quickly becoming an 18-49 wasteland, so these shows may be allowed a lower threshold for success than shows on other nights.
(3) New Adventures of Old Christine: Perhaps CBS is willing to accept low numbers in its new timeslot indefinitely to build a new “comedy block”. Perhaps CBS will return Christine to the warmth and safety of Monday night and cut Worst Week or Gary Unmarried loose. And perhaps not.
(4) Life moved to Wednesday beginning November 5. This is its Wednesday only STD 18-49 average as calculated by me. For past reference, the 4 Life episodes that aired on Fridays averaged 2.043 million adults 18-49.
How did we come up with our Index? We found that last season, the future of a show was nearly directly related to its adults 18-49 average viewers divided by its networks 18-49 average viewers. Many other factors may matter, but they all seemed to boil down to that one number. Because American Idol so skewed Fox’s 18-49 average, and would make nearly all Fox shows fall into the “cancel” range, for Fox, I used the last STD 18-49 average *before* Idol. Last season, if a show had better than 92% of its network’s average 18-49 viewership (0.92 in our index) it was pretty safe, below that level it was in danger.
Remember that plenty can change before the end of the season, particularly for the shows with indexes between 0.80 and last season’s renewal line of 0.92. The list is presented in a (and has to be, since I cannot predict future ratings) “what would happen if the season ended today” mode. Could the renewal line be 0.86 this season? Possibly. It might also be 0.95. Might it be 0.70? No chance.
And for folks thinking “No way would the networks cancel all of those shows”, there were 25 scripted shows cancelled in the 2007-8 season. That is, shows that ran during 2007-8 that did not come back for 2008-9. These same networks cancelled at least 30 scripted shows that aired during 2006-7, although that’s just from a quick look at that season to date list that could suffer from a number of possible errors on my part, but the magnitude of shows cancelled was similar.
As I wrote earlier, I’m going to begin taking into account the 18-49 ratings trends for the shows near last season’s Renew / Cancel line of 0.92 in projecting their fate at the end of this season. For example, while Cold Case and Without a Trace have Indexes below 0.92, their trends are positive and I think, on that basis, renewal is likely for both. If you see shows now indicating green that have Indexes below 0.92, it’s because their 18-49 trend has been positive. And even though Privilegedcurrently seems to be “safe” the fact that it’s being taken out of the schedule in March with no word on its future puts it in doubt.
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For unscripted shows, the results from last season were far less cut and dried. A similar relationship did seem to hold between 18-49 averages, but some unscripted shows survived with very low numbers. My conclusion was that some unscripted shows must be so cheap that they are expected to do little more than fill air time and produce little in the way of viewership. However the closer a show is to the top of the list the more danger it’s in of being cancelled or not returning when it’s run is completed. Other shows can be judged by their relative position on our list ranked from most likely to be cancelled to least likely to be cancelled.
| PROGRAM | Net | STD 18-49 (LIVE+SD) (000) | Network Avg. STD 18-49 | Renew/ Cancel index | Status |
| IN HARM’S WAY | CW | 355 | 1,230 | 0.29 | cancelled |
| AMERICA’S TOUGHEST JOBS | NBC | 1,453 | 3,670 | 0.40 | |
| DEAL OR NO DEAL-FRI | NBC | 1,700 | 3,670 | 0.46 | |
| WIFE SWAP | ABC | 1,875 | 3,910 | 0.48 | |
