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[07/02/03 - 12:00 AM] Cable Originals Battling for the Spotlight By Brian Ford Sullivan (TFC) |
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CHICAGO (thefutoncritic.com) -- With the June ratings period (May 26-June 29) officially a wrap, some basic cable networks are finding their original offerings are fighting an uphill battle to attract viewers.
Here's a breakdown of the latest rumblings:
-- FX is probably having the toughest time out of all of the basic cable networks. Its two latest originals: "Lucky" and "The Orlando Jones Show" have not been the ratings grabbers the network had hoped. Particularly disappointing has been "Lucky" which many expected to rebound this past month with the broadcast networks having wrapped their regular season. That hasn't been the case as the comedy saw its adults 18-49 average drop to a 0.55 rating during the period, lowering its season-to-date average to a 0.77 rating. The same bad news applies to "Jones," as the late-night talk show fell more than 60% from its opening week numbers by the end of June in the key demographic (0.24 vs. 0.60 rating). The series only saving grace has been its performance among African-American viewers where it scores a 0.66 rating among the 18-49 demographic.
-- USA on the other hand has had better, albeit mixed, results thanks to its original series "Monk." The second season bow of the drama was the most-watched episode of the series to date, securing a 4.1 household rating. Nevertheless, week two of its new season saw its viewership fall by 1.4 million total viewers (4.0 million vs. 5.4 million). Further complicating matters is the lack of another fresh installment of the series until July 11 due to the national holiday this Friday. Despite such dark clouds, "Monk" remains a key component to USA's original series strategy. A new drama, "Peacemakers," kicks off on July 30 and "The Dead Zone" returns for seven new episodes this Sunday.
-- MTV's June offerings also garnered a mixed bag of results. New Sunday series "Doggy Fizzle Televizzle" and "Who's Got Game" scored respectable numbers, topping the network's previous time slot average by 30%. Returning series "The Real World" and "The Osbournes" however weren't so lucky as both were off from year-to-year comparisions. Nevertheless, MTV's new late-night series "The New Tom Green Show" has been a surprise hit for the network, posting a strong 1.1 rating among MTV's target demographic of persons 12-34.
-- Game Show Network has seen its aggressive Sunday night lineup fail to meet expectations. After two weeks, neither "Chuck Woolery: Naturally Stoned" nor its lead-out, "Funny Money," topped the network's projected 0.8 household rating for the series.
-- TNT, which doesn't carry original series, has pulled lukewarm responses for its latest batch of original telefilms. This past weekend, the network's mini-series "Caesar" averaged 3.36 million total viewers, 1,553,000 of which were among the coveted adults 18-49 demographic. That's up 23% from TNT's primetime average as of late with Sunday's installment bringing in 3.6 million viewers (1.6 million in adults 18-49) and 3.1 million viewers (1.4 million in adults 18-49) for its conclusion on Monday.
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[08/19/26 - 10:13 AM] Date & Title Announcement: "Jamie Foxx: Take Care of Yourself" The new special from Academy Award-winning acclaimed actor, comedian, singer, and producer Jamie Foxx premieres October 7.
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[08/19/26 - 10:02 AM] 2026 Little League Baseball Region Tournaments Deliver Largest Audience Since 2009 The Metro Region Championship matchup between Darien, Conn., and Bayonne, N.J., on August 14 averaged 1.2 million viewers, making it the third most-watched Little League Baseball Region Tournament game ever.
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[08/19/26 - 09:31 AM] For Third Week in a Row, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" Is the No. 1 Primetime Entertainment Program Among Total Viewers Scoring a new season high among Total Viewers (4.41 million), the August 12 episode earned the show's best performance in over a year.
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[08/19/26 - 09:04 AM] Shudder's Biggest Programming Event of the Year Returns! "Season of Screams" Features a Monster Lineup of New Films, Series and Live Watch Parties from September 1 Through December 31 Highlights include "Joe Bob's Halloween House Party" on Friday, October 23; and the return of "The Boulet Brothers' Dragula" this fall.
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[08/19/26 - 09:03 AM] A&E Crime & Investigation Premieres Coming This Fall New seasons of "Late Night Law," "After the First 48," and "Killer Investigations" will be joined by a bonus episode of "Scott Peterson: The New Evidence."
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[08/19/26 - 08:31 AM] Video: "Untold Mr. T: I Pity The Fool" - Official Trailer - Netflix A retrospective feature documentary about Laurence Tureaud... better known as Mr. T.
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[08/19/26 - 08:31 AM] NBC Sports Names College Football Announce Teams as Season Kicks Off with No. 14 USC Trojans Hosting San Jose State Aug. 29 on NBC and Peacock With the season beginning in 10 days, NBC Sports today named its college football announce roster.
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[08/19/26 - 08:01 AM] "Scary Movie" Launches Exclusively on Paramount+ Starting September 3 Arriving on Paramount+ over 13 years since "Scary Movie 5" and 26 years since the original film, "Scary Movie" brings beloved characters back to the franchise, including the hysterical Wayans Brothers, Marlon and Shawn as Shorty and Ray Wilkins, and the incomparable Anna Faris and Regina Hall as Cindy Campbell and Brenda Meeks.
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[08/19/26 - 08:01 AM] Video: "Earle Meets World" - Official Trailer - Netflix Alix Earle, Gen Z's ultimate "It" girl, gets real in this unscripted, unfiltered series that goes behind the scenes of her life and family.
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[08/19/26 - 08:01 AM] Prime Video Announces Five New Cast for Season Two of Original Series "Bloodaxe" Gard Løkke, Melina Åkerman, Kieran Bew, Sebastian Bull, and George Burgess join the cast for the second season of the historical drama.
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[08/19/26 - 07:01 AM] Video: "Physical 100: Mexico" - Official Trailer - Netflix One hundred competitors from all walks of life battle through grueling physical challenges to determine who will emerge as Mexico's ultimate warrior.
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[08/19/26 - 07:01 AM] Apple TV's Acclaimed Comedy "Bad Monkey" Returns for Season Two on December 2 The 10-episode sophomore season will revolve around an all-new original story and will make its global debut on Apple TV with one episode on Wednesday, December 2, 2026, followed by one new episode every Wednesday through February 3, 2027.
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[08/19/26 - 06:31 AM] Jo Koy Returns to Netflix with His Sixth Stand-Up Special, "Blue in the Face" Filmed in front of a sold out crowd in Stockton, California, Jo Koy relives a wild dental disaster, recounts getting fired from McDonald's and celebrates his veteran stepdad in this hilariously heartfelt special.
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[08/19/26 - 06:10 AM] Paolla Oliveira and Fabiula Nascimento Star in "Imperfect Mother," Netflix's New Melodrama, Which Begins Shooting in Rio de Janeiro Filmed in Rio de Janeiro, the series focuses on human relationships shaped by moral dilemmas, difficult choices and the challenges of starting over.
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[08/19/26 - 06:01 AM] Your First Look at the Cast of "Murderbot" Season 2 The ensemble includes Alexander Skarsgård, Noma Dumezweni, David Dastmalchian, Akshay Khanna, Tamara Podemski, Sabrina Wu, Tattiawna Jones, John Cho, Jack McBrayer, Kali Reis, Clark Gregg, DeWanda Wise, Blair Underwood, Griffin Newman, Jason George, Topher Grace, Patton Oswalt, Brendan Hunt, Nicholas Braun, Britne Oldford, Katy O'Brian, Bridget Everett, Michael Sheen, Wanda Sykes, Martha Plimpton, Tramell Tillman, and Steve Buscemi.
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