Even though it was the So You Think You Can Dance finale last night, it was CBS that took the ratings crown.

In Brief:

So You Think You Can Dance drove FOX to second with it’s highest (18-49) rating in some time with a 2.6.

Criminal Minds took the nights top (18-49) rating with a 3.7, beating CSI: NY (3.1) into second.

New Adventures Of Old Christine and Gary Unmarried posted their highest numbers in a while with a 2.4 and 2.5 (18-49) rating respectively.

Winners:
Criminal Minds (CBS)
So You Think You Can Dance (FOX)
CSI: NY (CBS)

Losers:
ABC Reruns
CW Reruns
The Sing-Off

8:00 – FOX – So You Think You Can Dance – 2.5 (18-49) rating – 6.7 million viewers
CBS – New Adventures of Old Christine – 2.4 - 7.8 million
NBC – The Sing-Off – 2.1 - 6.9 million
ABC – Disney Prep & Landing (R) – 2.0 - 6.8 million
CW – Vampire Diaries (R) - 0.5 - 1.3 million

8:30 – CBS – Gary Unmarried – 2.5 (18-49) rating - 7.9 million
ABC – The Middle (R) - 1.7 - 5.5 million

9:00 – CBS – Criminal Minds – 3.7 (18-49) rating - 14.6 million viewers
FOX – So You Think You Can Dance – 2.7 - 7.3 million
NBC – The Sing-Off – 2.2 - 6.4 million
ABC – Modern Family (R) - 1.9 - 5.2 million
CW – Vampire Diaries (R) - 0.6 - 1.4 million

9:30 – ABC – Cougar Town (R) - 1.8 - 4.6 million

10:00 – CBS – CSI: NY – 3.1 (18-49) rating - 13.5 million viewers
NBC – The Jay Leno Show – 1.6 - 5.5 million
ABC – Eastwick – 1.3 - 3.7 million

The docs over at Oceanside Wellness will seek no more – they have desperately found Rosanna Arquette.

Arquette has signed on to guest star in an ep of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy spin-off Private Practice reps for the network have confirmed. She will be playing the crunchy-granola mother of Dink (Stephen Lunsford), who is currently dating Sam (Taye Diggs) and Naomi’s (Audra McDonald) daughter.

For those of you with a good memory (like me), you will remember that Arquette guesting on an episode of Grey’s a couple of years ago. More recently she was on now-canceled Eastwick as Greta Noa.

This is going to go well, eh Addison?

Last night saw most networks showing repeats, but FOX won the night in originals and an old favorite grabbed solid ratings for CBS.

So You Think You Can Dance started the night off in second place for FOX hitting a 2.3 rating, a massive improvement from last weeks 1.8. At 9, Glee posted a season high 3.6 rating in the key demo (18-49), up nearly 50% from its last airing (vs. 2.5) and a series high in 18-34 (6.0)

CBS’ Christmas season staple Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer opened the evening, drawing the nights highest 18-49 rating (3.8) and viewers (10.9 million). The Grammy Nomination Concert was second in the 9p hour behind FOX’s Glee, pulling a 2.3 rating. A Criminal Minds rerun was top at 10 with a 2.2 rating.

NBC led off the night in the lead with a Christmas in The Rockefeller Centre, which averaged a 1.8 rating and 8.5 million viewers. At 9, a Law & Order:SVU rerun pulled solid numbers for the peacock, averaging a 1.9 rating and just over 8.2 million viewers. Leno pulled a 1.5 rating at 10 to give NBC second place.

ABC were mostly in repeats last night except for The Middle and Eastwick. The Middle was up vs  last weeks 1.8 rating to a 2.o, which with the other comedies in repeats isn’t a bad number. Modern Family (R) at 8 pulled a 1.7 rating, which is still a solid number. The 9pm showing of ModFam also posted solid numbers, with a 2.3 rating and just under 6.5 million viewers. Cougar Town was also in repeats, pulling a 1.8 rating and just over 5 million viewers. Eastwick bounced back from last weeks series lows to a slightly improved 1.3 rating.

The CW were in all repeats last night with The Vampire Diaries and Gossip Girl, which averaged a 0.4 18-49 rating and just a million viewers.

