Two weeks into the new US TV season, the biggest hits in prime time are the same shows that topped the Nielsen ratings last year, led by CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Desperate Housewives, and Lost.
Several new shows had promising starts during the past two weeks, including NBC's quirky comedy My Name is Earl, UPN's Chris Rock-inspired sitcom Everybody Hates Chris, and a pair of ABC entries--alien thriller Invasion and White House drama Commander-in-Chief.
But none has exhibited the huge breakout potential of ABC's two surprise sensations from last season, the wry suburban soap opera Desperate Housewives and castaway mystery Lost.
As CBS chairman Leslie Moonves put it in The New York Times this week in assessing the latest crop of fall offerings, "There are no home runs this season."
The premiere weeks are important to the networks as they try to promote new shows that will attract advertising dollars in the weeks and months to come.
Veteran CBS crime drama CSI ranked as the single most watched show on network television for the second straight week of the new season (ending October 2), averaging nearly 28 million viewers, Nielsen Media Research reported Tuesday.
Desperate Housewives and Lost followed with 27 million and 23 million viewers, respectively, while also finishing the week as the top two shows among viewers aged 18 to 49, the benchmark group most networks use to gauge prime-time success. CSI was No. 3 in the adult 18-to-49 audience.
ABC's highly promoted new political drama Commander In Chief, starring Oscar winner Geena Davis as America's first female president, launched to solid numbers last Tuesday, becoming the night's most watched show and No. 9 for the week.
But Davis was clobbered in the key 18-to-49 race by her Stuart Little costar Hugh Laurie in head-to-head competition against his Fox medical drama House, another returning show that gained in the Nielsen rankings week to week.
One lackluster launch for ABC was Thursday's debut of its new crime chiller Night Stalker, which landed at No. 64 in the total audience in tough competition against CSI.
Meanwhile, last week's three biggest new series--Invasion, My Name is Earl, and the latest CBS detective show, Criminal Minds--all lost ground in their second airings.
Still, NBC executives had enough faith in Earl, which led its time slot in 18-49 ratings, to announce Tuesday that it would air nine additional episodes of the comedy, giving it a full 22-episode order for the season.
One of the biggest surprises of the new season has been the misfire of NBC's hugely anticipated spinoff of The Apprentice starring lifestyle guru and ex-convict Martha Stewart. After its anemic debut, Apprentice: Martha Stewart faded further in its second week and has been shifted to a later Wednesday time slot directly opposite Lost.
The fourth edition of the original Apprentice, starring real estate mogul Donald Trump, gained a bit of steam this past week but remains well off its mark from last season's average.
Other NBC disappointments include the new Pentagon-based homeland security saga E-Ring, starring Dennis Hopper, and the fertility clinic drama Inconceivable, which sank to Nos. 55 and 85, respectively, in total viewers. They fell even lower in the adults 18-49 audience that NBC long dominated. NBC yanked Inconceivable from its Friday schedule for at least a week.
CBS, a unit of Viacom, finished the week again as the most watched network overall and as No. 2 in young adults. ABC, owned by Walt Disney, was first in the 18-49 ratings and No. 2 in total viewers. NBC, part of General Electric, was No. 3 by both measures, followed by News Corp Ltd.-owned Fox.
No surprises here, as expected. Hopefully My Name Is Earl and E-Ring will get better ratings!
i would say prison break has got to be the best new show this year
nah buddy 24 is the best show on tv not CSI.
Just from memory, it seems to me that "Invasion" is starting out about like "Lost" did.
All I know is CSI is the best show ever so it is no surprise that it is doing so well.