Image Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images; Harper Smith/NBC; Bob D'Amico/ABCSheesh, have most of you given up on television for the remainder of 2010? A bunch of shows hit season lows on Monday, with specials like the American Country Awards practically dead on arrival. Perhaps you were shopping? Those who did tune in chose CBS over everybody else: The network won the night in adults 18-49 (3.3 rating/9 share) and viewers (10.5 million), even though only two of its shows posted gains versus their last original episodes. How I Met Your Mother was up 3 percent to a 3.6/10 (9.4 million) and Rules of Engagement was up 7 percent to a 3.1/8 (8.8 million), but Two and a Half Men hit a season low with a 4.1/10 (13.3 million), as did Mike & Molly (3.4/8, 11 million), and Hawaii Five-O (2.7/7, 10.2 million). Each 18-49 rating point represents 1.3 million viewers.
NBC finished second for the night in the demo (2.4/6) and viewers (7.3 million), with the two-hour special The Sing-Off posting a 22 percent gain versus last year (2.8/7) and averaging 8.5 million. Chase, however was down 6 percent versus last week (1.5/4) and only lured 5 million.
Fox and ABC were tied for third among 18-49 (1.5/4) while the Alphabet finished third in viewers (6 million) followed by Fox (5.9 million). Skating With The Stars posted another dreadful rating – a season low of 1.0/3, down 17 percent versus last week. It averaged 4.8 million. (You think ABC will renew this show?) There was a repeat of Modern Family, which did no favors for Castle: The drama earned a season low of 2.2/6 – down 12 percent from its last original on Nov. 15. It averaged 8.6 million.
Fox aired the American Country Awards, which earned a mere 1.4/5 in the demo and drew 6 million viewers.
Image Credit: Albert L. Ortega/PR PhotosEliza Dushku announced via Twitter and Facebook Monday that she won’t be starring in the TNT pilot Bird Dog after all. “Hey guys! News to report,” she told her 675,000-plus followers and 34,800-plus fans, respectively. “We have mutually & AMICABLY decided to part ways on Bird Dog due to creative differences. No worries/fears/tears.” EW confirmed Nov. 29 that Dushku had landed the lead role in the drama, which is described as centering on a father-daughter cop team.
Yesterday, I posted a — spoiler-free — Q&A with Walking Dead comic writer and TV show executive producer Robert Kirkman in which he ruminated on Sunday’s season finale, “TS-19.” When I talked with Kirkman, the conversation at times referenced events that have already happened in his comic but which still lie in the future — or may do so — for the characters in the show. Given the potentially spoiler-filled nature of those portions I excised them from the original Q&A. As previously promised, you’ll find them below.
Image Credit: Dr. Billy Ingram/WireImage.comKathryn Joosten (Karen McCluskey on Desperate Housewives) will guest star on The Bold and the Beautiful, EW has learned exclusively. The actress will play herself in a story arc involving Nick Marone (Jack Wagner) and Stephanie Forrester (Susan Flannery) that centers on lung cancer. In the episode, Stephanie befriends real-life lung cancer patients and survivors and meets them one-by-one in her home to hear their stories of diagnosis, treatment and hope. Joosten, a two-time cancer survivor, is among the visitors in the drama’s 6000th episode.
The episode tapes Dec. 17 and will air on Feb. 7. Joosten reportedly gave up her 45-year smoking habit in 2001 after she was diagnosed with lung cancer. Eight years later, she was diagnosed again but underwent surgery. She was declared cancer-free earlier this year.
Ironically, the daytime sudser has long been tied to Desperate Housewives and the character of Karen, though that’s not how it secured Joosten for the role. The Bold and the Beautiful’s Alley Mills (Pam Douglas) is married to Orson Bean, who plays Karen’s husband on Housewives.
