05 October 2010

Ratings Game: Last Week's Top 25 Best & Why This Year's New TV Shows Are Doing Badly

Here's how last week's episodes ranked in the ratings.

via TV by The Numbers


Of the new shows: 
- I'm really surprised that Shit My Dad Says is doing so well. It's been disappointing coz compared to the actual Twitter account, the TV show is hardly funny. 
- Ditto with Mike and Molly. In fact, I'm dropping both series from my list.
- The remaining new shows on top: Hawaii 5, Undercovers and The Event... satisfactory. I'm actually enjoying 5-0 and I think The Event holds its own against Lost, for which it has been greatly compared to. Thank goodness, Episode 2 at least had answers already! But I still am not warmed up for Undercovers. The chick in the lead role is awesome, however.

For all my excitement over Fall 2010's new season, and two weeks after following these, new programs aren't apparently doing so well with the audience,  according to this article:
Two weeks into the fall TV season, the broadcast networks have gotten off to one of their most sluggish starts ever. For the first time in at least five years, not a single new show has cracked the top 10 either among total viewers or the advertising-friendly demographic of adults aged 18 to 49.

The article further sites reasons why this is so:

1. Recession
2. The shows aren't really that good.
3. Cable programming is better (where series' like Mad Men, Rizzoli & Isles, Spartacus, True Blood, Boardwalk Empire, Terriers, Dexter, et. al are aired).
4. The decline of TV viewership in general.

On the other hand, sophomore programs and some of those that have been on for years, are getting bigger audience shares (such as Glee, Big Bang Theory  and Modern Family).

And you can read about why sitcoms this year are so bad, in this article: A Not-So-Funny Thing About Network Sitcoms.