NFL Week 1 Ratings: Sunday virtually even with last, "MNF" doubleheader hits 4 year high.

The NFL returned for its 100th season and the ratings were pretty even with last year. First CBS' singleheader  (1 or 4:05 pm) had 15.3 million, down from the 17 million it pulled last year. Worth mentioning that that window featured a close Pats/Texans game and a tie between the Steelers and the Browns. This year's window had mostly matchups that were blowouts outside of the Bills coming back to beat the Jets. And the much hyped Browns got chased out of their own field by Tennessee late in the game. So much for this "new" Browns team. Also, the 4:05 slate (Colts/Chargers, Bengals/Seahawks) was more fun to watch.

Moving over to FOX, the early 1 pm window (mostly Redskins/Eagles) had 12.6 million, just a smidgen up from last year (12.5 million). The 4:25 window (mostly Giants/Cowboys) had near 23.9 million, up from last year's 23.3 million and it was FOX's most watched week 1 window since 2016 which ironically enough, featured the Giants and the Cowboys).

Going over to Sunday night, the Patriots' beatdown of the Steelers had 22.2 million on NBC, slightly up from last year's 22.1 million (Bears/Packers). Matchup wise, it was down from last December (24 million on CBS).

Finally on Monday Night Football, the Texans/Saints thriller had 13 million, up big from Jets/Lions (10.1 million) and the mostime watched week 1 MNF game since 2015. The second game of the doubleheader (Broncos/Raiders) had 10.6 million, up from Raiders/Rams last year which had 9.6 million. It was also the most watched late game since 2015. The "F AB" chant that Raiders fans used was kind of satisfying.

Overall, the NFL should be happy with these ratings. While there were no big gains, there were no big downfalls either. Only one window (the CBS 1 pm block) was down from last year.

Not so perfect

Things may be ending in Beacon Heights. The Freeform drama, Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists may not be returning for a second season. Okay, there hasn't been any official news on the show's future but it don't look too good. 

I mean, it wouldn't be too surprising if the show does get the ax. The show actually underperformed in the ratings most of the time. One episode had 174,000 viewers. That's just plain awful, even for cable drama standards. Another reason could be the fact it had to compete against the CW hit, Riverdale which had its way with the show every time. But according to TVSeriesFinale, the 10 episodes averaged 260k. While that is one of Freeform's lowest rated series, it is slightly ahead of the renewed The Bold Type which in its third season averaged 237k. 

So the show has a okay chance of getting renewed, but the chances seem slim to none at this point. I can understand why viewers bailed after the pilot. At times, the show felt empty and dull and lacking all the fun and over the top campiness the original PLL had. And also, not a lot of shocking or OMG type moments. Kind of a shame that the finale actually ended on a  intriguing note where the OG Liars and The Perfectionists have to stick together and look out at every corner. 

The show's future is still very much in question. Will we know who The Professor is or will it remain a mystery? I guess to use a TV cliche, To Be Continued. 

TV Ratings Thursday: FOX nabs demo win while CBS wins in viewers.

On the first official day of summer, it was CBS that actually won in total viewers despite 4 new premieres that aired across ABC and FOX. But FOX nabbed a demo victory thanks to summer veteran Masterchef and new game show Spin The Wheel.

Starting with ABC, new competition series "Holey Moley" which is produced by Steph Curry scored a not too bad 4.82 million and a 1.0 in the demo. It topped all other programs in the demo at 8 pm and was just a smidgen beyond CBS' "Big Bang Theory" rerun (4.84 mil) for first place in viewers for the night. And "Moley" was the top program for ABC that night and it was up from last year's now canceled "The Gong Show" in that timeslot. But the positives stop there. New cooking series "Family Food Fight" had a dismal start with 2.91 million and a 0.6 in the demo. That was down solidly from its "Moley" lead in and even trailed what "Match Game" had in that timeslot last summer. In other words, consider this a not good start. Also, new drama "Reef Break" actually kept most of the FFF audience with 2.85 mil and a 0.5 in the demo. The new Poppy Montgomery series topped 10 pm in the demos, but was second in total viewers.

Elsewhere, FOX's new game show "Spin The Wheel" had a decent start with 3.45 million, up from its "Masterchef" lead in (2.80 million). "Wheel" had a 0.8 in the demo while "Masterchef" had a 0.7 which was good enough to take the demo win overall for FOX.

