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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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[08/06/26 - 02:00 PM] Starz Announces Initial Casting for New Untitled Black Rodeo Drama DeWanda Wise, Tian Richards, and Marcus Mitchell are the first to board the family drama set inside the thriving world of Black rodeo in Texas.
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[08/06/26 - 12:00 PM] "Celebrity Crime Scene: Princess Diana" Premieres Thursday, August 20 at 8/7c on FOX The special dives into the theories that have fueled decades of speculation, examining mysterious vehicles in the tunnel, claims of powerful forces in the monarchy determined to silence Diana, and allegations international arms dealers viewed Diana as a dangerous threat that needed to be eliminated.
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[08/06/26 - 11:00 AM] USA Sports Announces Game & Studio Commentators for Inaugural Season of Pac-12 Football Coverage on USA Network The game commentary teams on USA Network will feature play-by-play voice Nate Gatter alongside Ryan Leaf, who was previously announced as USA Sports' lead Pac-12 analyst in June, and sideline reporter Lauren Green.
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[08/06/26 - 10:01 AM] Season Three of the HBO Original Series "Conan O'Brien Must Go" Debuts August 21 New episodes of the four-episode season will debut weekly on Fridays at the same time, concluding with the season finale on Friday, September 11.
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[08/06/26 - 10:01 AM] "Big City Greens" Season 5 Welcomes Star-Studded Guest Cast Stephen King, Luke Combs, Dylan Sprouse, Megan Stalter, Chad Michael Murray, Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes The new season kicks off with the first five episodes premiering August 21 on Disney Channel (8:00 p.m. EDT/PDT) and next day on Disney+.
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[08/06/26 - 10:00 AM] The Sisters of Salt Are Back! Bravo's "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" Returns for Season Seven on Wednesday, Sept. 16 at 8 P.M. ET/PT Returning this season are housewives Lisa Barlow, Mary Cosby, Heather Gay, Angie Katsanevas, Meredith Marks, Bronwyn Newport, Whitney Rose and friend Britani Bateman.
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[08/06/26 - 09:01 AM] Video: Paramount+ Debuts Trailer for the Explosive and Witty Second Season of "Average Joe," Premiering Globally August 19 After the explosive events of season one, Joe Washington is trying to move forward when a mysterious threat targeting his family sends him and the gang to Cape Town, South Africa.
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[08/06/26 - 09:01 AM] Video: "Lovesick" - Official Trailer - Netflix During the Mexican Revolution, Emilia Sauri pursues her dream of becoming a doctor, defying convention in search of love, purpose and independence.
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[08/06/26 - 09:01 AM] Video: Trailer & Key Art - Hulu's "Travis Barker: Louder Than Fear" Documentary The documentary film premieres August 13 on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ in the U.S. and Disney+ internationally.
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[08/06/26 - 08:01 AM] Video: Alert! Paramount+ Reveals "Clash of the Thundermans" Trailer and First-Look Images, Premiering Thursday, September 3 on Paramount+ and Nickelodeon Based on the hit Nickelodeon live-action superhero comedy series, "Clash of the Thundermans" follows youngest sibling Chloe as she develops a new and unpredictable superpower, causing the Hero League to demand they send her away to a superhero boarding school to learn to control it.
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[08/06/26 - 08:01 AM] HBO and Sky Original Drama Series "War" Debuts October 1 Created by George Kay, and starring Dominic West and Sienna Miller, the series is co-produced by New Pictures and Observatory Pictures with new episodes of the eight-episode season debuting weekly on Thursdays.
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[08/06/26 - 08:01 AM] Uncover Another Clue: Stephen Merchant Joins "Ludwig" Season Two as Guest Star, BritBox Reveals First Look Merchant plays Danny Sloane, a cocky snooker champion who is at odds with John in the season's fourth episode.
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[08/06/26 - 08:01 AM] Video: "Madden" - Date Announce - Prime Video Coach. Broadcaster. Innovator. Legend. Nicolas Cage is John Madden. Watch "Madden" on November 18.
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[08/06/26 - 08:00 AM] "Tip Toe," Starring Alan Cumming and David Morrissey to Premiere Friday, October 2 on Starz Leo (Alan Cumming) and Clive (David Morrissey) are neighbors in Manchester. But when Leo gives Clive his spare key, an ordinary suburban world becomes a minefield of lies and violence, with terrifying results.
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[08/06/26 - 07:38 AM] TNT Sports to Present Exclusive Wall-to-Wall Coverage of FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026, September 4-13 from Berlin The tournament headlines TNT Sports' multiyear agreement with FIBA for exclusive U.S. English-language broadcast rights to its marquee men's and women's tentpole events, a slate that also includes the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 and FIBA EuroBasket 2029.
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