Housewives on Top

Something's up on Wisteria Lane: Ratings.

Desperate Housewives was TV's most watched show for the third week running, according to the latest Nielsen Media Research rankings.

More than that, ABC's suburban spoof has emerged as TV's most watched show of the two-month-old season.

Since its splashy debut in 2004, Housewives has done very little quietly, but with Grey's Anatomy and Dancing with the Stars hogging the headlines, its new Nielsen dominance has flown somewhat under the radar.

Housewives appears to owe its recent ascension to fellow ABC show Grey's Anatomy, which has knocked around TV's old number one, CBS' CSI, on Thursday nights. And because CSI has wobbled but not fallen, it has done Housewives a favor by keeping Grey's Anatomy in check—and just out of the number one spot.

So far this season, Desperate Housewives is averaging 22 million viewers, giving it the slimmest of leads over Grey's Anatomy (21.98 million) and CSI (21.7 million).

Claiming the top spot or no, Housewives is still in recovery mode from a second-season funk that apparently spurred millions of viewer defections. Overall, the show is drawing nearly 3 million fewer fans this fall compared to last.

But Housewives now appears to have stemmed the losses, even opposite tougher, if not direct, competition from NBC's Sunday Night Football.

The bottom line: It's probably wise not to cross Eva Longoria just yet. 

Other ratings highlights for the TV week ended Sunday:

• The latest Thursday heavyweight round went to CSI (third place, 20.8 million) over Grey's Anatomy (fifth place, 20.65 million).
• The latest Wednesday heavyweight round saw Lost's "fall finale" (ninth place, 17.1 million) fall to CBS' Criminal Minds (eighth place, 17.6 million)—or, as ABC likes to think of the show, "CBS' older-skewing Criminal Minds."  
• Scientific proof that it's not possible for ABC to air Dancing with the Stars too many times: We will watch dancing night (second place, 22 million), we will watch a recap show (seventh place, 18.2 million), and we will surely watch Joey Lawrence's emotional departure (fourth place, 20.69 million).
• Good news for Faith Hill: ABC's 40th annual Country Music Awards (14th place, 16 million) drew a larger audience than the YouTube clips of the singer's backstage "tantrum."
• The comedy smash of the season is...nothing. There was not a single half-hour comedy of the live-action or animated variety in the Top 10. Or the Top 20. And there was but a single Two and a Half Men (22nd place, 14.5 million) in the entire Top 25.
• NBC's Heroes (23rd place, 14.5 million) hit a season high in 18-to-49-year-old cheerleader-curious adults.
• The last time The Nine was aired, back on Nov. 2, the freshman serial drama was watched by 6.5 million—or about 2 million less than ABC scored just by running an old Desperate Housewives (46th place, 8.7 million) in place of the new show.
• Studio 60 (56th place, 7.7 million) and Friday Night Lights (69th place, 5.9 million) got full-season pickups from NBC. The just as little-watched What About Brian got one from ABC, too.  
• Fox's Justice (72nd place, 5.9 million) will watch the remainder of the November sweeps from the bench, usurped on Monday nights by House reruns. The freshman legal drama is scheduled to return Dec. 11, likely en route to being canceled for good.
• Maybe it's not Thursday night that ails The O.C. The sagging soap did even worse in a special Wednesday outing (94th place, 3.5 million) than in its killer timeslot opposite Grey's and CSI (90th place, 3.7 million).
• Fox's Vanished (106th place, 2.9 million) has not been pulled from the schedule. Yet.
• 60 Minutes'  tribute to the late Ed Bradley was observed by 16.2 million (12th place).
• To briefly recap last week's cable leaders: Monday Night Football (9.9 million), Spongebob, Spongebob, Spongebob, College Football Thursday Night (6.2 million), Spongebob, Spongebob, Spongebob.
  

In the second leg of a spectacle-free November sweeps, CBS and ABC did their things. ABC won the 18-to-49 demo; CBS claimed a first-place finish in viewers, averaging 12.7 million, just ahead of ABC's 12.4 million.

NBC moved up to second in the demo but placed third in viewers (10.3 million). Fox (7.2 million) was consistent, finishing a distant fourth in both races.

Led by America's Next Top Model (77th place, 5.4 million), the CW averaged 3.5 million.

Here's a look at the 10 most watched prime-time shows for the week ended Sunday, according to Nielsen Media Research:

1. Desperate Housewives, ABC, 22.3 million
2. Dancing with the Stars (Tuesday), ABC, 22 million
3. CSI, CBS, 20.8 million
4. Dancing with the Stars (Wednesday), ABC, 20.69 million
5. Grey's Anatomy, ABC, 20.65 million
6. Sunday Night Football, NBC, 19.4 million
7. Dancing with the Stars (Recap), ABC, 18.2 million
8. Criminal Minds, CBS, 17.6 million
9. Lost, ABC, 17.1 million
10. CSI: Miami, CBS, 16.8 million