Full Breakdown:

Modern Family (R, 8pm)
- 5.646 million viewers
- 1.7/5 A18-49

The Middle
- 6.193 million viewers
- 2.0/6 A18-49

Modern Family (R, 9pm)
- 6.498 million viewers
- 2.3/6 A18-49

Cougar Town (R)
- 5.141 million viewers
- 1.8/5 A18-49

Eastwick
- 4.252 million viewers
- 1.3/4 A18-49

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (R)
- 10.589 million viewers
- 3.8/11 A18-49

Grammy Nomination Concert
- 6.279 million viewers
- 2.3/6 A18-49

Criminal Minds (R)
- 8.050 million viewers
- 2.2/6 A18-49

Christmas in Rockefeller Center
- 8.686 million viewers
- 1.8/5 A18-49

Law & Order: SVU (R)
- 8.118 million viewers
- 1.9/5 A18-49

The Jay Leno Show
- 5.517 million viewers
- 1.5/4 A18-49

So You Think You Can Dance
- 6.269 million viewers
- 2.3/6 A18-49
- 2.2/7 A18-34
- 3.1/9 W18-34

Glee
- 8.147 million viewers
- 3.6/10 A18-49
- 4.3/12 A18-34
- 6.0/16 W18-34

Gossip Girl (R, 93% coverage CW normally 94%)
- 0.993 million viewers
- 0.4/1 A18-49
- 0.5/2 A18-34
- 0.7/2 W18-34

The Vampire Diaries (R, 93% coverage)
- 1.036 million viewers
- 0.4/1 A18-49
- 0.5/1 A18-34
- 0.7/2 W18-34

So, a few weeks ago I told you that it was likely that Ugly Betty was moving to Wednesday nights. Now, it’s been confirmed.

According to the ABC press release below, in an obvious effort to boost ratings, Betty will move to the 10pm slot on Wednesdays as a replacement for Fall casualty, Eastwick.

The release also gives information on the return of Shark Tank, which is set to come back on January 8 at 9pm:

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

ABC Television Network

PRESS RELEASE – PRESS RELEASE – ENTERTAINMENT -

“UGLY BETTY” MOVES TO WED NIGHTS STARTING JAN 6, “SHARK TANK” RETURNS JAN 8

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“UGLY BETTY” MOVES TO WEDNESDAY NIGHTS STARTING JANUARY 6, CAPPING OFF ABC COMEDY WEDNESDAY

“Shark Tank” Returns to the Schedule on Friday Nights, Beginning January 8″Ugly Betty” is moving to Wednesdays at 10:00 p.m., ET beginning January 6, 2010, rounding out ABC Comedy Wednesday. “Shark Tank” will return to the schedule on Friday, January 8 from 9:00 p.m., ET. “Ugly Betty” stars America Ferrera as Betty Suarez, Eric Mabius as Daniel Meade, Tony Plana as Ignacio, Ana Ortiz as Hilda, Judith Light as Claire Meade, Becki Newton as Amanda, Michael Urie as Marc, Mark Indelicato as Justin, Daniel Eric Gold as Matt Hartley and Vanessa Williams as Wilhelmina Slater. Based on “Yo Soy Betty La Fea,” the groundbreaking Colombian telenovela that became an international phenomenon, “Ugly Betty” is from ABC Studios. The series has been awarded Emmy, Golden Globe, Peabody, NAACP, ALMA and Imagen awards and earned 19 Emmy nominations. Executive producers are Silvio Horta (“Urban Legend”), Academy Award-nominee and Emmy Award winner Salma Hayek, Jose Tamez, Richard Heus, Victor Nelli Jr., Jon Kinnally, Tracy Poust, Henry Alonso Myers and Sheila Lawrence. Co-executive producers are Chris Black, Gail Lerner and Abraham Higgenbotham. “Shark Tank” gives budding entrepreneurs a chance to make their business dreams come true and make them successful and possibly wealthy people. But first, the entrepreneurs must convince a panel of five ruthless, multi-millionaire tycoons – known as Sharks — to part with their own hard-earned cash to give them the funding they need to jumpstart their breakthrough business concepts, products, properties and services. The five Sharks are real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran, “infomercial” industry pioneer Kevin Harrington, technology innovator Robert Herjavec, fashion icon Daymond John and financial expert Kevin O’Leary. Mark Burnett, Clay Newbill and Phil Gurin are the executive producers of “Shark Tank,” based on the Japanese “Dragons’ Den” format created by Nippon Television Network Corporation. The series is from Sony Pictures Television.

Another week another series low? Let’s look at what’s happened in the world of TV renewals and cancellations.

Yesterday news broke that Three Rivers has been pulled from CBS’ Sunday lineup, to be replaced by an unspecified crime drama (could they have been more vauge?). The show was averaging just a 1.7 18-49 rating, which still doesn’t explain to me why they kept it around for as long as they did. In other news, TNT show Raising The Bar has been canceled after two seasons. Oh, and Hank was unsurprisingly canceled by ABC.

