With Harris’ appearance on the ABC News show on Sept. 23, “The View” averaged 2.4 million viewers and scored a 1.57 household rating for the week of Sept. 22, according to Nielsen, becoming the No. 1 daytime network talk shows and news program of the week. Viewership for “The View” outpaced NBC’s “Today Third Hour,” which scored a 1.20 rating and 1.86 million viewers, “Today with Hoda & Jenna,” which brought in a 0.86 rating and 1.37 million viewers, as well as “NBC News Daily,” which averaged a 0.84 rating and 1.276 million viewers. 

“The View” reached a new season high in overall viewers, with the weekly total viewership up 4% from the previous week’s viewership of 2.31 million, and also scored viewership gains in key demos among women, with “The View” averaging 141,000 viewers among women 18-49, up 3% from the previous week.

Among women 25-54, “The View” averaged 194,000, growing for the third week in a row, bringing the season average to 199,000 viewers, up 3% from comparable weeks last season. 

ABC News’ “20/20” also scored similar viewership milestone with its new season, with its season premiere, “20/20: He’s Right Behind You,” drawing its biggest audience both among total viewers as well as among adults 25-54 in over three months.

The special, which aired on Friday, Sept. 26, averaged 2.75 million total viewers, 386,000 viewers among adults 25-54 and 277,000 viewers among adults 18-49, according to live-plus-same-day big data+panel figures from Nielsen.

Viewership for the “20/20” premiere outpaced the season premiere of “Dateline” both by 20% among total viewers and by 7% among adults 18-49.

The next installment of “20/20” will follow one of the most baffling missing person cases in recent memory when a family of four from San Diego County, California, seemingly vanishing into thin air. The new episode debuts Friday, Oct. 3 at 9:01 p.m. ET on ABC, and streams the next day on Hulu.

The post Kamala Harris Boosts ‘The View’ to Biggest Audience Since June With 2.6 Million Viewers | Exclusive appeared first on TheWrap.

After debuting the first two episodes of the season to 25 million viewers globally in their first week on Amazon’s Prime Video, viewership for the series has tallied up a cumulative 5.21 billion minutes during its Season 3 rollout, according to Nielsen streaming figures for the nine out of 11 episodes available.

While the Jenny Han-created series already had an existing fan base from its first two seasons and readers of Han’s trilogy, the third and final season activated its fandom in a way that surpassed previous seasons — or other YA series — by meeting its Gen Z audience where they’re at: TikTok.

The approach underscores the kind of benefits a show stands to gain when the people behind it have a clear strategic approach and understanding of the audience. By changing to a weekly release, fostering social media activity with in-show TikTok dances and, of course, elements of Taylor Swift, Amazon was able to steadily build momentum throughout its final season.

“There were so many aspects that Jenny Han and her team clearly built for a TikTok audience,” Emily Singer, senior director of strategy for Reach Agency, a creator-focused firm focused on influencer campaigns, told TheWrap. “It was a show made for the next generation.”

The decision to loop in social early on could be considered the “gold standard for a new model of how people should be marketing their shows,” said Laura Jalaie, SVP of strategy and communication for Metro PR, a consulting firm that has worked for a variety of entertainment and sports companies.

Jalaie told TheWrap that Amazon had given “an incredible amount of trust” to its social team, developing social-first marketing campaigns designed to connect with the target audience.

In addition to its focus on social media, “The Summer I Turned Pretty” ditched the binge model, instead opting for a weekly release that Jalaie said enabled the fandom to have the space to connect and obsess about each episode’s biggest moments in a way that felt reminiscent of YA shows of the 2000s, like “Gossip Girl” or “The O.C.” Except this time, fans convened on social media rather than fan blogs.

Han told TheWrap in an interview last month that Prime Video carefully considered the release options for the season, but ultimately said the weekly drop worked as intended, explaining it “enhanced the experience and it certainly prolonged the suspense.”

“It made people a little bit crazy to have to be in that sort of uncertain place for so long,” Han said. “But I think that’s the deliciousness of TV … in the old school way, that you would have to wait a week, and then it kind of builds and builds, and we, as an audience, are longing just as much as our characters are to see completion.”

From a ratings perspective, the weekly scheduling also enabled a gradual growth of viewers in the lead-up to the finale, especially after Han went off-script from her book, “We’ll Always Have Summer,” for the last three episodes of the series with Belly heading from Cousins to Paris, leaving fans in uncharted territory.