| SMARTER THAN 5TH GRADER | FOX | 1,798 | 3,670 | 0.49 | |
| SAT NIGHT FTBL PRE-GAME | ABC | 2,029 | 3,910 | 0.52 | |
| 48 HOURS MYSTERY | CBS | 2,160 | 4,050 | 0.53 | |
| SUPERNANNY | ABC | 2,088 | 3,910 | 0.53 | |
| DON’T FORGET THE LYRICS | FOX | 1,996 | 3,670 | 0.54 | |
| OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS | ABC | 2,175 | 3,910 | 0.56 | cancelled |
| DATELINE FRI | NBC | 2,110 | 3,670 | 0.57 | |
| HOLE IN WALL THU-8P | FOX | 2,184 | 3,670 | 0.60 | |
| COPS | FOX | 2,188 | 3,670 | 0.60 | |
| 20/20-FRI | ABC | 2,564 | 3,910 | 0.66 | |
| AMW: AMERICA FIGHTS BACK | FOX | 2,439 | 3,670 | 0.66 | |
| FOOTBALL NT AMERICA PT 2 | NBC | 2,532 | 3,670 | 0.69 | |
| COPS 2 | FOX | 2,550 | 3,670 | 0.69 | |
| DEAL OR NO DEAL-WED | NBC | 2,607 | 3,670 | 0.71 | |
| AMER FUNN HOME VIDEOS | ABC | 2,892 | 3,910 | 0.74 | |
| EXTREME MAKEOVER:HM ED-7P | ABC | 2,952 | 3,910 | 0.75 | |
| KITCHEN NIGHTMARES | FOX | 2,854 | 3,670 | 0.78 | |
| STYLISTA | CW | 1,018 | 1,230 | 0.83 | |
| SAT NIGHT FOOTBALL | ABC | 3,572 | 3,910 | 0.91 | |
| AMAZING RACE 13 | CBS | 4,180 | 4,050 | 1.03 | |
| 60 MINUTES | CBS | 4,505 | 4,050 | 1.11 | |
| BIGGEST LOSER 6 | NBC | 4,179 | 3,670 | 1.14 | |
| FOOTBALL NT AMERICA PT 3 | NBC | 4,330 | 3,670 | 1.18 | |
| EXTREME MAKEOVER:HM ED-8P | ABC | 4,855 | 3,910 | 1.24 | |
| SURVIVOR: GABON | CBS | 5,543 | 4,050 | 1.37 | |
| DANCING W/STARS RESULTS | ABC | 5,369 | 3,910 | 1.37 | |
| DANCING WITH THE STARS | ABC | 5,789 | 3,910 | 1.48 | |
| SUNDAY NIGHT NFL PRE-KICK | NBC | 5,638 | 3,670 | 1.54 | |
| OT, THE | FOX | 6,306 | 3,670 | 1.72 | |
| AMERICA’S TOP MODEL | CW | 2,564 | 1,230 | 2.08 | |
| NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL | NBC | 8,588 | 3,670 | 2.34 |
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Nielsen TV Ratings Data: ©2008 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved. All viewership numbers are Live+SD.
I actually like According to Jim. It’s mindless, doesn’t get preachy, and the husband isn’t always wrong.
A big difference from the regular “comedies” on the telly today.
Pearls of Wisdom – Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously with one another…? – Malachi 2:10
Chuck is making me crazy! It goes above and below the line every week. Stay Still! (Above the line).
ATJ did better than both Pushing Daisies and Eli Stone. That has to sting a bit for fans of those shows.
Could you explain what these “Off Air” things are that make According to Jim profitable. Do you mean overseas syndication or something else?
Well Robert, Im thinking of starting a SAVE ACCORDING TO JIM campaign and sending ABC SLIM JIM’s – made with real beef heart meat! Hey, it worked for JERICHO with the peanuts. Theres already 6 people on board the Save Jim train! Woo woo!
http://www.youchoose.net/campaign/save_according_to_jim
Old Christine and Gary Unmarried should not be on the “not likely to be renewed list” since the amount of viewers have actually been rising in both shows.
Jenny, off network syndication money primarily comes from local stations buying old episodes for pre-primetime viewing, like all those Seinfelds before 8pm, although foreign money may make up some of the revenue as well.
Dan, what happens to Old Christine is completely at the whim of CBS’s expectations of how much it would fall in the new timeslot, but you’re wrong on the ratings trend for both shows.
Old Christine’s STD 18-49 avg on 10/26 was 2.861m, as of 12/14 it was 2.850m.
Gary Unmarried’s STD 18-49 avg on 10/26 was 3.100m, as of 12/14 it was 3.067m.
Those would be downward trends.
I like Dan’s theory, but disagree.
Although the ratings continue to rise, it is still a big question mark on what CBS will do; either keep the Wednesday block or cancel it and just stick to the Monday block.