Ugly Betty – I’ve given up all hope for Ugly Betty. The show, now in it’s fourth (and what will be its final) season posted series lows again on Friday. It drew just 3.3 million viewers (down 700,000) and just a 0.9 rating. Now I’m not saying this to be mean but this show will be lucky if it reaches the end of the season. Those numbers are Dollhouse low and without the advantage of being dirt cheap to make. There was a rumor that Betty would be moving to Wednesdays which gave the fans some hope, but honestly I don’t think it would make that big of a difference. It looks like Mode is another publication which has seen its viewership drop.
My Prediction: Still gone by the end of the season ((AT BEST)).

Fringe - A couple of weeks ago the show posted a 1.7 rating and under 5 million viewers and I recognised that people may have been confused with the scheduling because of the World Series. However, last week the show posted just a 2.0 rating, its second lowest figure of the series-to-date. I know that FOX had to sacrifice something in the 9pm Thursday timeslot but why Fringe? I believe that Sou You Think You Can Dance could pull the same numbers as they are now if they were put there. Bones and Fringe should have been on Tuesday. Now I don’t watch the show but I have seen some of the coverage and it seems that fans and critics are in agreement - that the show’s creative direction has never been better. Maybe FOX were looking for a sacrificial lamb, just like they did with the O.C. a couple of years ago. Also, FOX just announced that Fringe will go on a 7 week hiatus soon. Hiatus’ are always good for the ratings, right?
My Prediction: If FOX don’t do something, it’ll be canceled.

FlashForward – I’d just like to welcome this show to the main list. I’m saying that because it’s a worry that it’s here. Did I think that after the solid numbers it opened with it would be here? No, but sometimes even i’m surprised. Am I worried. No. This show isn’t going to last past the end of the season and i’m glad. Maybe with a probable end date the show can end on a creative high, on the date of the FlashForward itself. I really wanted this show to have the chops to be the new LOST but it wasn’t. I know it isn’t Thanksgiving any more but i’m thankful that it will just be a one season story. I think that premise suited one season, which is what it will be. If you don’t believe me, just look at the A18-49 trend. It started with a 3.7 rating and has been dropping a couple of points every week, last time out pulling just a 2.4 rating.
My Prediction: 22 eps and out, which i’m happy about.

Cold Case – Maybe the problem isn’t its lead in? I’ve been thinking that Three Rivers was damaging the shows ratings but last week it was moved to the earlier slot with a solid Survivor Samoa Lead in and still only pulled a 2.0 rating (which is still up but not as much as I thought). Maybe viewers have just outgrown this show and it needs to drive off into the sunset? It will be interesting to see what it can do when the NFL regular season finishes at the beginning of next month.
My Prediction: Sorry fans, but say goodbye after 22.

The Others -

- Smallville – Posted a solid 1.2 rating on its last new airing. I’m really quite happy with the creative direction of the show, which has vastly improved the CW’s friday performance. Will be picked up for next year.

- The Forgotten - Will end its 18 episode run and be gone.

- Hank - pulled from ABC’s schedule and canceled.  

- The Middle – I said last time out that if ABC paired with Modern Family it would probably do much better. It was (a rerun anyway) and it did. I think it will get a second season. Hey, if they renewed Better Off Ted…..

- Trauma - 13 Episodes. NBC has pulled the plug.

- Dollhouse – Canceled. Last few eps are due to begin airing again on Fri. Dec. 4

- Brothers - Didn’t air last week due to a The 40 year old Virgin, which out-rated it by over 75%. Possibly run until the end of the season.

- Law and Order – Posted solid numbers on Friday. I’m really not sure. Possible 21st season……

- Gary Unmarried/ New Adventures of Old Christine – Nothing special. Similar to last season. Possible 2010 pickup.

- Heroes - Now that House is back on FOX, Heroes dropped to a 2.2 rating on its last original airing, definitely not enough to save this expensive show. Gone after 18.

Last night saw a massive dip for all networks – maybe they should’ve gone with repeats?

CBS’ combination of New Adventures of Old Christine/ Gary Unmarried led off the night, pulling a 1.9 rating and 6.9 million viewers. Criminal Minds posted the nights highest 18-49 rating with a 3.1 at 9. CSI: NY was the nights second highest rated show at 10 with a 2.9 rating

NBC led off the night in the lead with a Biggest Loser special, which averaged a 2.6 rating and 7.7 million viewers between 8-10pm. Leno pulled a 1.6 rating at 10 to give NBC second place for the night.

ABC should’ve given its freshman comedies the night off yesterday, as all 4 timeslots were down vs last week. The Middle was down 25% to a 1.8 rating (from a 2.4), Modern Family was down (and hit series lows) over 33% vs. last week with just a 2.4 rating (3.7 last week), Cougar Town was also down almost 33% to a 1.9 rating (vs. 3.1). Eastwick also hit series lows with a 1.1 rating.

