By David Bauder, Television Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --Family-friendly programming is doing well this holiday season for NBC, which has a rare three-week winning streak in the television ratings.
The Dolly Parton movie, “Coat of Many Colors,” reached more than 13 million viewers. That landed the program in the Nielsen company’s weekly Top Ten last week, and exceeded the viewership for the live production of “The Wiz” earlier this month. Preliminary ratings show that NBC did well on Monday night with the Adele concert special.
Michael Buble’s “Christmas in Hollywood” on NBC was the week’s top-ranked holiday program.
The less family-friendly “Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show” on CBS was seen by 6.6 million viewers, Nielsen said.
NBC averaged 8.6 million viewers in prime time. CBS had 8 million viewers, ABC had 4.5 million, Fox had 4.3 million, Univision had 2 million, the CW had 1.7 million, Telemundo had 1.6 million and ION Television had 1.3 million.
ESPN was the week’s most popular cable network, averaging 3 million viewers in prime time. TBS had 2.11 million viewers, Fox News Channel had 1.92 million, AMC had 1.79 million and USA had 1.67 million.
NBC’s “Nightly News” topped the evening newscasts with an average of 9 million viewers. ABC’s “World News Tonight” was second with 8.5 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 7.5 million viewers.
Primetime viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for Dec. 7-13. Listings include the week’s ranking and viewership.
1. NFL Football: New England at Houston, NBC, 20.99 million.
2. “Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kick,” NBC, 16.25 million.
3. “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 15.27 million.
4. NFL Football: Dallas at Washington, ESPN, 14.15 million.
5. “The Voice” (Tuesday), NBC, 13.13 million.
6. “The OT,” Fox, 13.05 million.
7. Movie: “Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors,” NBC, 13.03 million.
8. “The Voice” (Monday), NBC, 12.25 million.
9. “Football Night in America,” NBC, 11.95 million.
10. “NCIS,” CBS, 11.42 million.
11. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 10.65 million.
12. “Madam Secretary,” CBS, 10.14 million.
13. “Blue Bloods,” CBS, 9.95 million.
14. “Survivor,” CBS, 9.91 million.
15. “Chicago Med,” NBC, 9.6 million.
16. “NCIS: Los Angeles,” CBS, 9.52 million.
17. “NCIS: New Orleans,” CBS, 9.38 million.
18. “Scorpion,” CBS, 9.3 million.
19. “Criminal Minds,” CBS, 9.27 million.
20. “Chicago Fire,” NBC, 9.13 million.
Review: Writer-Director Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance”
In its first two hours, "The Substance" is a well-made, entertaining movie. Writer-director Coralie Fargeat treats audiences to a heavy dose of biting social commentary on ageism and sexism in Hollywood, with a spoonful of sugar- and sparkle-doused body horror.
But the film's deliciously unhinged, blood-soaked and inevitably polarizing third act is what makes it unforgettable.
What begins as a dread-inducing but still relatively palatable sci-fi flick spirals deeper into absurdism and violence, eventually erupting — quite literally — into a full-blown monster movie. Let the viewer decide who the monster is.
Fargeat — who won best screenplay at this year's Cannes Film Festival — has been vocal about her reverence for "The Fly" director David Cronenberg, and fans of the godfather of body horror will see his unmistakable influence. But "The Substance" is also wholly unique and benefits from Fargeat's perspective, which, according to the French filmmaker, has involved extensive grappling with her own relationship to her body and society's scrutiny.
"The Substance" tells the story of Elisabeth Sparkle, a famed aerobics instructor with a televised show, played by a powerfully vulnerable Demi Moore. Sparkle is fired on her 50th birthday by a ruthless executive — a perfectly cast Dennis Quaid, who nails sleazy and gross.
Feeling rejected by a town that once loved her and despairing over her bygone star power, Sparkle learns from a handsome young nurse about a black-market drug that promises to create a "younger, more beautiful, more perfect" version of its user. Though she initially tosses the phone number in the trash, she soon fishes it out in a desperate panic and places an order.
The one rule to follow is that... Read More