Crystal Bowersox and Lee DeWyze on "American Idol" with Ryan Seacrest. Vincent Bucci/Fox

Nielsen last week released the top broadcast shows from the past season, ended May 26, 2010, based on total viewers. “American Idol” was tops as usual but by a much smaller margin than it used to be, with ratings down about 10 percent from 2009.

Here are the top 20 in (000s). Among those outside the top 20 that used to be in the top 20: House (21), Lost (25), 24 (7), Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (39). Highest rated show to get axed: Cold Case (34). Lowest ranked show: High Society (ranked 124)

1 AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY FOX 24,714

2 AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY FOX 23,461

3 DANCING WITH THE STARS ABC 19,725

4 NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL NBC 18,782

5 NCIS CBS 18,699

6 UNDERCOVER BOSS CBS 17,732

7 THE MENTALIST CBS 16,828

8 CSI CBS 15,820

9 NCIS: LA CBS 15,667

10 DANCING WITH THE STARS RESULTS ABC 15,298

11 TWO AND A HALF MEN CBS 14,625

12 THE BIG BANG THEORY CBS 14,224

13 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES ABC …

Continue reading Top broadcast TV shows 2009-10: ‘Idol,’ ‘Dancing With the Stars,’ ‘NBC Sunday Night Football’ »

Sure, “Lost,” “24″ and “American Idol” are gone. But the networks are churning out dozens of returning summer shows in the next couple of weeks.

Just this week alone, you get reality hits such as TLC’s “Cake Boss,” History Channel’s “Ice Road Truckers,” Fox’s “Hell’s Kitchen,” Food Network’s “Next Food Network Star” and ABC’s guilty pleasure “Wipeout.” (left)

And there are some big scripted hits, too, such as USA’s one-two punch of “Burn Notice” and “Royal Pains” Thursday and Lifetime’s “Drop Dead Diva” Sunday.

Fans of the National Spelling Bee should tune in on Friday on ABC while MTV Movie Awards fans should check out that special Sunday night.

MONDAY
“The Bachelorette” 8 p.m. ABC — So far, the dorky weatherman and the strange wrestler have survived the cut.
“Cake Boss” 9 p.m. TLC (third season debut) — Buddy makes a cake for the New Jersey governor and a special cake for his wife.
“America The Story of Us: Millennium” 10 p.m. History (first season finale) — Assessing the …

Continue reading TV best bets with the returns of ‘Cake Boss,’ ‘Ice Road Truckers,’ ‘Hell’s Kitchen,’ ‘Wipeout,’ ‘Drop Dead Diva,’ »

Yes, CBS picked up “$#*! My Dad Says”, despite the profane name, which it called “Bleep My Dad Says.” The Parents Council is not pleased.

Here is an extended preview of the show, which will air at 8:30 p.m. Thursdays after “Big Bang Theory,” a major sign of confidence. It also bumps long-time denizen “Survivor” to Wednesday at 8 p.m.

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It’s hard to believe William Shatner has never done a traditional three-camera comedy because this show has promise:

Continue reading Preview the fall CBS show based on Twitter: ‘$#*! My Dad Says’ »

V-103 has not renewed the contract of Miss Sophia (nee Joe Taylor), who was part of the Frank and Wanda morning show.

In an interview today, Miss Sophia said he wasn’t given any real reason why the station chose to drop him beyond “we want to go in a different direction.” That’s the equivalent of saying, “It’s not you, it’s me” in personal relationships.

Miss Sophia was the first drag queen to be a regular on Atlanta radio. He spent more than four years at V-103 doing the entertainment report when Frank and Wanda remained the dominant No. 1 show in the city.

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His closer has become a classic: “When I talk, you talk, we talk, that’s girrrrrl talk on the people’s station, V to the 103.” He trills the “three” with gusto.

“I’m not shocked,” Miss Sophia said. He said he saw the signs that things were coming to an end but didn’t get into details. (I’m in New …

Continue reading V-103’s Miss Sophia let go »

Brooke Elliott, who plays Jane Bingum, on set in Peachtree City for 'Drop Dead Diva.' Photo credit: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

Lifetime in 2007 picked up its first big dramatic hit in “Army Wives.” Last year, it imported its first successful reality show in “Project Runway” from Bravo. And the estrogen-laden network found its first hit comedy in “Drop Dead Diva,” which returns for a second season June 6.

The show is set in a law firm, akin to “Ally McBeal.” It has a “Heaven Can Wait” conceit: a model named Deb dies and gets placed in the body of an attorney. But lead character Jane Bingum isn’t Ally McBeal stick thin. Rather, she’s plus sized, especially by Hollywood standards.

