May 24, 2013

Kerry Washington Talks ‘Scandal’ and ‘Django’ with Parade

kerry washington

*Kerry Washington is incredible as the star of ABC’s “Scandal.” The actress is on fire, laying out the role she was meant to play all her life, it seems. Her character ‘Olivia Pope’ manages to juggle multiple lives while attempting to maintain her own. In an interview with Parade, she discusses how the role manifested. [...]




Steve Harvey Still Slaying Competition in Daytime

steve harvey

*The syndicated “Steve Harvey” drew an average of 2.1 million viewers during the February sweep, improving upon the shows he replaced by 42 percent, according to TV Guide. His talk show has also recently started to out-rate Katie Couric’s freshman talk show among the women aged 25 to 54 that advertisers want to reach during [...]




Kentucky Derby with Black Jockey Gallops to High Ratings

kevin krigger

*Orb wasn’t the only one to score big in the first stop in the Triple Crown. NBC Sports drew the most viewers for a Kentucky Derby in 21 years during Sunday’s race, which featured two rarities for the sport: a black jockey and a woman jockey. Goldencents, owned in part by Rick Pitino, coach of [...]




‘Idol’ Had Secret Plot to Replace Mariah with J-Lo Midseason?

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*With “American Idol” ratings plunging by the week, producers and Fox executive tried to bring back Jennifer Lopez mid-season to replace Mariah Carey, but dropped the effort when Carey’s camp threatened legal action, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter. These sources claim “Idol’s” producers are still negotiating with Lopez, who served as a popular judge during [...]




OWN’s Sat. Lineup Draws 3.7M; Ranks 1st Among Black Women

Raising-Whitley

*Is OWN the new BET? It looks like Oprah Winfrey has struck gold with black female viewers, and is happily feeding the demographic with shows that are helping to right the ship. The network announced today that its primetime Saturday (April 20) lineup featuring “Iyanla: Fix My Life,” “Raising Whitley” and Life With La Toya” [...]




‘The Game’, ‘Let’s Stay Together’ Premieres Set Cable Records

singleton london the game

*Tuesday’s return of BET’s “The Game” delivered more viewers and adults 18-49 compared to all other returning cable sitcom telecasts this season, making it the No. 1 returning sitcom telecast on cable, the network announced in a statement. Returning for a sixth season and marking its 100th episode, “The Game” premiered at 10 p.m. to [...]




Bravo’s ‘Married to Medicine’ Premiere Sets Ratings Record

Three members of the new Bravo show "Married to Medicine": Quad Webb-Lunceford, Mariah Huq, and Simone Whitmore at Mariah Huq's home in Jonesboro

*Bravo pulled in some sick ratings on Sunday thanks to its newest original series, “Married to Medicine.” The reality show, which follows six women either practicing medicine or involved with doctors in the ATL, brought in 1.9 million viewers during its premiere outing, according to The Hollywood Reporter. That’s the highest number for a Bravo [...]




‘Wendy’ Kills Feb. Sweeps, Prod. Extended Through Summer

wendy williams

*Viewers are going to be seeing new Wendy Williams episodes well into the summer. Producer-distributor Debmar-Mercury announced Monday that it will add two months of original episodes to the fourth season of “The Wendy Williams Show,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. This comes after numbers from February sweeps revealed the talk show was beating its [...]




The Next Oprah?: Steve Harvey Gaining on Katie Couric

steve harvey

*The Hollywood Reporter sat down with Steve Harvey for its March 29th issue to tout his success in the cut-throat world of daytime television, where he has “outlasted Jeff Probst and Ricki Lake, is gaining fast on Katie Couric and has managed to achieve the multicultural golden mean in audience.” “Could he be the next [...]




ABC Study: ‘View’s’ Hasselbeck, Behar Too ‘Polarizing’

behar hasselbeck

*The March 29 issue of The Hollywood Reporter details an internal study commissioned by producers of “The View” that showed co-hosts Joy Behar and Elisabeth Hasselbeck – on the political left and right, respectively – were too “polarizing” for audiences. “They’re out of sync with the audience,” notes one source. The study, conducted earlier this [...]




How Chi McBride Changed the Direction of CBS’ ‘Golden Boy’

Chi McBride TCA

*Three episodes into the new CBS drama “Golden Boy” and it’s already apparent that the show’s main storyline – a young NYPD officer’s road to becoming the city’s youngest police commissioner – are at times upstaged by the relationship between the cop (Theo James) and his partner, played by Chi McBride. Their partnership was never [...]




‘American Idol’ Hits Ratings Lows; Robin Roberts Boosts ‘GMA’

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*It appears as if the addition of Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban to “American Idol” did nothing to bring in new viewers. In fact, it’s driving people away. The Fox singing competition continues to tumble in the ratings, logging a third consecutive week of in-season Wednesday lows, according to Nielsen. Among adults 18-49, [...]




Beyonce Brings Big Ratings to HBO, OWN

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*Beyonce pretty much owned cable TV on Saturday night. HBO’s documentary “Beyonce: Life Is but a Dream” pulled 1.8 million viewers during its 9 p.m. ET premiere. It’s the largest audience for a HBO doc since Nielsen revised its method of measuring viewership in 2004. The only other documentary to approach Beyonce’s haul was previous [...]




NBC’s ‘Deception’ Not Dead Yet – But Gasping for Air

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*The fat lady is warming up her pipes for NBC’s Meagan Good drama “Deception,” with poor viewership for the freshman series contributing to the peacock’s overall record-low midseason ratings. But with Monday’s episode came a sliver of hope. The show had been more or less shedding viewers since premiering to 5.62 million on Jan 7. [...]




J-Hud Enhanced ‘Smash’ Premiere Hits Ratings Low

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*Not even the addition of Jennifer Hudson could lift NBC’s sophomore drama “Smash” to comfortable ratings. Tuesday’s second-season premiere set series lows with 4.5 million viewers, according to Nielsen. That marked a 61% plummet from last February’s series opener, which aired behind “The Voice,” and a 25% from May’s finale, which drew 6 million. Among [...]