The debut of the first two episodes boosted viewership to 639 million minutes the week of July 14, before leveling off at 567 and 595 million minutes for the following two weeks, respectively. Season 3 saw its viewership spike with the debut of Episode 5 — which featured Conrad’s POV — with 665 million minutes viewed. Viewership climbed again with 717 million minutes during the week of Aug. 25 with Episode 8, which isn’t surprising given that episode featured Belly and Jeremiah’s wedding day, which was eventually called off. And it grew again with 736 million minutes during the week of Sept. 1 with Episode 9, which kicked off Belly’s Parisian adventure.

Given the delay for Nielsen’s streaming lists, viewership for the final two episodes is not available yet.

Unlike 2000s YA shows’ weekly premieres, “The Summer I Turned Pretty” dropped its episodes at 12 a.m. PT/3 a.m. ET on Wednesdays — a strategy that was initially bemoaned by fans. But the most hardcore viewers quickly adjusted to the schedule and flooded social media with reactions and new edits of Conrad into the wee hours of the night.

While the midnight release strategy didn’t quite mirror the appointment television of HBO’s biggest Sunday shows, it ultimately created a “built-in” FOMO, according to Reach’s Singer, who explained, “You already feel behind, say, at 7 a.m. PT … it really does entice you to watch as soon as possible.”

The “The Summer I Turned Pretty” can’t be discussed without acknowledging Swift, whose multigenerational fandom overlaps nearly perfectly with the show’s, according to Singer. It wasn’t just Swift’s music that attracted fans, but also the level of detail that Han put into the series.

And even when fans finally got their happily ever after for Belly and Conrad in the series finale, Han and Prime Video had another trick up their sleeve to keep the hype going: a movie that will serve as a conclusion to “The Summer I Turned Pretty.” The news was announced just hours after the finale dropped on Prime Video during the show’s Paris finale event and a day ahead of the finale press day, giving Han an opportunity to finally lay out her plans and the cast a chance to weigh in.

While Han said it’s too early to say whether the movie will get a theatrical release, Jalaie noted hitting the big screen would help “eventize” the movie, giving fans the opportunity to gather as they did for watch parties all season.

“The thing that Amazon needs to do now is just keep capturing that attention,” Singer said. “Now the goal becomes: How do you keep people tuned in and wanting more for the next potentially year or two?”

The post How ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Harnessed TikTok, Gen Z and Taylor Swift to Become a Ratings Sensation appeared first on TheWrap.

After scoring its best premiere week ever, “The Drew Barrymore Show” averaged 1.45 million viewers during the week of Sept. 15, marking a 22% uptick in total viewers when compared to last year. The ratings growth, which soared from last week’s viewership by 4%, boosted the daytime talk show to hit a 24-week ratings high.

In addition to growing among total viewers, the daytime talker also saw a 7% uptick in households as it scored a 0.9 household rating for the week, and remained steady from the premiere week rating.

To date, “The Drew Barrymore Show” stands as the No. 2 syndicated talk show, behind only “Live With Kelly and Mark.”

The Week 2 wins follow a success premiere week for “The Drew Barrymore Show’s” sixth installment, which saw the series score its highest-rated season premiere week ever, kicking off the season as the No. 2 syndicated talk show.

The premiere week averaged 1.39 million total viewers, which marked a 8% year-over-year increase, as well as a 0.9 household rating, which marked a 3% increase in households year-over-year.

Premiere week guests included Catherine Zeta-Jones, Halle Berry, Issa Rae, Michael and Cameron Douglas, David Letterman and Jennifer Aniston, while the second week welcomed Josh Gad, Jessica Chastain, Kristin Davis, Rob Reiner, Robin Wright and Misty Copeland to the show.

Guests for the season’s third week include Martha Stewart, Gloria Estefan, Regina Hall, Jesse Williams, Michael Symon, Carla Hall, Sunny Anderson, Matthew McConaughey, Deborah Norville, Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka as well as Grace Van Patten.

“The Drew Barrymore Show” is produced and distributed by CBS Media Ventures and filmed in New York City. Barrymore and Jason Kurtz serve as executive producers.

The post ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ Season 6 Ratings Jump 22% With 1.45 Million Viewers in 2nd Week | Exclusive appeared first on TheWrap.

