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.
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