AFTERNOON UPDATE: As usual, AMERICAN IDOL went up 0.1 in final numbers. Also slightly up: MODERN FAMILY and SUBURGATORY. But MIXOLOGY fell another 0.1, hurting its chances for survival. The CSI rerun also slipped 0.1.
WEDNESDAY CABLE: Glass half full: DUCK DYNASTY (A&E) was up 0.6 from last week to 2.5 for its season finale. Glass half empty: that was down a full ratings point from last year’s finale. Elsewhere, the series finale of PSYCH (USA) climbed 0.2 to 0.7, but only a diehard 0.4 hung around for the PSYCH AFTER PSHOW when it was over. THE AMERICANS (FX) slipped again by 0.1, back down to 0.4. ROBOT CHICKEN (Adult Swim), WORKAHOLICS (Comedy) and REAL WORLD (MTV) were all at 0.7, which was up 0.1 for WORKAHOLICS, down 0.1 for REAL WORLD, and down 0.2 for ROBOT CHICKEN. An NBA BASKETBALL game on ESPN was at 1.4.
There was more bad news than good for the networks last night.
FOX: Another week, another all-time low for AMERICAN IDOL. Last night it was the show’s worst Wednesday ever, down 0.1 to 2.1. As we shovel dirt on Idol, though, it’s worth remembering that even as damaged as it is, it’s still one of FOX’s highest-rated series, and it won the night for the network last night–so it’s not going anywhere (yet).
ABC: MODERN FAMILY edged up 0.1 from its last new episode to 3.5. MIXOLOGY was up 0.5 to 1.7, but that’s misleading, because it aired after a Modern Family rerun last week–still, it was up 0.2 from its last episode following a new Family. The rest of the night was bleak: THE MIDDLE dropped 0.1 to 1.9, SUBURGATORY fell o.2 to 1.4, tying its series low, and NASHVILLE, despite airing against reruns on both of the other broadcast networks, sank 0.1 to 1.3, also a tied series low.
CBS: SURVIVOR beat Idol again, but nevertheless dropped 0.2 to a season low 2.3. The rest of the night was reruns at 1.4/1.3.
NBC: A PRINCE HARRY’S SOUTH POLE HEROES special made Revolution look good with 0.8. Reruns followed at twin 0.9s.
CW: In its second week, THE 100 dropped 0.2, but 0.7 is still a very solid number for that network. Its lead-in ARROW was up 0.1 to 0.9.
FOX launches its last new series of the season tonight, shortening the Thursday American Idol to a half-hour and inserting SURVIVING JACK at 9:30PM. It airs against NCAA TOURNAMENT coverage on CBS.
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