The “Survivor” Season 49 premiere, which first aired on Sept. 24, saw a 138% uptick on Paramount+, CBS.com and the CBS app when compared to its fall premiere last year, according to internal viewing data from Paramount, boosting it to its highest streaming audience within three days of premiere. “The Amazing Race” scored the same milestone, with its Season 38 premiere, which first aired on Sept. 25, seeing a 127% uptick from Season 37’s spring premiere.

Both reality competition series also saw significant upticks from their initial viewership with the delayed multiplatform viewing. The “Survivor” Season 49 premiere skyrocketed from its live-plus-same-day viewership of 4.03 million to reach 6.83 million viewers with three days of multiplatform viewership, according to Nielsen panel+big data figures and internal streaming data. With the 3-day viewership, the Season 49 debut was up 2% from last year’s premiere.

Likewise, “The Amazing Race” Season 38 premiere nearly doubled its live-plus-same-day audience of 2.01 million to reach 4.01 million viewers with three days of multiplatform viewership.

The ratings milestones comes as “Big Brother” scored its most-watched episode in over three years with its two-hour finale on Sunday, Sept. 28. The episode brought in 4.25 million viewers, up 33% from its finale a year ago, which scored 3.19 million viewers, as well as up 33% from the season’s average. The episode also became the No. 1 program of the night and scored a 1.3 rating among viewers ages 25-54.

Both “Survivor” and “The Amazing Race” were nominated for Outstanding Reality Competition program at this year’s 77th Emmys alongside MTV’s “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” Bravo’s “Top Chef” and Peacock’s “The Traitors,” which won the Emmy.

The post ‘Survivor’ and ‘The Amazing Race’ Hit Best 3-Day Premiere Streaming Viewership for CBS | Exclusive appeared first on TheWrap.

Sunday’s “60 Minutes” was the No. 1 non-sports program in primetime, and it was a 5% increase from the same night last year (Sept. 29, 2024), which had 9.57 million viewers. It was also up from the same night last year by 19% in the advertiser-coveted 25-54 demographic and 6% in the 18-49 demographic.

The newsmagazine’s last season ended with 8.32 million viewers, two million less than its season premiere (10.5 million viewers), though enough to maintain its status that week as the No. 1 Sunday program that week.

The season is the first under executive producer Tanya Simon, who took the reins of the beleaguered broadcast this summer after longtime producer Bill Owens resigned over a lack of independence as Paramount sought to settle President Donald Trump’s $20 billion lawsuit over an interview the program aired with Kamala Harris. The company eventually settled with Trump for $16 million back in July, and the Federal Communications Commission cleared its merger with Ellison’s Skydance weeks later.

Even in its premiere, the show has already had to navigate political waters both nationwide and at its corporate home. The season premiere featured a sit-down interview with Utah Gov. Spencer Cox after Charlie Kirk’s assassination, with the governor urging people to “stop hating our fellow Americans.” But it also contained a profile of UFC CEO Dana White — just after Paramount and the UFC announced a seven-year, $7.7 billion deal for the rights to its sporting events.

“We’ve been speaking with White for years about his appearing on this broadcast,” correspondent Jon Wertheim said during the broadcast. “This was before Paramount Skydance, parent company of CBS, recently paid almost $8 billion for the UFC’s media rights.”

The post ‘60 Minutes’ Season 58 Premiere Scores Over 10 Million Viewers, Down Slightly From Previous Opener | Exclusive appeared first on TheWrap.

After dropping all of its eight episodes on Thursday, Sept. 25, “Wayward” tallied up 8.2 million views during its opening weekend, landing in the top spot on the English-language TV list for the week of Sept. 22. Viewership for “Wayward” soared past “Black Rabbit,” which came in the No. 2 spot in its second week on the streamer with 7 million views.

This week, “House of Guinness” also debuted to 5.2 million views, landing as the No. 3 series on the English-language TV list. “Wednesday” Season 2 came next in the No. 4 slot with 4.4 million views in its eighth week, and “Adolescence” benefitted from its recent Emmys win as it appeared in the top 10 again after its March debut, this time in the No. 5 spot with 3.5 million views.

“Beauty in Black” Season 2 was next with 3.1 million views in the No. 6 spot while “Haunted Hotel” Season 1 took the No. 7 spot on the top 10 list with 2.8 million views. Notably, Fox’s “Doc” landed in the top 10 list in the No. 10 spot with 1.9 million views.

On the film side, “KPop Demon Hunters” continued its reign, coming in the No. 1 spot with 19.3 million views during the week of Sept. 22. With 15 weeks in the top 10, “KPop Demon Hunters” became Netflix’s longest-running English film title to remain in the top 10.

