FRIDAY NETWORK UPDATE:  20/20 gained 0.1 in final numbers, but UTOPIA remained at its dismal 0.5. Ratings for Friday’s Top 25 original cable telecasts in key demos (plus a few other lower-rated but noteworthy programs): As it usually does, WWE on Syfy took Friday night, down 0.04 from last week to 0.77, and perhaps not surprisingly, it’s […]

  GOTHAM:  Monday 8PM on FOX – If Nothing Else Is On… PLAYERS:  Batman (and if we’re being honest, Christopher Nolan, even though he has nothing to do with this show).  Series creator Bruno Heller, who was also behind The Mentalist and HBO’s Rome.  Star Ben McKenzie, and a supporting cast headed by Donal Logue […]

  SCORPION:  Monday 9PM on CBS starting – Worth A Look PLAYERS:  The real-life hacker Walter O’Brien, on whose adventures Scorpion is (very loosely) based–and who is also an Executive Producer on the show.  Series creator Nick Santora, who created Breakout Kings and was a writer/producer on Prison Break.  Pilot director Justin Lin.  An ensemble […]

The ratings below are household ratings from the 56 television markets with local Nielsen meters for Saturday September 20 and Sunday September 21, 2014. The 56 markets (out of 210 total) cover about 70% of the US television population. NFL: Week 3 Sunday 12.2 rating FOX 1 or 4 pm Single (1pm: WAS-PHI DAL-STL MIN-NO […]

  Almost there… CBS:  The network used the eve of the fall TV season to launch MADAM SECRETARY.  The night started with a big boost from the 8.3 overtime of the Seattle/Denver Super Bowl rematch, which went into primetime and pushed the line-up (meaning adjustments are in store tomorrow), compared to last Sunday’s 6.7 primetime […]

  OPENINGS:  THE MAZE RUNNER (20th) is off to a healthy start worldwide, leading the US with $32.5M and overseas with $37.9M, the latter in 47 territories (and such major areas as Western Europe and China still to come).  Those aren’t gigantic numbers, but as YA franchises go, Maze Runner was done on the cheap, […]

  MADAM SECRETARY:  Sunday 8PM on CBS  – Potential DVR Alert PLAYERS:  Series creator Barbara Hall, a veteran of everything from Northern Exposure to Joan of Arcadia (which she created), and Army Wives to Homeland.  Star Tea Leoni, and an A-list supporting cast that includes Keith Carradine, Tim Daly, Bebe Neuwirth and Zeljko Ivanek.  Pilot […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Fox expanded its lead with $147 million worldwide this week, mostly from the release of The Maze Runner, pushing the studio to over $3.8 billion worldwide for the year to date.  Disney is in second with $2.6 billion, and Warner Brothers remains in third place with almost $2.5 billion.  In the chart below […]