So You Think You Can Dance started the night off in fourth place for FOX hitting a series low 1.6 rating. At 9, Glee fell almost 25%, posting just a 2.5 rating (vs. 3.2) and 6.1 million viewers.

CW were in all repeats last night with movie presentation Gracie, which averaged a 0.4 rating and 1.3 million viewers.

Overall Average

CBS - 2.6 – 11,026,000 million viewers
NBC  - 2.4 – 6,836,000
FOX – 2.0 – 5,491,000
ABC - 1.7 – 5,248,000
CW – 0.4 – 1,342,000 

Time/A18-49 Viewers        Show Title
 Net    rating    

8pm -
NBC   2.5      7,599,000       THE BIGGEST LOSER:  WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
CBS    1.8       7,005,000      THE NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE
ABC  1.6       5,536,000        MODERN FAMILY (R)
FOX   1.5      4,697,000        SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE
CW    0.6       1,631,000        GRACIE

8.30pm -
NBC   2.8   7,809,000          THE BIGGEST LOSER:  WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
CBS    1.9   6,799,000          GARY UNMARRIED
ABC   1.8  5,999,000            THE MIDDLE
FOX   1.7   5,054,000          SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE
CW     0.4   1,194,000           GRACIE

9:00pm -
CBS   3.1  13,171,000          CRIMINAL MINDS
NBC  2.9   7,880,000          THE BIGGEST LOSER:  WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
FOX  2.5   6,084,000          GLEE
ABC   2.4  7,122,000          MODERN FAMILY
CW    0.4   1,246,000           GRACIE

9:30pm -
ABC  1.9   5,529,000            COUGAR TOWN
CBS   3.2  13,851,000          CRIMINAL MINDS
NBC  2.8   7,501,000          THE BIGGEST LOSER:  WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
FOX  2.5   6,130,000          GLEE
CW    0.4   1,297,000          GRACIE

10:00pm 
CBS   2.8  12,651,000         CSI: NY
NBC  1.7   5,435,000          THE JAY LENO SHOW
ABC  1.2   3,892,000          EASTWICK

10:30pm 
CBS   2.9  12,681,000          CSI: NY
ABC  1.0  3,412,000            EASTWICK
CBS   2.9  12,681,000          CSI: NY
NBC  1.5   4,792,000          THE JAY LENO SHOW

ABC did a little better last night, even though they’ve yanked Hank from their lineup. Cougar Town and Modern Family bounced back although CBS still took the victory.

The Middle hit its best numbers since the premiere back in September with the help of a Modern Family rerun as its lead in. The Janet Jackson special outperformed Eastwick by over 25% this week which is why it has also been pulled.

Glee hit series highs amongst A18-34 with a 5.1 rating but fell slightly among A18-49 vs. last week.

8:00 – CBS – New Adventures of Old Christine – 2.2 A18-49 rating - 7.5 million viewers

FOX - So You Think You Can Dance – 2.1 A18-49 rating - 5.7 million viewers

NBC – Mercy – 2.0 A18-49 rating - 7.8 million viewers

ABC – Modern Family (R) - 1.9 A18-49 rating - 6.2 million viewers

CW – America’s Next Top Model – 1.7 A18-49 rating - 3.7 million viewers
8:30 – CBS – Gary Unmarried – 2.5 A18-49 rating - 7.2 million viewers

ABC - The Middle – 2.4 A18-49 rating – 7.1 million viewers
9:00 – CBS – Criminal Minds – 3.7 A18-49 rating - 13.5 million viewers

ABC – Modern Family – 3.7 A18-49 rating - 9.2 million viewers

FOX - Glee – 3.2 A18-49 rating - 7.29

NBC – Law & Order: SVU – 2.6 - 8.43

CW – America’s Next Top Model (Clip Show) – 0.8 A18-49 rating - 1.8 million viewers

 
9:30 – ABC – Cougar Town – 3.2 A18-49 rating - 7.9 million viewers
10:00 – CBS – CSI: NY – 3.2 A18-49 rating - 13.7 million viewers

ABC – Robin Roberts: Janet Jackson – 2.3 A18-49 rating - 6.64

NBC – The Jay Leno Show – 1.4 - 4.8 million viewers

So, yesterday it was announced that ABC would not be picking up any more episodes of Eastwick other than the 13 already produced.