On NBC, a rerun of "The Wall" scored (3.23 mil, 0.5). It was followed by back to back reruns of "Law and Order: SVU" (2.35 mil, 0.3), and (2.65 mil, 0.4).

CBS took the viewer crown with reruns of "Big Bang Theory" (4.84 mil, 0.7), "Young Sheldon" (4.55 mil, 0.6), burnoff episodes of canceled "Life In Pieces" which will ends its series run next week (4.09 mil, 0.6) and (3.60 mil, 0.5), and soon to conclude "Elementary" (3.41 mil, 0.4).

The CW was typical with soon to end "iZombie" (685k, 0.2) and "In The Dark" which concludes its first season next week (623k, 0.2).

Tonight, another typical quiet Friday night on TV.

Maybe it is, maybe it isn't

I guess even the cast being there doesn't guarantee a renewal. Freeform sent 3 of the Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists stars to their annual upfronts. Sofia Carson, Sasha Pieterse, and Janel Parrish all dressed up for the occasion. So one would think the show was renewed right? Well, not really. There was no news about the show at all and fans are still biting their nails wondering about the future of the show. Instead, fellow Freeform show The Bold Type got a fourth season and was the only show besides Siren to get a renewal. So that and popular series Cloak and Dagger didn't get a renewal announcement either. In that case it's strange as well because the Marvel series does quite well for the network despite a pretty noticable decline in ratings from last season And reportedly, Olivia Holt who stars in the show was there as well.

So why in the world would Freeform sent some of their stars there just to tell them they're not sure about the show's future. I'm sure they didn't send them there just to take photos. Perhaps maybe they used them to promote the show? Let's face it, Perfectionists hasn't been setting the ratings world on fire. The lowest rated episode this season had 174k. Now it did air against The Billboard Music Awards so that could be why. Another problem for the show is that it airs against CW's Riverdale which is another social media magnet. But since the new spinoff debuted, the show has mostly been in the 700k-800k range. So maybe the show has put a dent into Archie and friends.

Slice it any way you want, there's no denying that PLL's ratings aren't hot. But it's still really weird that Freeform sent in 3 of the Perfectionists stars and their show wasn't mentioned. So is it renewed? Who knows? I guess we'll have to keep playing the waiting game. And the season (and hopefully not) series finale airs next Wednesday. So if you want another season, better watch tonight and next Wednesday.

The Men of Feud Part 1

Alongside being a sports fan, I'm also a game show lover. One of my favorite all time game shows is Family Feud. Debuting in 1976, the show has featured families battling it out by answering questions based off a survey of 100 people. The show has spawned countless international versions, primetime celebrity spinoffs, merchandise, you name it. But the main success I think has been the hosts behind it. There have been 6 hosts for the show, Richard Dawson, Ray Combs, Louie Anderson, Richard Karn, John O' Hurley, and current MC Steve Harvey. I thought I decided to rank them from my most favorite to least favorite.

1. Steve Harvey

He's the reason why the show is still on the air today. He took a show that was dangerously close to being canceled and breathed new life into it. The show then got its highest ratings ever, got moved to the prime access slots and got a ton of viral moments out of it. And he's also very funny. Okay, I do think he needs to calm down a bit but Nielsen likes him so who am I to argue? He has many critics out there who think he "ruined" the show. But Steve brought the show to new heights it hasn't seen since perhaps Dawson hosted. Thanks to him, Feud was relevant again and perhaps more popular than ever before.

2. Richard Dawson

The original host, he hosted from 1976-1985 and for one return season from 1994-1995. He of course was a great host, he interacted very well with the families and gave off some humorous remarks when called for. Perhaps most know him as the "kissing bandit". He took any opportunity to kiss a lady and it became a trademark. Personally, it didn't bother me that much but it does like a little creepy today. Nowadays, he'd get thrown off the air if he did something like that. But while he was a great host, his ego unfortunately got the best of him. During his last 2 or 3 years hosting the show, he was on autopilot. It also didn't help the fact that some producers have said that Dawson was a prick to work with. But even with all that, he could masterfully host a show with a effortless style. Sadly, his brief return in the 90s wasn't memorable. He mumbled his way through it and it was forgettable. But Richard will go down in game show history.