Image Credit: Adam Larkey/ABC; Karen Neal/ABCABC has set the premiere dates for its new midseason comedies Mr. Sunshine and Happy Endings. The former series will bow Feb. 9 and stars Matthew Perry as a self-absorbed manager of a San Diego sports arena. It also stars Allison Janney (The West Wing) and Andrea Anders (Better Off Ted). Happy Endings joins the schedule on April 13 and stars Elisha Cuthbert (24) as a gal who breaks up with her fiancee (Zach Knighton of FlashForward) on their wedding day.
Mr. Sunshine temporarily replaces Cougar Town, which will return to its regular time slot on April 13. Happy Endings – and reruns of Modern Family — will follow the run of Off the Map, the latest medical drama from Shonda Rhimes.
The Wednesday schedule for Feb. 9 through April 6 is as follows: READ FULL STORY »
According to Billboard, Fergie will serve as co-host during Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Even with Ryan Seacrest 2011. While the American Idol host will be broadcasting from Times Square, Fergie will be on-air in Los Angeles, where she’ll be joined by performers Drake, Jennifer Hudson, Ne-Yo, Avril Lavigne, and Train. The show will air on ABC.
Read more:
Black Eyed Peas set to play Super Bowl halftime show
Black Eyed Peas party ‘Dirty Dancing’-style in ‘The Time’: Hear their new single now
Image Credit: Mitch Haaseth/NBCBritain, prepare yourself. David Hasselhoff might be headed across the pond.
A publicist for the actor confirmed the former Baywatch star is currently “in talks” to join the overseas talent-search show, almost one year after he exited his chair on America’s Got Talent. However, British Hoffsters shouldn’t go setting their DVRs just yet, as certain “scheduling problems” must be worked around before any deal is negotiated, the source added.
Hasselhoff, whose reality show premiered last night, left America’s Got Talent in January after four years at the judges’ table.
Read more:
David Hasselhoff leaving ‘America’s Got Talent’: Will you still watch sans Hoff?
‘The Hasselhoffs’ premiere: ‘It can be a real hassle to be a Hoff’
Justin Bieber canceled a TV appearance on Saturday after another guest was critically injured in front of a live audience, People reports. Bieber was scheduled to appear on Wetten, dass…? (“Wanna Bet?”), a 29-year-old German variety show, when Samuel Koch, 23, suffered serious back and spinal injuries after attempting to jump over an approaching car using spring-powered stilts.
Bieber described the show’s decision to cancel all subsequent filming on Twitter: “Just want to let my people in Germany know I won’t be on Wetten Dass tonight as an accident has taken place and we all don’t think it is right to continue. Please pray for Samuel Koch & his family as we wait and hope for his health and safety [sic].” Koch underwent surgery on Sunday, and has since been put into an artificial coma. According to the German newspaper Bild, a doctor described Koch as being in an “extremely critical stage.” Bieber apologized to expectant fans for the cancellation: “Germany I’m sorry we couldn’t perform tonight but some things are more important than putting on a show. We will be back I promise. Thank u [sic].”
Read more:
Grammy nominations concert: Who had the best and worst performances?
AMAs: Artist of the Year goes to…
Image Credit: JPI StudiosIn a special stand-alone episode of The Young and the Restless on Dec. 23, Victor (Eric Braeden) will face his darkest demons when he is paid a visit from certain characters from Christmas past. In this exclusive first look, Victor’s late wife Hope (Signy Coleman) gets a little face time with the mustache. Genoa City’s own version of Scrooge also encounters his other late wife Sabrina (Raya Meddine), who has previously appeared in ghostly form on the CBS sudser after she died from injuries sustained during a car crash in 2008.
Image Credit: Jessica Brooks/FXFX has canceled its fledging series Terriers, a show starring Donal Logue and Michael Raymond-James that follows two best friends who become become unlicensed private investigators in San Diego County. The series from Ted Griffin (Oceans 11), executive producer Shawn Ryan (The Shield) and Tim Minear (Dollhouse) ran for 13 episodes but only averaged about 500,000 viewers per episode.
For more on Terriers:
James Hibberd
@James_Hibberd
Lynette Rice
@EWLynette