I hope, if they cancel the Wednesday block, that they will choose Old Christine over Gary, Rules and Worst Week, but I’m not sure what they will do.
Dang SNF is skewing the NBC demos. Chuck needs to stay!!! Chuck is just too AWESOME!!!
Thanks for the explanation Bill.
I dont understand why Ugly Betty is Unlikely to Be Renewed. ABC would be crazy to get rid of that show.
Omg, Terminator moved up a point. Yay! xD
(Yeah, I take pleasure in these little things)
I don’t really understand the over/under the line thing…? It looks like the shows UNDER the line are almost all green…so isn’t that the good place to be? I’m confused.
CBS should keep their Wednesday comedy block but strengthen it by moving a more established show there like How I Met Your Mother (this is mostly me wanting that Monday time-slot less crowded) for next season and nurture the new comedies for Mondays.
Canceled Pushing Diasies and DSM for some dumb Jim show that won’t die. In 5 years the only network that anyone will still be watching is CBS because they are too old to figure computers and DVDs out. NBC is dead, ABC will be next, Fox will die once Simon leaves AI, 24 and House end.
knight rider is cancelled why is the list not updated. Old Christine is a great show, there are so few funny comedies out there.
Jill, Knight Rider’s not cancelled as far as I know. If you have new information, link away.
Knight Rider will be back in January with the changes they made to it.
Jim is absolutely funny and has gotten funnier this season. With the kids being older now the show can start developing storylines around them. Andy is still the most underrated funniest character on television. Most people don’t watch Jim live anymore, that’s why the ratings aren’t as high as they used to be. Jim can be seen online and On Demand. Jim will probably get renewed as long as they want to do the show next year b/c the show’s value gives ABC alot of money through syndication and not just from the states but all over the world. Jim is the one show on TV that makes extra money for the network through syndication. If that wasn’t the case then it would’ve been canceled three seasons ago.
Old Christine and Gary are two of the funniest comedies on TV and their ratings are growing week to week.
Sheesh. Clearly the syndicated market is getting desperate. I guess that’s understandable given that there are so few sitcoms on the air in the past several years. There used to be a much bigger supply of sitcoms.
If the syndication profits are so high while the prime-time numbers are so low, then I wonder why According to Jim doesn’t just go straight into daily syndication, instead of airing on ABC first. Is there any precedent for such a thing? Or ABC could just wait until the summer and burn off the episodes then, as they did with the catastrophic final seasons of Drew Carey’s show. On the other hand, Jim actually did better than Eli Stone or Monday’s 20/20 so that’s pretty depressing.
Wow, this site is always informative. I had no idea AtJ actually has fans. I thought its only viewers were people using it as background noise, or falling asleep after the lead-in.
I really hope they don’t cancel Ugly Betty, it’s a great show, and just starting to get awesome again. Hopefully the tax breaks they get for filming in NYC will offset the ratings.
I really like Chuck, it better stay. I really feel as though its one of NBC’s better shows, despite its mediocre ratings. Any idea why that is? Competition with Monday Night Football or some other show? I really thought it was doing better than that, just judging by all the fansites I’ve seen.
I don’t understand why there seems to be this universal push for more reality TV. Yeah it is cheap to produce and tends to get highish ratings consistently, but in the long run doesn’t the network make more money on shows they can syndicate, rerun, and sell on DVD? Who wants to see an old episode of survivor again… ever, even in rerun? Even low rated shows like Life (A personal favorite of mine), Chuck, Pushing Daisies seem like they would pull in enough money in reruns, syndication, and DVD sales to make it worth their while to keep showing.
I understand that there is potential for a low-rated show’s replacement to be the next Desperate Housewives and pull in huge numbers, but doesn’t history say odds are you won’t get that and you’ll spend tens of millions trying?
ATJ did better than both Pushing Daisies and Eli Stone. That has to sting a bit for fans of those shows.
I agree with the above post…. * chuckles *
“I don’t understand why there seems to be this universal push for more reality TV. Yeah it is cheap to produce and tends to get highish ratings consistently, but in the long run doesn’t the network make more money on shows they can syndicate, rerun, and sell on DVD? Who wants to see an old episode of survivor again… ever, even in rerun?”