3. Ray Combs

When the show returned to CBS in 1988 with new host Ray Combs, people probably were skeptical of him and didn't think he could fit in Dawson's shoes. Boy, did he prove them wrong. Not only did he host the show very well, he was also charming and funny too. I think the one advantage Combs has over Harvey is that Ray didn't chew up a lot of camera time. I do think Steve needs to tone it down a bit and let the contestants be the stars. Ray also had a nice personality to him. Didn't seem like a jerk or tried too hard, he just wanted them to win and was generally happy when they did. Dark times though did come as when the ratings were sinking, Combs was fired from the show. Afterwards, he had a ton of personal problems that sadly led to his suicide in 1996. Terrible ending for a funny and good host of the Feud.

That's it for now. In Part 2, I'll give my thoughts on the other 3 hosts.

Grumblings about Disney Channel

My problem with Disney Channel now is the fact that I don't really care much for it like I used to. Sure they do have a couple of tolerable shows like Andi Mack, but lately they have been putting out stupid stuff. A good example would be Bizaardvark, a show featuring two young teenage girls making viral videos on their channel. Hm, doesn't that sound familiar (I-Carly). Except that show was actually good and wasn't annoying. I swear if that show gets a 4th season while the much superior Girl Meets World doesn't, there isn't any justice in the world. Also, for some odd reason, Jessie (another show I never much cared for) is still on the lineup. First of all, its last original episode aired in 2015. That was over 3 years ago. While it mostly airs during the late night hours, on some days, it gets some afternoon slots. My only guess as to why the show is still on the lineup is that its spinoff Bunk'd, (another show I can't stand) is still producing new episodes and will return for a 4th season. Or Debby Ryan has pictures of someone at Disney Channel.

Though I will admit Disney Channel in the last 5 years did produce some good content like Liv and Maddie, Andi Mack, Girl Meets World, K.C. Undercover, Stuck In the Middle, and Austin and Ally. Those shows had heart to them and had a ton of talented stars behind it. Plus, they had a ton of good messages and didn't try to be viral or trendy like most kid sitcoms nowadays. Which could probably explain why Bizzardvark or the most recent premiere, Coop and Cami Ask The World aren't blowing viewers away. Disney Channel I believe can still be good. Just focus on shows that can relate to the viewers and not the ones that are like "Hey, we're with it and hip!".

A Cinderella Story If The Shoe Fits Review

This morning, I watched A Cinderella Story If The Shoe Fits. And it was okay. It's basically Hannah Montana 2.0, but star Sofia Carson shines enough to make the film watchable (I'm a Carson fan BTW). The premise is that Tessa (Carson) is a tomboyish auto mechanic who on the side dreams of becoming a singer. The opening sequence was a cheap knockoff of Greased Lighting, but it's a direct to video film. It's not like they had an Avengers sized budget after all. However, Tessa is forced to be a slave to Divine (Jennifer Tilly) and her evil stepsisters as she is supposed to help them land the role for you guessed it, a Cinderella musical. And one of the leads is Reed (Thomas Law) who of course is the generic love interest for Tessa. Tessa meets Georgie, her fairy godmother of sorts who tells her to go do the musical even if her stepmother tells her not to. And Tessa goes under the disguise of Hannah Mont errr Bella Snow. She puts on a flaunty British personality to impress Reed which actually works. As you were figure, Tessa has a pretty beautiful singing voice and it's clear she'll get the lead role alongside Reed. As the film goes on, she goes back and fourth going between Tessa and Bella for shenanigans. At one point, Tessa believes that Reed is going to be engaged to some blonde lady whose name I forgot. That's probably because she had such a minor and unimportant role. Reed says that he had no romantic interests in her and that his first true love was Tessa. Of course, Divine is suspicious that Bella is odd and she does find out that it was Tessa in disguise and even locks her up to prevent her from going after Reed. After a while, Reed finds out about who Bella really is and still likes her. Covered in filth, Tessa gets transformed into a beautiful princess and it ends with her and Reed riding in her motorcycle driving off into the sunset.

Sofia delivers a pretty charming performance as both Tessa, the auto loving tomboy with a heart of gold and Bella, the British side with an angelic voice. At least she got to show off her good talents here and didn't have to do any cringe worthy rapping she did in Adventures In Babysitting. All in all, the film is fine and generally inoffensive. Yeah, the film may sort of rip off Hannah Montana and in a way, its feature film, but it has enough charm, humor, and heart to be enjoyable.