Gordon Ramsay is coming back for seconds.
The demanding culinary whiz will crack the whisk for a second season of Hell's Kitchen, Fox has announced. The renewal notice came as the reality show wrapped its first season in flashy fashion.
In the TV week ended Sunday, the chef-crowning portion of Kitchen's season finale tied with CBS' CSI as the week's most-watched shows among 18-to-49-year-old viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Among total viewers, the first hour of the Hell's Kitchen closer ranked 30th (6.7 million); the second hour shot all the way up to seventh place (8.9 million).
Kitchen, featuring Ramsay's scorching assessments of a crew of aspiring chefs, easily was Fox's hottest hit of the summer to date. Barring a late charge by So You Think You Can Dance, it ought to still have the title when the mini-season wraps next month.
There was no word on when Hell's Kitchen would return to the schedule. Perhaps when Ramsay cools down. On second thought...
Elsewhere:
Among Paula Abdul's many talents, a new one can be confirmed. The singer/dancer/choreographer/judge knows how to steer clear of a sinking ship: Namely, Fox's So You Think You Can Dance (24th place, 7 million). If nothing else, the 90-minute version of So You Think... helped knock ABC's Wednesday night rival, Brat Camp (15th place, 8 million), out of the Top 10. Death became HBO's Six Feet Under, up to 2.8 million viewers one week after Nate's demise. Its perkiness helped time-slot companion Entourage perk up to 2.2 million viewers. If TNT's The Closer (6.1 million) were a broadcast network show, it would have hit the Top 35. As it was, it was the week's most-watched cable network show. One week after its first exposure on CBS, Veronica Mars' UPN ratings blossomed by 30 percent--101st place, 1.9 million. NBC's I Want to Be a Hilton (79th place, 3.5 million) continues to play out the string--and not very well. Just 4.5 million wanted to meet the new trading-places NBC reality series, Meet Mister Mom (58th place).Overall, CBS, led by its mix of crime-drama reruns and all-new Big Brothers, was the top network among total viewers (averaging 7.3 million) and demographically desirable ones.
NBC was second in viewers (5.9 million), followed by ABC (5.6 million) and Fox (5.2 million). UPN (2.7 million) maintained its lead over the WB (1.8 million).
Here's a look of the 10 most-watched prime-time shows for the week ended Sunday, according to Nielsen Media Research:
1. CSI, CBS, 13.9 million viewers
2. Without a Trace, CBS, 11.8 million viewers
3. CSI: Miami, CBS, 10.2 million viewers
4. NCIS, CBS, 9.39 million viewers
5. Two and a Half Men, CBS, 9.385 million viewers
6. Law & Order: Criminal Intent, NBC, 9 million viewers
7. Hell's Kitchen, Fox, 8.94 million viewers
8. CBS Sunday Movie: Deep Impact, CBS, 8.93 million viewers
9. Cold Case, CBS, 8.8 million viewers
10. Law & Order, NBC, 8.7 million viewers