You’d be surprised…
Surivivor DVDs are plenty to be found…
and The Biggest Loser can do all sorts of marketing like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Biggest-Loser-Workout-Vol-1/dp/B000BQ7J70
I can’t believe you still have Numbers and Without a Trace as green. Without a Trace obviously hasn’t been trending up as much as you say. CBS may have low Friday Night expectations for Numb3rs, but not that low.
Johnthemon, Numb3rs was renewed last year with an Index number of 0.76. It’s STD average on 10/26 was 2.842. That’s an upward trend. I think it gets renewed under those circumstances.
You are correct though on WAT. It’s STD trend has now turned negative. I am changing it to orange.
I hope Private Practice starts improving once it starts in its new timeslot come January. Being sandwiched between 2 cancelled shows the last few weeks has now dragged it below the cancel/renew line.
“and The Biggest Loser can do all sorts of marketing like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Biggest-Loser-Workout-Vol-1/dp/B000BQ7J70 ”
I had no idea such things existed. That is the most depressing thing I’ve seen in a long time.
Hmm, I guess there’s more hope for numb3rs than I thought. It may be looking up, but it’s Index number is lower this year. (Thanks to CBS average going higher). It was pretty much on the bubble last year anyway and I don’t think it’s doing better enough to be renewed. Of course I could be wrong.
And about Heroes…the Demo has stayed really steady lately, It scored a 3.6 for the last 6 episodes. Hopefully it won’t decline further. Does anyone think it might go up after it returns from Hiatus? I’m very much hoping so, however I don’t think we’ll ever see a 5 in the demo again
According to Jim reminds me of According to Garp for some reason.
Bill, they told the crew on Knight Rider, and they just shot their last episode.
charlie – “That is the most depressing thing I’ve seen in a long time.”
I applaud you on your apparently extremely sheltered upbringing.
At the start of the season i thought chuck would be a goner, but it’s ratings have grew from 5.9 million to 7.6 million, soon it could take over Heroes (7.8 million, declining)
i think if CBS sticks with this wednesday comedy block, i believe Gary and Christine will survive, if they decide to axe the idea, then both are dead.
idea for next year:
Monday: Wednesday:
8 The Big Bang Theory 8 New Adventures of Old Christine
8:30 Rules of Engagement 8:30 Garry Unmarried
9 2 and a Half Men 9 How I Met You Mother
9:30 New Comedy 9:30 New Comedy/Worst Week
sorry, more clear idea:
Monday:
8 The Big Bang Theory
8:30 Rules of Engagement
9 2 and a Half Men
9:30 new comedy
Wednesday:
8 New Adventures of Old Christine
8:30 Garry Unmarried
9 How I met Your Mother
9:30 New comedy/ worst week
Tim, CBS wouldn’t split Big Bang and HIMYM up, they both fit like a glove, like Gossip Girl and OTH. Especially with Big Bang & HIMYM growing their audience consistently.
While CBS might keep the Wednesday comedy block, they are not going to expand it to two hours. Criminal Minds is one of their strongest shows and the CM/CSI: NY block is working really well for them. They aren’t going to be quick to break up the successful part of their Wednesday nights for the sake of the struggling comedy block.
Splitting up BBT and HIMYM has to be one of the dumbest ideas ever.
Tim do you consult for NBC in your spare time?
BBT and HIMYM will be split, whether you think it’s a good idea or not. They may “fit like a glove,” but they are two separate series and CBS will eventually split them, like ABC did with Desperate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy.
Like that combination, I see CBS moving one of them to Thursday, however, to launch a new hour of comedy on the night in place of Survivor.
Why would CBS move Survivor for shows that will undoubtedly get worse ratings?
Interesting Opinion piece in today’s NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/19/opinion/19sepinwall.html?_r=1&ref=opinion
Is my understanding right that reruns are included as part of this Season’s figures?
