A Second Helping of "Martha"

Tue., Dec. 13, 2005 10:25 AM PST by Gina Serpe

More Martha? It's a good thing.

While NBC opted not to renew the ratings bomb that was The Apprentice: Martha Stewart, the domestic diva's daytime chatfest, Martha, has been reupped for a second season.

NBC Universal Domestic Television announced Monday that the Mark Burnett-produced show will be back next fall, thanks to increased ratings in most markets in the country.

"'Martha is not a hit, but it's not a flop--it's sort of in-between," Mediaweek's TV analyst Marc Berman said. "Because of who Martha is, the expectations were so high. If she was just an average, ordinary celebrity hosting a talk show, I would say the show is [doing] okay."

The syndicated talker averaged 2.5 million viewers during the all-important November sweeps--by comparison, the top-rated Oprah Winfrey Show pulled in nearly 10 million.

Martha currently ranks eighth among the 11 talk shows in syndication.

"You aren't going to look at the numbers and say she's going to be Oprah, she's going to be on for 20 years," Berman added. "It's disappointing. But it's not a bust."

Unfortunately, the same can't be said for Stewart's prime-time reality gig.

Last month, NBC chose to pass on a second season of the former jailbird's Apprentice, which has struggled in the ratings since its September premiere. The show wasn't helped by a time slot change, where it was sacrificed against ABC's Wednesday juggernaut Lost.

Plans for both the Donald Trump spinoff and the daytime talker were first announced last February, back when the lifestyle maven was still serving time in Camp Cupcake for lying to investigators in an insider-trading stock probe.

With one show canceled and her other show struggling, Stewart is hoping the third time will be the charm. She recently announced plans to launch an as-yet untitled home-improvement series, expected to debut next year.

The series will follow six women coming off welfare programs, recovering from bankruptcy or being released from rehab who will work to renovate a home in Norwalk, Connecticut.

"Our new home-improvement series will inspire and inform, while mentoring and teaching valuable life skills, from repairing brickwork, laying flooring, painting rooms and installing a functional and lovely kitchen," Stewart said in a statement last month.

The two-hour season--and series--finale of The Apprentice: Martha Stewart airs Dec. 21 on NBC.