Is Glee Nothing Without American Idol?

Actually, series scores best-ever ratings sans Idol lead-in

By Joal Ryan Jun 02, 2010 7:03 PMTags
Corey Monteith, Lea Michele, Matthew Morrison, GleePatrick Ecclesine

Can Glee get funky without American Idol? Can So You Think You Can Dance get its groove back? And can Jesse James save?

The answers—and more questions—in the latest TV ratings quiz:

1. How'd Glee do on its own? Last night's funkfest scored the series' best ratings without Idol around as its lead-in, Fox said. It was Tuesday's No. 1 show among adults 18-49, and No. 2 in overall viewers (9 million, per estimates), behind the premiere of America's Got Talent (12.3 million).

2.  Did SYTYCD's failed fall version fell the franchise? Nope. Back in its rightful season—that'd be summer—it opened its seventh season right about where it opened its previous summer season, averaging a solid 8.2 million viewers.

3. What good deed did Jesse James do last week? His Nightline interview gave the late-night news show its biggest audience of the post-Ted Koppel era (6.8 million), ABC said, and, even more than that, the franchise's biggest audience since 2003.

4. Which series went out with the smallest bang? The final episode of FlashForward got stomped on by the premiere of SYTYCD, and averaged fewer than 5 million viewers.

5.  If the answer isn't—repeat, isn't—NCIS: Los Angeles, then what was the just-completed season's most-watched new show? Undercover Boss

6.  If the answer isn't—repeat, isn't—CSI, then what was the just-completed season's most-watched scripted show? NCIS.

7. What do Simon Cowell and Archie Bunker have in common? According to Nielsen, the Cowell-era American Idol and the Bunker-led All in the Family are now tied for the most consecutive seasons as TV's No. 1-rated series, at five.  

Here's a look at the top 10 broadcast network shows for the week ended Sunday, per Nielsen Media Research:

  1. American Idol (Wednesday—season finale), 24.2 million
  2. American Idol (Tuesday), 20.1 million
  3. Dancing WIth the Stars (Monday), 19.4 million
  4. Dancing WIth the Stars (Tuesday—season finale), 18.4 million
  5. NCIS (season finale), 16.3 million
  6. Two and a Half Men (season finale), 15.5 million
  7. The Big Bang Theory (season finale), 15 million
  8. NCIS: Los Angeles (season finale), 13.2 million
  9. Criminal Minds (season finale), 13 million
  10. CSI: Miami (season finale), 12.4 million

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