The entire CBS programme of NCIS, The Metalist and Without A Trace on December 9th were reruns and as far as I can see the viewing figures are included in the average of the Season to date.
lisaw, Yes, the “season-to-date” numbers used here do include any in-slot reruns. That does skew the numbers somewhat, but there’s really no way around it.
lisaw, you are substantially correct. All show season averages include reruns that aired in the show’s standard timeslots, except shows designated “specials” by the network (which is fairly rare). Reruns outside of the standard timeslot, such as when NCIS aired on a Friday night, or lots of shows rerunning on Saturday night, are not included in the season averages.
Kaycor, the guy who wrote that editorial has one of my favorite “TV Critic/review” blogs (it’s his personal blog, not his stuff for the Star-Ledger):
http://sepinwall.blogspot.com/
“I guest starred on ‘According to Jim’. I was the comic relief”.
-Peter Griffin
I think they’re going to need some comic relief by the end of this season.
The Monday comedies are doing fantastic – well, except for Worst Week. That show is so lead-in dependent you can’t get a clear estimate of exactly how many people are watching it. It would die if were airing on Wednesdays. Old Christine and Gary Unmarried are really not doing that well, though. Their demos are low, and while they continue to grow, they still can’t get above 8 million.
IMO, once Worst Week ends in February, I’d move Christine back to the slot on Mondays, where it could easily beat the ratings WW is getting, and replace it with Rules of Engagement on Wednesdays paired up with Gary Unmarried.
But then for next season, I’d definitely keep the Wednesday comedy hour, and maybe if Rules of Engagement does well, keep it there maybe with Gar Unmarried. I think one of the new comedies will definitely get cut, and at this point, I think it’ll be Worst Week. I honestly don’t really like either of the new comedies that much, but WW is too lead-in dependent and probably deserves to be cancelled more. I really don’t think CBS would move Big Bang Theory or How I Net Your Mother to the slot, though. Both are killing on Mondays.
Why would CBS cancel Without a Trace when it’s doing better in the 10 p.m. Tuesday time slot than what was there last season? It did very well on Dec. 16, so shouldn’t that be in its favor? It really doesn’t help any series when so-called ’specials’ keep the regular shows from airing.
Diane, there’s plenty of season left for things to change. At the moment, Without a Trace is in trouble, though this list does not include Dec. 16th. But who knows how it will perform in the spring?
Tim, How I Met Your Mother is finally a success, it took 4 seasons for that to finally happen. I highly doubt CBS is going to screw with it at all, for fear of killing the massive head of steam it’s picked up lately.
I’m not saying that CBS will move anything, but if I were CBS, I would try it out while everything is in repeats over the next few weeks/months. Survivor has been trending downwards for several years now, and will probably slip below a 4.0 in 18-49s during its next cycle. CBS can put its hands over its eyes as much as it wants, but the fact is that their strongest night, Thursday, is far past its prime and every season, it gets lower and lower returns. It’s still tv’s top night, yes, but it’s not invincible anymore. CBS needs to freshen it up and break it out of the format it established in 2001.
BBT/HIMYM don’t do viewer numbers as high as Survivor, but lately they have been beating that series in adults 18-49 and by a big margin in adults 18-34. Advertising-wise, CBS can make a lot more money on Thursday than Monday due to the nature of the business. CBS could move CSI to 10pm (where it would likely keep most of its numbers) and launch a new sitcom block from 8-10pm. It could do very well, or it could fail – who really knows. But the returns if it does well would be a lot more than if CBS does nothing at all on Thursday and watches Survivor sink to 10 million, CSI to 15 and whatever follows it to 8 million. CBS should take the next few weeks/months to experiment with repeats when it really has nothing to lose.
Doug, I’m all for experimentation (see this story on why Fox decided to use House and Idol to build new shows, even at the expense of short-term ratings…as a bonus, reading between the lines, Dollhouse is DOA), but for now Survivor could drop to a 3.0 and would still win the hour. I don’t see it going anywhere for a while, even with further ratings attrition.
Robert can i ask how dead do you consider terminator? Since it seems like it cant even gain a whole bunch of people back to the show.
Sadly, I think we’re talking ‘Jericho’ style dead.
