It’s been a terrible year for sitcoms. Nearly every new offering has flopped, and even older, established hits are seeing ratings declines.
Thus it’s no small irony that the hottest sitcom on television right now is also one that’s already been canceled.
CBS’s “King of Queens” recently returned to the schedule after a two-month hiatus, and in all four outings it has tied or bettered lead-in “Two and a Half Men’s” adults 18-49 rating, making it the No. 1 sitcom on TV the last two weeks. (Note: This does not include Fox's cartoon comedies or ABC's hour-long laughers, which are not traditional sitcoms.)
Last week, the week ended April 29, “Queens” bettered its 4.0 “Men” lead-in by 5 percent, averaging a 4.2, despite airing opposite the NBC hit “Heroes” in its 9:30 p.m. Monday timeslot.
The nine-year-old show tied a season high two nights ago with a 4.6 rating, equaling “Men” and bettering the most recent episode of the No. 3 sitcom on broadcast, NBC’s “The Office,” by 0.5. “Queens’” season-to-date Monday 4.5 average is up 36 percent over its 3.3 average last year, when it aired on Wednesday night without a strong lead-in.
Of course to put the dire state of the sitcom in perspective, three years ago there were nine sitcoms that averaged a 4.5 or better. This year there are just two, “Men” and “Rules of Engagement,” the first-year show that “Queens” replaced in early April.
And when CBS canceled “Queens” earlier this year, it seemed like a smart move. The show was a surprise midseason pickup last spring. Many media buyers though it would be axed, as CBS surely couldn’t justify star Kevin James’ $500,000-per-episode salary for a sitcom that had lost a third of its audience over the past two years. By comparison, “Men’s” Charlie Sheen makes $350,000 per episode.
But with a weak comedy development slate, CBS opted to bring the show back, making it clear that this would be “Queens’” last season. The series finale will air May 14.
The show has a simple concept: Regular slob Doug (James) and knock-out wife Carrie (Leah Remini) get into traditional sitcom hijinks each week. It’s much like “Everybody Loves Raymond,” with a family focus and a stand-up comedian starring.
CBS will still face problems without “Queens” on Mondays, however. While “Men” and “Rules” should remain in the 9 p.m. hour, second-year sitcoms “How I Met Your Mother” and “The New Adventures of Old Christine” have both struggled at 8 p.m. And they’re not the only ones.
NBC’s “My Name is Earl” and ABC’s “George Lopez” and “According to Jim” have all declined this season, while a number of first-year sitcoms have already been yanked, including ABC’s “Big Day,” NBC’s “Twenty Good Years” and Fox’s “Happy Hour.”
Meanwhile, in broadcast ratings for the week ended April 29:
Among adults 18-49, Fox led with a 4.5 average rating and a 13 share, followed by ABC at 3.3/10, CBS at 2.9/9, NBC at 2.1/6, Univision at 1.6/5, CW at 1.3/4, Telemundo at 0.4/1, MyNetworkTV at 0.3/1, Telefutura at 0.2/1, Ion at 0.2/0 and Azteca at 0.1/0.
Among adults 18-34, Fox led with a 4.0 average rating and an 13 share, followed by ABC at 2.7/9, CBS at 1.9/6, Univision at 1.7/6, NBC at 1.7/5, CW at 1.4/5, Telemundo at 0.4/1, Telefutura and MyNetworkTV at 0.3/1, and Ion and Azteca at 0.1/0.
Among adults 25-54, Fox led with a 4.8 average rating and an 13 share, followed by CBS at 3.8/10, ABC at 3.7/10, NBC at 2.5/6, Univision at 1.5/4, CW at 1.1/3, Telemundo 0.4/1, MyNetworkTV at 0.3/1, Telefutura at 0.2/1, Ion at 0.2/0 and Azteca at 0.1/0.
Top five (18-49s): 1. Fox’s “American Idol - Wednesday” 10.2; 2. Fox’s “American Idol - Tuesday” 10.0; Tie-3. Fox’s “House,” ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” 8.4; 5. ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” 6.8.
Top five (total viewers): 1. Fox’s “American Idol - Wednesday” 26.93 million; 2. Fox’s “American Idol - Tuesday” 26.55 million; 3. Fox’s “House” 20.81 million; 4. CBS’s “CSI” 20.20 million; 5. ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” 20.08 million.
Bottom five (18-49s): Tie-94. CW’s “Girlfriends,” “All of Us” and “7th Heaven” 1.1; 97. NBC’s “Dateline-Saturday” 0.9; 98. CW’s “America’s Next Top Model-Encore” 0.7; 99. CW’s “7th Heaven-Encore” 0.4.
Bottom five (total viewers): 95. CW’s “The Game” 2.55 million; 96. CW’s “Girlfriends” 2.34 million; 97. CW’s “All of Us” 2.32 million; 98. CW’s “America’s Next Top Model - Encore” 1.44 million; 99. CW’s “7th Heaven-Encore” 1.23 million.
Show on the rise: “Dateline,” NBC, Sunday 7 p.m. “Dateline’s” two-hour “Man behind the Mask” episode about John F. Regan posted a 1.7 among 18-49s, the highest rating in the demo in four weeks, and 7.7 million total viewers, the newsmagazine’s top Sunday night audience of the season.
Show on the decline: “America’s Next Top Model” CW, Wednesday 8 p.m. With Fox going with a two-hour “American Idol” results show last week—starting an hour earlier than usual—it was “Top Model” that suffered. Tyra Banks’ show posted a 1.8 rating among 18-49s, off 31 percent versus a 2.6 the previous week.
