By David Bauder, Media Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --The impeachment drama surrounding President Donald Trump, or at least various spins on it, is a compelling television draw.
Fox News Channel, MSNBC and CNN collectively averaged just under 5.4 million viewers in prime time last week, the Nielsen company said. It was a week dominated by the news of the House Judiciary Committee's vote to impeach Trump.
That puts the news on par with the NBC, Fox and CBS entertainment networks, which each averaged between 5.4 and 5.9 million viewers last week.
Thirty-four of the 40 most-watched cable programs last week were news shows, the bulk of them on Fox News Channel.
Ellen DeGeneres' primetime prize giveaway proved to be a holiday season winner for NBC, which led all networks with an average of 5.9 million viewers in prime time last week.
Fox was second with an average of 5.5 million viewers, Nielsen said. CBS had 5.4 million, ABC had 3.1 million, ION Television had 1.2 million, Univision had 1.1 million, the CW had 940,000 and Telemundo had 860,000.
Fox News Channel was the week's most popular cable network, averaging 2.96 million viewers in primetime. ESPN had 2.39 million, Hallmark had 1.66 million, MSNBC had 1.55 million and A&E had 1.06 million.
ABC's "World News Tonight" topped the evening newscasts with an average of 8.6 million viewers. NBC's "Nightly News" was second with 8 million and the "CBS Evening News" had 5.8 million viewers.
For the week of Dec. 9-15, the top 20 shows, their networks and viewerships:
1. NFL Football: Buffalo at Pittsburgh, NBC, 18.14 million.
2. "NFL Pregame Show," NBC, 13.45 million.
3. "The OT," Fox, 12.14 million.
4. NFL Football: N.Y. Jets at Baltimore, Fox, 12.14 million.
5. NFL Football: N.Y. Giants at Philadelphia, ESPN, 11.8 million.
6. "Football Night in America, Part 3," NBC, 9.4 million.
7. "The Voice" (Tuesday), NBC, 8.32 million.
8. "The Voice" (Monday), NBC, 8.23 million.
9. "Young Sheldon," CBS, 8.21 million.
10. "60 Minutes," CBS, 8.05 million.
11. "NCIS," CBS, 7.48 million.
12. "NFL Pregame Show," Fox, 7.3 million.
13. "Kennedy Center Honors," 6.92 million.
14. "The Masked Singer," Fox, 6.9 million.
15. "Ellen's Great Giveaway" (Tuesday), NBC, 6.85 million.
16. "Survivor," CBS, 6.82 million.
17. "Hawaii Five-0," CBS, 6.57 million.
18. "Mom," CBS, 6.25 million.
19. "The Neighborhood," CBS, 6.14 million.
20. "Magnum, P.I., CBS, 6.12 million.
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