Image Credit: Bob D'Amico/ABCThe series premiere of Scoundrels and The Gates gave ABC some bragging points for an otherwise ho-hum night of TV on Sunday: The Gates, which averaged 4.64 million viewers at 10 p.m., represented ABC’s strongest summer scripted series debut in five years. It won its time slot at 10 p.m. in the adult demographic and came in second in viewers behind CBS’ repeat of Cold Case.
Scoundrels averaged 5.17 million viewers at 9 p.m. and won its second half-hour in viewers. The two dramas also gave ABC a boost over last year in viewers and adults 18-49.
Despite airing against mostly reruns on CBS and Fox, ABC still finished in third place for the night among total viewers (4.80 million). NBC – which aired the final round of the U.S. Open – averaged 7.31 million, while CBS was in second with 5.45 million. Fox, which aired mostly repeats of its animated shows except for the barely-watched series finale of ‘Til Death (1.52 million), finished in fourth place with 2.98 million viewers. Fox also aired an original episode of the canceled comedy Sons of Tucson, which mustered up 1.39 million viewers.
Scoundrels is based on Outrages Fortune, a comedy from New Zeland. The writers could have done better.
That’s “Outrageous Fortune”, not “Outrages”. And the country is New Zealand, not Zeland. Talk about writers who could have done better…
The Office is also based on well, the Office in the UK. It doesn’t take anything away from either. Thought they both were entertaining and definitely better than anything else this summer.
The Gates was the perfect follow-up to watching True Blood at 9pm!! My summer vampire fix is now sated! Also most of the werewolf boys on the Gates were yummmmmmmmy too. Its summer programming! Its supposed to be fun & somewhat campy…I enjoyed The Gates, DVR’d Scoundrels & haven’t watched it yet, but glad to hear ABC got some good news for the new shows!
its really sad when these public comment sections are now filled with paid PR people posting fake comments. this one sounds so fake its unbelieveable.
Marie- You obviously did not go to school for PR or marketing because that comment in no way sounded “fake” or “unbelievable.” Which, by the way, is the correct way to spell that word. Have fun in life with your half empty glass.
Marie I ASSURE you I’m no one’s PR b!tch. My comments & opinions are MINE alone.
Maybe the part where you seem to be most excited about the show’s time slot made the comment look a little forced.
I’m glad you like it, it just goes to show that everyone has different taste. I thought that / The Gates / was slightly less interesting than the ten most fascinating historical conversations with a stapler.
How did the Phantom do on Syfy?
I thought both shows were pretty bad. I’ll be surprised if they survive past 5 episodes. Leverage though, now that was a damn good premiere.
I agree with you. I sat through a half hour of each, and will no doubt never watch again. They both stunk!!
Did I seriously just have to watch an advertisement to read this article?
I thought Scoundrels was okay. I’ll be dvring to see if I can actually get into it. I think it has potential.
you can x out of that you know
How is THE GATES the highest rated scripted summer series when your own article says SCOUNDRELS got higher ratings? Am I missing something?
You caught that one, too.
I’m not one of those grammar Nazis, but EW needs a fact-checker.
It’s NOT a mistake. The Gates represented ABC’s strongest summer scripted series debut in five years. It’s about ratings and age groups, not just total viewers.
i noticed that too.WTF?
Both shows were Great and I can’t wait till next week.
I thought both shows were decent, perfect for summer programming.
I thought The Gates is gonna be a kick ass show!!! Were really into the Vampires flicks these days!! A+++++++++++
NEXT WEEK IS REALLY GONNA GIVE ALOT MORE DETAILS….VAMPIRES….WEREWOLVES…WITCHS…OH MYYYYYY!!!!!!!
I thought Scoundrels was ok. Levin Rambin was cute and likable (the date rape scene was pretty funny) but I have no idea where this show is going. Criminals going straight just doesn’t appeal to me. I’d be more interested in a show about a family who had to become Con Artists because the father went to prison. At the end of the day, this show just wasn’t entertaining enough for a second episode.
I really liked The Gates. Other than Modern Family, which is obviously a different kind of show, it showed the most potential of any show I’ve seen in a while.
Seriously, I’m kinda confused by some of these comments by people who say they’ve watched these shows…..I don’t watch New Zealand TV, so I haven’t seen “Outrageous Fortunes”. However I *have* seen ABC’s “Scoundrels” & I found it OUTRAGEOUSLY funny when it needed to be, and dramatic when it needed to be….This show slips VERY easily into the “Desperate Housewives” spot. (But that was the point–wasn’t it?)…….And “The Gates”–not the BEST vampire/werewolf/witch show on TV (GOD, I miss Buffy & Angel & the whole Scooby Gang)—but there IS room for improvement……”SCOUNDRELS”–MUST SEE TV!
I miss Buffy and Angel, too!!
I loved THE GATES! I can’t wait for the next episode!
RHONA MITRA’s character is my favorite so far.
Yes scoudrels is based on outrageos fortune in New Zealand, its one of our highest rated shows!But everywhere else in the world is copying it!