Post by Forever Xena on Jun 9, 2005 5:34:19 GMT -6
'4400' Down but Still Strong; 'Comeback' Needs One
(Tuesday, June 07 02:03 PM)
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) Audiences are still interested in "The 4400" -- but not as much as they were last year.
The USA Network series opened its second season Sunday (June 5) in front of nearly 5.3 million viewers, tops on cable for the night. It also ranked as the most-watched non-sports broadcast on cable for the week.
That's the good news. The bad news is that the two-hour season premiere fell well short of "The 4400's" series debut last July. That episode, also two hours, drew more than 7 million viewers, a rare accomplishment for a cable program that's not a sporting event or "The Sopranos." The series' first season went on to average 6.2 million viewers over its five-week run.
Nonetheless, 5 million viewers is nothing to sneeze at. USA also says the 2.4 rating among adults 18-49 for "The 4400" was the best by a basic-cable original series this year.
Sunday's other big cable premieres -- HBO's showbiz comedies "Entourage" and "The Comeback" -- didn't fare as well. Although "Entourage" received largely positive critical response, the second-season premiere drew only about 1.6 million viewers, down from 1.9 million for its series premiere last year.
"The Comeback," which stars ex-"Friend" Lisa Kudrow as a faded sitcom actress and was greeted with a critical beatdown, followed "Entourage" with 1.5 million viewers. Both shows were beaten by a repeat showing of the movie "The Girl Next Door" (1.7 million) on HBO later that night.
(Tuesday, June 07 02:03 PM)
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) Audiences are still interested in "The 4400" -- but not as much as they were last year.
The USA Network series opened its second season Sunday (June 5) in front of nearly 5.3 million viewers, tops on cable for the night. It also ranked as the most-watched non-sports broadcast on cable for the week.
That's the good news. The bad news is that the two-hour season premiere fell well short of "The 4400's" series debut last July. That episode, also two hours, drew more than 7 million viewers, a rare accomplishment for a cable program that's not a sporting event or "The Sopranos." The series' first season went on to average 6.2 million viewers over its five-week run.
Nonetheless, 5 million viewers is nothing to sneeze at. USA also says the 2.4 rating among adults 18-49 for "The 4400" was the best by a basic-cable original series this year.
Sunday's other big cable premieres -- HBO's showbiz comedies "Entourage" and "The Comeback" -- didn't fare as well. Although "Entourage" received largely positive critical response, the second-season premiere drew only about 1.6 million viewers, down from 1.9 million for its series premiere last year.
"The Comeback," which stars ex-"Friend" Lisa Kudrow as a faded sitcom actress and was greeted with a critical beatdown, followed "Entourage" with 1.5 million viewers. Both shows were beaten by a repeat showing of the movie "The Girl Next Door" (1.7 million) on HBO later that night.