Angela Stalcup, a 44-year-old Atlantan who writes a blog Curvy Life with a focus on body image, said when she saw promos for the show, she was livid: “I was concerned there’d be a vapid skinny girl punished for leading a bad life by being trapped in the body of a fat girl.”

But she said the show surprised …

Continue reading Lifetime’s ‘Drop Dead Diva’ brightens up Peachtree City »

VH1’s reality show “What Chilli Wants,” which features TLC’s Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas seeking a man, has gotten a second season nod.

The show averaged 1.3 million viewers in its freshman year on Sunday nights, a good figure for VH1. It was a consistent performer the past few weeks, though it drooped a bit versus the “Lost” finale for its first-season finale this past Sunday.

Two other new reality shows “Brandy & Ray J: A Family Business” and “Basketball Wives” both get renewals as well.

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Continue reading VH1 renews Atlanta’s ‘What Chilli Wants’ for a second season »

The hoopla over the end of “Law & Order” and “24″ forever did not boost the ratings for either show.

“24″ on Fox Monday night took home 8.9 million viewers for its final show, the same as a week earlier and below the season average.

“Law & Order” Monday drew 7.6 million, also typical for that show in its 20th season.

ABC’s “Lost” finale Sunday did see a jump to 13.4 million, up from the 9 to 10 million viewers it’s been getting in recent weeks. That’s the best performance the show has had since season four but far below its typical numbers its first couple of years on the air. As a serialized show, some folks had long given up on it and had little incentive to jump in at the end.

-”Dancing With the Stars” finale last night drew 18.4 million with a 3.8 rating among 18 to 49, 27 percent lower than a year ago in that demographic. It faced heavy competition and the results were not surprising. “Idol” is also down 20 percent with 19.5 million viewers last night.

-NBC’s “The …

Continue reading ‘Lost’ gets good, not great ratings; ‘24,’ ‘Law & Order’ don’t get a series finale boost »

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Nicole Scherzinger overcame perceptions that she had an unfair advantage with her dancing credits and defeated Olympian Evan Lysacek for the 10th season “Dancing With the Stars” mirror-ball trophy.

The Pussycat Dolls lead singer consistently garnered superior judges’ scores throughout the season and finished the night with a perfect score on her exuberant final dance.

Lysacek also had an advantage of being an Olympian (three others have won before) and a figure-skating background which lent itself well on the dance floor.

“It’s been such a blast,” Evan said. “She deserved it.”

On paper, before the competition even began, it was easy to pick Nicole and Evan as contenders given their resumes. Neither disappointed.

Not surprisingly, Atlanta-based ESPN broadcaster Erin Andrews came in third. She lagged behind the other two throughout …

Continue reading Who won ‘Dancing With the Stars’? »

VH1 earlier this month began shooting a new movie “Single Ladies” here in Atlanta starring Lauren London (”ATL”), Lisa Raye McCoy (left, “All of Us”) and Stacy Dash (”Clueless”).

The film is about three African-American single women in Atlanta “Sex and the City” style. VH1, with reality shows such as “Basketball Wives” and “What Chilli Wants,” has been aggressively building its audience among African-American women.

Queen Latifah’s company Flavor Unit Entertainment is producing it but I have no idea if she’ll actually pop up on screen.

McCoy is half sister of Atlanta rap artist Da Brat and is on a TV One reality show about herself called “Lisa Raye: The Real McCoy”).

The film, which has nothing to do with Beyonce despite the title, isn’t set to make it on VH1 until 2011.

Continue reading New VH1/Queen Latifah produced movie ‘Single Ladies’ shooting in Atlanta with Lisa Raye McCoy »

It’s nearing two months and Rihanna’s “Rude Boy” continues to play nonstop on Atlanta’s radio stations.

But the reign may be coming to an end soon. There’s now only a 31-spin gap between “Rude Boy” and long-time runner-up and Atlanta artist B.o.B’s “Nothing On You,” which was played 301 times the past week on five radio stations: the Beat (100), Hot (29), V-103 (51), Groove (58) and Q100 (63).

The top 10 did see four new additions, most notably Atlanta R&B king Usher’s “OMB” jumping from 17 to 7 with the greatest gain of the week: 48 more spins.

The nation’s No. 1 top 40 single “Break Your Heart” by newcomer Taio Cruz jumps to No. 8 from 13. Train’s “Hey Soul Sister” sneaks back into the top 10 at No. 9. And Young Jeezy’s “Lose My Mind” comes in at 10. (Iyaz’s “Replay” finally falls out of the top 10 after many months, falling to 11. “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga also ended a long run in the top 10, dropping from 6 to 15 but her new single “Telephone” is at No. 3.)

The top 10 …

Continue reading Seven weeks at top for Rihanna’s ‘Rude Boy’ in Atlanta radio »