Jericho season 1 or season 2?
season 3
Thats preatty damn dead Robert.When do you think we will hear a annoucement considering the final episode?
Travis
Barring something miraculous about how it goes on Fridays or a change to the way things generally seem to go, I doubt there would be any announcements about cancellation or final episodes. More of a case where the season finale airs, and then when the fall schedule comes out, it’s not there…
“ATJ did better than both Pushing Daisies and Eli Stone. That has to sting a bit for fans of those shows.
I agree with the above post…. * chuckles *”
Yes, your right, the cancellation of Eli Stone does sting, and it sucks also!
The self-righteous glee of you two knuckleheads is callous and rude! Hope you don’t choke on all that arrogance.
I heard the other day that whichever Baldwin brother is on DSM is pulling a Brooke Shields and insisting that the show isn’t really canceled. What is getting into these actors lately? Is someone spiking the eggnog at all the Hollywood holiday parties?
GRD, why does that not surprise me? After all, Hollywood is the land of make believe!
If Chuck gets cancelled, I will lock the NBC channel on my satellite so that no NBC show will ever get watched again in my household. Chuck might be the best show that I have ever watched. My wife who hates everything I watch even watches Chuck.
Eric i agree with you 100% NBC is an idoit if they throw away the only good program it has going for it. Chuck is one of the better shows. I haven’t seen anything this good in a while.
Don’t talk that way about my show!! Just because we decided to end the show (NO ABC DIDN’T BULLDOSE THE SET, LARRY WAS JUST MACKING A JOKE) dosn’t make us a zombie! So you know what TVBYTHENUMBERS staff, GO FUCK YOURSELF!
Jim Belushie!
Jim, why so angry? To have lasted so long, and made so much money, with such meager talent, would seem to be cause for personal happiness!
chuck is one of the best shows and they better renew it for atleast 2 or 3 more seasons
i think they need to change the time during which chuck is aired.
right now it is competing with house and gossip girl for ratings, which is pretty damn tough to do. maybe if they switched it to the 8-9 slot and let heroes take over the 7-8 slot there would be a ratings boost
Chuck must go on..
old new guys? LOL @ jim B
*old news* is what I meant to say
I don’t understand how those ratings are up at the top. What’s good, what’s bad? I really want Chuck to continue on and people say the ratings are on and off. Chuck, Heroes, and The Office are the only things I watch on NBC. Is there any action the viewers can take to help assure another season of Chuck?
i need chuck in my life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
agreed… keep the chuck!
Life on Mars had the series finale last nite so im pretty sure it shouldnt be on the likely to be renewed list
Chuck has to stay. It is the single, one good show on NBC. I think all the others are… to be honest, quite idiotic (aside from The Office).
If Chuck is canceled, people will be angry… they will riot… and the world… becomes a much more dangerous place…
Seriously, if Chuck is canceled….. >.<
I will be prodigiously angry and boycott NBC for throwing away such a fantastic show. I mean, it has action, adventure, mystery, suspense, romance, love, betrayal… EVERYTHING a good sitcom needs.
Please don’t cancel Chuck. T-T
If they cancel Chuck I will never watch another NBC show again, not even Medium or The Office. Chuck is the perfect blend of genres and it *never* disappoints–do you know how rare that is? Every show has an off episode, but for Chuck pretty much every storyline delivers. Every character is actually interesting and fun to watch. You can never decide who should have more screen time because everybody should, they’re all great! Especially Sarah, who is one of the most dynamic, awesome female characters on TV ever!
Please PLEASE let NBC renew Chuck!!
Noo! TSCC can’t be canceled T_T
Chuck is driving me crazy, please, CHUCK buddy, hold on.
BEST SHOW ever.
Pleasssssssssssse………renew Chuck !
Chuck is an awesome show,I love it. Chuck must go on,please!
Chuck is the best show ever, Please just renew CHUCK…
pleaasssseeeee
Chuck has to stay on!!!
My most fav show of all
Please don’t cancel CHUCK!!It is the best tv show I have seen in a while,and I see there are a lot of people who don’t want the show to be cancelled,so keep on making the new episodes of chuck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!