Think you’re angry? Well here’s an except from an interview with Exec Producer Maggie Friedman talking to EW’s Michael Ausiello:

“I’m pretty furious, too. We have such an amazing group of writers and actors — best people I’ve ever worked with. None of us can believe this is really happening. We’re smack in the middle of several insanely juicy stories,”  Friedman sighs. “And so we do not get a chance to wrap things up in a bow. Which is killing me.”

To view the latest What’s Next To Be Cancelled #6, Click Here

So, it’s Tuesday again and time to look at what’s transpired in the world of television renewals and cancellations.

In an update from last week, Eastwick has been canceled, The Forgotten has been extended by 5 episodes (?) and ABC show Let’s Dance has been pulled from the schedule before it was even aired. There was also some news on CBS where  #1 (A18-49) network comedy The Big Bang Theory and #1 scripted show (in viewers) NCIS have been extended to 24 eps, as has How I Met Your Mother, NCIS: LA, CSI: Miami and Two and a Half Men with Criminal Minds, CSI: NY, The Good Wife, CSI, and The Mentalist, all having 1 extra ep ordered and Numb3rs has had its episode order reduced to 16.

This week I’m going to start with Fringe - Ruh-roh, a 1.7 rating and under 5 million viewers? Indeed. Fringe has its worst week of its relatively short life last Thursday which is a problem for them and for FOX. Last year the show was doing so well (even before Idol started airing) averaging and solid late 2’s/early 3’s and since then the show has gotten better. Now this is one of the rare incidences where I believe that most of this is caused by the timeslot and not the show itself. FOX needs to find a slot where this works or it will be gone by the end of the year. The problem is that FOX’s schedule is full of solid shows this year (both creatively and in the ratings). I think the 1.7 rating though can be attributed to not many people knowing it was on due to the World Series being cut short.

Ugly Betty – Ugly Betty posted series lows again last Friday and unless something drastic happens this show might not even make it until the end of the season. The dramedy, now in its 4th season posted just a 1.2 rating in the finals and just over 4 million viewers. Oops….spoke too soon. Apparently ABC are moving it to Wednesday nights. This could be in place of either Eastwick, which was canceled earlier today or a replacement for Hank/ The Middle. My bet – it replaces Eastwick.
My Prediction: Still gone by the end of the season. Renewed (geddit?) interest will lead to better ratings though.

Three Rivers – I really don’t know what’s going on over at CBS. The only reason that I can see as to why this is still on the air is because the shows advertising was pre-sold at a nice rate. Either that or it’s Julie Chen’s favorite new show and Les Moonves, the CBS president, doesn’t want to piss off his new wife! The show averaged just a 1.8 rating last week which was up but is still not good enough (even for NBC!) but it lived to see another day.
My Prediction: As soon as the prepaid ad money runs out, so does its luck.

Cold Case – Just a short one today on this. What I can’t understand is why Numb3rs’ episode order was cut short but not this show? The former is a better performer and is on Friday to boot. It pulled a 1.6 rating this week, up slightly from last week but still nothing to write home about and is still CBS’ worst performing scripted show. Yes, worse than Three Rivers even.
My Prediction: I can’t see how but it’ll make it to 22 and finish

The Others -

- Smallville – Posted series highs last week and isn’t going anywhere, even if Zod gains the powers of the yellow sun. Will be picked up for next year.

- The Forgotten - Will end its 18 episode run and be gone.

- Hank - Fell to a series low 1.2 rating this week. Hasn’t got a chance of a back 9 pickup & lucky to finish its limited run.

- The Middle – I don’t know. If paired with Modern Family it would probably do much better. Wait and See…..

- Trauma - 13 Episodes. NBC has pulled the plug.

- Dollhouse – Replaced by a Bones rerun which outrated it by 50%. 13 and out.

- Brothers - Didn’t air due to a House rerun which also outrated it by 50%. Possibly run until the end of the season.

- Law and Order – Posted its season best numbers on Friday (1.7/1.8) Was I wrong to count it out so early? Nope. 18 and Out.

- Gary Unmarried/ New Adventures of Old Christine – A 2.0 rating last week. Nothing special. Similar to last season. Possible 2010 pickup.

- Heroes - Now that House is back on FOX, Heroes dropped to a 2.3 rating last night which definitely isn’t enough to save this expensive show. Gone after 18.

According to various reports around the web, Ugly Betty is being moved from its 8pm Friday slot to an undisclosed slot on Wednesdays. My Guess? 10pm in a possible swap with soon-to-end Eastwick.

Betty has been averaging a 1.4 rating and around 4.5 million viewers in the Friday timeslot, down nearly 50% vs. last year. ABC must be hoping that it does better in the 10pm slot, as Eastwick is averaging a 1.7 and 5 million viewers.