By David Bauder, Media Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --At some point, a television sensation becomes just another show. The numbers illustrate how that's become the case with AMC's drama, "The Walking Dead."
The zombies are taking a break at the halfway point of their ninth season, following an episode on Sunday that was seen by 5.1 million people. The Nielsen company said that at a similar point last year, the midseason finale reached 7.9 million people.
For the first seven episodes of the season, the show's viewership was down 23 percent compared with last year for people who watched on the night of its premiere, and down 21 percent when people who record it and watch within three days are taken into account, Nielsen said. Increasing numbers of the show's fans, particularly younger ones, are waiting a couple of days to see a new episode.
The high point for "The Walking Dead" was its seventh season opener, seen by 21 million people.
AMC acknowledges the drop in popularity, which is hardly unusual for television shows as they age. The network says it is hard for "The Walking Dead" to compete with the ratings standard set when it was a cultural touchstone, but that it's still television's second-ranked drama behind NBC's "This is Us" among youthful viewers.
The network is also encouraged that the show survived the departure of star Andrew Lincoln earlier this season without a major drop in viewership. New episodes for "The Walking Dead" begin again in February.
Nielsen said 23.7 million people watched coverage of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in New York, making it the most popular entertainment program on television since the Oscars. The absence of longtime host Matt Lauer, fired from NBC's "Today" show because of sexual misconduct shortly after the parade last year, made little difference to viewers. Last year's show was seen by 24.1 million. NBC's parade coverage was hosted by Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Al Roker this year.
Football dominated the primetime ratings over Thanksgiving week, giving NBC a big edge. NBC averaged 9.1 million viewers, CBS had 6.4 million, ABC had 4.6 million, Fox had 2.9 million, ION Television had 1.5 million, Univision had 1.2 million, Telemundo had 1.1 million and the CW had 1 million.
ESPN was the week's most popular cable network, averaging 4.3 million in prime time. Hallmark averaged 2.67 million, Fox News Channel had 1.55 million, MSNBC had 1.19 million and USA had 1.13 million.
NBC's "Nightly News" topped the evening newscasts with an average of 9.2 million viewers. ABC's "World News Tonight" was second with 8.9 million and the "CBS Evening News" had 6.5 million viewers.
Below are primetime viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for Nov. 19-25. Listings include the week’s ranking and viewership.
1. “NFL Post-Game Show,” Fox, 23.36 million.
2. NFL Football: Atlanta at New Orleans, NBC, 21.73 million.
3. NFL Football: Green Bay at Minnesota, NBC, 20.44 million.
4. NFL Football: Kansas City at L.A. Rams, ESPN, 16.89 million.
5. “NFL Pre-Game Show” (Thursday), NBC, 15.33 million.
6. “NFL Pre-Game Show” (Sunday), NBC, 14.17 million.
7. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 12.96 million.
8. “NCIS,” CBS, 11.95 million.
9. “Football Night in America,” NBC, 10.71 million.
10. “NFL Pre-Game Show, Part 2” (Thursday), NBC, 9.6 million.
11. “FBI,” CBS, 8.92 million.
12. “The Voice” (Tuesday), NBC, 8.23 million.
13. “God Friended Me,” CBS, 8.09 million.
14. “This is Us,” NBC, 7.92 million.
15. “The Voice” (Monday), NBC, 7.884 million.
16. “Dancing With the Stars,” ABC, 7.883 million.
17. College Football: Notre Dame at USC, ABC, 7.74 million.
18. “NCIS: New Orleans,” CBS, 7.47 million.
19. “Football Night in America, Part 2,” NBC, 7.32 million.
20. “NCIS: Los Angeles,” CBS, 7.2 million.
ABC and ESPN are 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