By David Bauder, Media Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --CBS soared in the ratings with major plot moves on the season finales of its two most popular shows.
On the comedy “The Big Bang Theory,” Sheldon and Amy’s characters tied the knot, while Pauley Perrette’s character, Abby, signed off from “NCIS” after a decade and a half with the drama. Both programs reached more than 15 million viewers last week, well above any other show on the air, the Nielsen company said.
With the television season coming to an end — and networks presenting next season’s schedules to advertisers in New York this week — broadcasters ran almost exclusively original programs last week.
Of the 20 most-watched shows, 13 were on CBS and four were on ABC. NBC had three, with two of them editions of “The Voice.”
That led CBS to an easy victory in the primetime ratings, as the network averaged 7.1 million viewers. NBC (4.46 million) and ABC (4.44 million) ran neck-and-neck for second. Fox had 2.6 million, Univision had 1.4 million, ION Television had 1.2 million, Telemundo had 1.1 million and the CW had 1 million.
TNT was the most popular cable network, taking advantage of the NBA playoffs to average 2.74 million viewers in primetime. Fox News Channel had 2.43 million, MSNBC had 1.62 million, HGTV had 1.24 million and USA was at 1.19 million.
ABC’s “World News Tonight” topped the evening newscasts with an average of 7.6 million viewers. The “NBC Nightly News” had 7.4 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 5.6 million.
Below are primetime viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for May 7-13. Listings include the week’s ranking and viewership.
1. “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 15.51 million.
2. “NCIS,” CBS, 15.09 million.
3. “Young Sheldon,” CBS, 12.45 million.
4. “Bull,” CBS, 11.78 million.
5. “Roseanne,” ABC, 10.3 million.
6. “Mom,” CBS, 9.08 million.
7. “Blue Bloods,” CBS, 8.88 million.
8. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 8.65 million.
9. “American Idol” (Sunday), ABC, 8.53 million.
10. “The Voice” (Monday), NBC, 8.38 million.
11. “NCIS: New Orleans,” CBS, 8.14 million.
12. “Mom” (Thursday, 9:30 p.m.), CBS, 7.99 million.
13. “Survivor,” CBS, 7.75 million.
14. “Dancing With the Stars: Athletes,” ABC, 7.73 million.
15. “60 Minutes” (Sunday, 8 p.m.), CBS, 7.43 million.
16. “Grey’s Anatomy,” ABC, 7.35 million.
17. “NCIS: Los Angeles,” CBS, 7.32 million.
18. “The Voice” (Tuesday), NBC, 7.26 million.
19. “Hawaii Five-0,” CBS, 7.09 million.
20. “Chicago P.D.,” NBC, 6.35 million.
ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co.; CBS is a division of CBS Corp.; Fox is owned by 21st Century Fox; NBC is owned by NBC Universal.
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More