We continue with our roundup of the season-ending ratings (here is the season winner and the May sweeps winner) with a list of the top 20 shows for the season. The first two shows aren't going to be a surprise to anyone (though the number of times one show shows up on the list might be surprising to some). How many shows on this list do you watch? I watch one show all the time and I watch another show a little bit. The other 18 1/2 shows I don't watch at all, which is odd because I watch a ton of television every week.
Only one sitcom made the top 20, and there was only one show from NBC. Do you know what those two shows are? Answer after the jump.
(Oh, I know The CW logo is in the pic above, but you won't find any of their shows on the list.)
1. American Idol - Tues (FOX)
2. American Idol - Weds (FOX)
3. Dancing with the Stars - Mon (ABC)
4. Dancing with the Stars (ABC)
5. Dancing with the Stars - Tues results show (ABC)
6. Desperate Housewives (ABC)
7. Dancing with the Stars - results show (ABC)
8. House (FOX)
9. CSI (CBS)
10. Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
11. NBC Sunday Night Football (NBC)
12. Survivor: China (CBS)
13. The Moment of Truth (FOX)
14. NCIS (CBS)
15. House (FOX)
16. CSI: Miami (CBS)
17: Two and a Half Men (CBS)
18. Survivor: Micronesia (CBS)
19. Without A Trace (CBS)
20. Extreme Makeover (ABC)
I assume that the reason why there are two different slots for FOX's House is because of the different nights it was on. As for ABC's Dancing with the Stars, I'm not quite sure what the difference is between "Tues results show," "results show," and plain ole "Dancing with the Stars." NBC's only show on the list is Sunday Night Football, and the only comedy on the list is Two and a Half Men. Out of the top 20 shows, 10 of them are reality shows, including the top 5 slots.
[via TV Decoder]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
5-23-2008 @ 11:15AM
C. Hernandez said...
I feel like I should turn in my TV-viewer card. I watch House when I remember about it (which isn't often), this season I watched American Idol for the top 24 guys and MOST of the top 12 (but I never watch the results show), and I'm kind of ashamed to say I've been watching Two and Half Men.
And that's it from the list.
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5-23-2008 @ 11:21AM
mj said...
Ouch. I watch House, and Men, but that's all on that list. I don't like reality shows, and I am finding I watch more BBCA, HGTV, FOOD, and SciFi than network tv. The only other network show I watch is The Big Bang Theory, which is funny, although the season finale was a huge disappointment.
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5-23-2008 @ 11:22AM
Bas said...
Good criminy, how can "Moment of Truth" be on that list??? Do that many people really watch that schlock?
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5-23-2008 @ 11:28AM
Isabelle Carreau said...
Sadly, yes. Moment of Truth scored BIG ratings, especially when it debuted. People are curious and wanted to know how low the show would go and how far contestants would go and put their lives on the line for a little money.
5-23-2008 @ 11:36AM
MrsEldubya said...
In the Fall I think DWTS was on Tues/Wed but in the spring it was on Mon/Tues so that might be why it takes up four spots instead of just two. They moved it in the spring so it wouldn't go head to head much with AI.
Granted I watch both AI and DWTS but I also watch CSI, Without a Trace, and House too. But we need to get more love for HIMYM over Men.
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5-23-2008 @ 4:06PM
Marty said...
In the fall, dancing was on mondays and stayed there in the spring. I think the fall edition had a little higher ratings.
5-23-2008 @ 11:32AM
Edd said...
After Arrested Development went off the air I swore off 'sitcoms' completely, but Big Bang Theory is well-written. House has also been excellent this year.
But I still refuse to watch Fox live or purchase it's DVDs since the aforementioned show was thrown out the door.
Winning the ratings war with reality shows is hardly special, although again, who can blame them when they bring in ratings and money. I'm just annoyed 8/10 of the US public only want this kind of fare.
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5-23-2008 @ 12:01PM
willmore2000 said...
I watch House, Men (if there were better options outside NBC Thursday, I wouldn't) and Football. I also watch Idol, but I don't "watch" it, I fast-forward the shows to just get the 10 minutes of actual singing, and sometimes I fast-forward that as well.
Really, that list is very very very sad indeed.
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5-23-2008 @ 12:29PM
Jeff N. said...
I agree, a very sad list indeed. Most of the best TV shows are not in the top 20.
Though I am perplexed how Dancing with the Stars, that was on twice a week, gets 3 slots.
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5-23-2008 @ 12:33PM
Jim said...
I watch House, Greys and sometimes Extreme Makeover.
I'm seeing a theme here. Perchance all those ratings are coming from the less internet savvy (OLD) people?
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5-23-2008 @ 12:38PM
Galley said...
I watch exactly zero of those shows.
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5-23-2008 @ 12:40PM
lucyfan62 said...
I think the explanation for DWTS three slots is the two night premiere - women dance one night, men dance the next (Monday & Tuesday) and a one-time only Wednesday results show. After that the show aired regularly on Monday (competition) and Tuesday (results).
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5-23-2008 @ 12:48PM
Chuck said...
When the same show is on mulitple times a week, albeit with different agendas each night (performance show, results show) wouldn't it make more sense, and be more accurate, to still consider it one show? I mean, American Idol is ONE show. Dancing with the stars is ONE show. they just have a couple of different airings each week that have different purposes. Why do they each need their own slot on this list?
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5-24-2008 @ 2:32AM
Cyantre said...
I completely agree.
5-23-2008 @ 12:57PM
Joe said...
House, Grey's Anatomy and NCIS. At least those shows are safe for me to enjoy!
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5-23-2008 @ 12:58PM
... said...
Sometimes I forget how much these reality shows pull viewers. When you look at a LOST or Office recap, there's close to 80 comments per recap, and you think, "Wow these shows are so damn popular!" But, in reality, the shows that we love (30 Rock, 24, etc etc) don't have great viewer numbers, but are just watched by a contingent of viewers who are seriously hardcore about the show. Then there are shows like DWTS that people watch as a nice excursion, but they get the biggest numbers.
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5-23-2008 @ 1:03PM
chaosrain said...
This list is somewhat misleading. Generally it indicates that the TV viewing audience is in love with reality television. What is lost behind the data is the fact that those crappy shows are the only thing the major networks were broadcasting during the writer's strike. I certainly hope that the Network Executives realize that the results of the most popular shows of this year are skewed because of the fact that there was little else to watch this season and don't flood our living rooms with more of this schlock.
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5-23-2008 @ 1:19PM
MarcDom7 said...
I watch 9 of those 20. I think that if they listed 21-40, there'd be a lot more matches with the readers here. A lot of the best shows seem to fall between those two numbers ratings-wise. Of course, there are many exceptions, but it's kind of amusing to see.
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5-23-2008 @ 4:28PM
Darryl said...
It doesn't seem like a top 20 show list, it is more of a top 20 showings list.
They really should collapse it down so one show will only be on the list one time.
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5-23-2008 @ 4:34PM
Dave said...
My family and I watch AI and DWTS so that's 6 of the top 7 shows. We also are devoted fans of Survivor. One reason reality shows are popular is because it's safe content for everyone in the family. I'm not going to let my 8 year old watch 2.5 men or CSI. Too much sex or violence/gore in shows like that.
House is the only one of the top 12 that doesn't have a viewer in my home.
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