Uh-Oh, Which Show Has Been Canceled Now?

The Apprentice is among fall's ratings-starved shows, but at least it's not doomed like…

By Joal Ryan Oct 05, 2010 6:14 PMTags
Donald Trump, The ApprenticeNBC/Ali Goldstein

Has the ax swung for The Apprentice? The Whole Truth? My Generation—er, wait, never mind.  

Find out fall's latest cancellation victim in the latest TV ratings quiz:

1. Which show just got pink-slipped? Huge. The Nikki Blonsky summer series lasted 10 episodes, and averaged 1.9 million viewers, which ain't bad for ABC Family, but ain't Pretty Little Liars, either. 

2. Which show could be next? Take your pick: Jimmy Smits' Outlaw was even more demographically undesirable last week than the late Lone Star; Fox's summer holdover The Good Guys was the least-watched show on the Big Four networks; and, the celebrity-free Apprentice is still killing Jay Leno on Thursday nights. (Ditto re: The Chase on Monday nights.) The Whole Truth isn't doing much, but it's doing enough for ABC to keep coming up with talking points.

3. Is it just you, or is this the weakest crop of new fall shows in, like, forever? Judging by the Nielsens, it's not just you. Last week, only one new show cracked the Top 20 among adults 18-49, and something's telling us that if Mike & Molly is the hippest thing going, the hip thing isn't happening for TV's freshman class.

4. Aren't there any promising Nielsen newcomers? Sure. Hawaii Five-0 (12.7 million) is drawing a crowd; No Ordinary Family (10.7 million) and Law & Order: Los Angeles (10.6 million) are off to solid starts; Raising Hope (7 million) isn't blowing all of its Glee lead-in, plus people actually seem to like it. And, of course, there's the hot 'n' now Mike & Molly (11.1 million).

5. Madonna or Britney Spears? Britney, by a hair extension. Glee's Britney episode scored 13.5 million (and a Top 10 finish) edging last spring's Madonna episode (13 million). Among the cool kids, Britney drove Glee to record ratings in the 18-49 demo.

6. Snooki or Angelina? Everybody's a winner on Jersey Shore, which saw the catfight lure in 6.7 million—tops among cable series, and yet another new record for the MTV show.  

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

  1. Dancing With the Stars (Monday), 21.3 million
  2. Sunday Night Football, 20.9 million
  3. NCIS, 19.1 million
  4. Dancing With the Stars (Tuesday), 17.3 million
  5. NCIS: Los Angeles, 16.5 million
  6. Sunday Night Football pregame, 15.8 million
  7. The Mentalist, 14.7 million
  8. Criminal Minds, 14.6 million
  9. Two and a Half Men, 13.9 million
  10. Glee, 13.5 million

And here's a look at the week's 10 least-watched comedy and drama series on the Big Four networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox): 

  1. The Good Guys, 2.5 million
  2. Lone Star, 3.2 million
  3. The Apprentice, 3.6 million
  4. My Generation, 3.8 million
  5. Running Wilde, 4.5 million
  6. Community, 4.5 million
  7. The Whole Truth, 4.6 million
  8. Outlaw, 4.7 million
  9. Parenthood, 4.8 million
  10. Fringe, 5.2 million