Behind “KPop Demon Hunters” on the film top 10 list was “Ruth & Boaz,” which debuted to 10.3 million views in the No. 2 spot, as well as “The Wrong Paris,” which came in the No. 3 spot with 7.6 million views. “Man on Fire” scored 6.5 million views, while “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” scored 6.1 million views.

The post Mae Martin’s ‘Wayward’ Debuts as Most-Watched Netflix TV Series With 8.2 Million Views appeared first on TheWrap.

The legal drama series, which hails from Lionsgate and Blumhouse, has become the network’s most-watched freshman series since “The Purge,” which premiered in September 2018, according to combined Nielsen live-plus-three-day figures and Versant/NBCUniversal internal figures. And on Peacock alone, “The Rainmaker” stands as the streamer’s No. 1 TV series.

“The Rainmaker” has tallied up 16 million total viewers and 4 million viewers in the key 18-49 demo across linear and Peacock, season-to-date, according to Nielsen panel data, including premiere and repeat telecasts across linear networks across USA, Bravo, E!, CNBC, Syfy and Oxygen.

Viewership for the show has remained steady across its run, with live-plus-three-day viewing for the premiere telecast of Episode 6 up 3% among total viewers and up 8% among the key demo compared to the previous episode, according to Nielsen live-plus-three-day panel data.

Based on the best-selling novel by John Grisham, “The Rainmaker” centers on Rudy Baylor, who is fresh out of law school, as he goes head-to-head with courtroom lion Leo Drummond as well as his law school girlfriend, Sarah. Rudy, along with his boss, Bruiser, and her disheveled paralegal, Deck, uncover two connected conspiracies surrounding the mysterious death of their client’s son, according to the show’s official logline.

Milo Callaghan stars as Rudy while John Slattery plays Leo and Madison Iseman plays Sarah. Additional cast includes Lana Parrilla, P.J. Byrne, Dan Fogler, Wade Briggs and Robyn Cara. Michael Seitzman serves as showrunner and writer and executive produces alongside Grisham, Jason Richman, David Gernert and Jason Blum.

“The Rainmaker” premieres new episodes on Fridays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on USA Network, with new episodes available to stream on Peacock a week after their USA Network debut.

The post ‘The Rainmaker’ Becomes USA Network’s Most-Watched Freshman Series in 7 Years With 16 Million Viewers | Exclusive appeared first on TheWrap.

The DC Studios film, which arrived on HBO Max on Sept. 19, scored the largest 10-day audience for a pay-1 film since December 2023, when “Barbie” made its debut on the streamer.  

“Superman” hit streaming after having a rather successful run in theaters as the relaunch of the DC Universe under the direction of new studio chiefs James Gunn and Peter Safran. The film stands as one of the highest grossing films in the United States this year with $354 million grossed domestically, but sagging ticket sales kept its global total to $615 million with 57.5% coming from domestic receipts.

The film hit premium on-demand 35 days after its theatrical release to time with the launch of the second season of “Peacemaker” on HBO Max and is now hitting streaming after a 70-day window.

Theatrically, the DC Universe will continue next year with “Supergirl,” starring Milly Alcock as a rebellious version of Superman’s cousin, Kara Zor-El with Craig Gillespie as director.

Gunn will then return in 2027 with the direct sequel to “Superman,” “Man of Tomorrow,” in which Superman and Lex Luthor, played by David Corenswet and Nicholas Hoult, will be forced to work together to take on a greater threat.

The post ‘Superman’ Scores 13 Million Global Viewers in First 10 Days on HBO Max appeared first on TheWrap.

Additionally, the episode earned a 0.87 rating in the coveted 18-49 audience demo, the highest demo share a regularly scheduled episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” has earned in over 10 years.

This notable viewership came even though the series wasn’t shown in 23% of U.S. TV households. Following ABC’s announcement it would be putting Kimmel back on the air, Sinclair and Nexstar, which own 39 and 20 ABC affiliate stations, respectively, said they would continue to preempt the late night show.

The episode, which saw Kimmel return to ABC after his suspension last week kept the late night show off the air for six days, also saw over 26 million views across social media. On YouTube alone, views for Kimmel’s return are past 15 million, as of this story’s writing.

The massive viewership for Tuesday’s show isn’t surprising given the anticipation surrounding how Kimmel would address his suspension, which was instated following his comments about the murderer of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, which Disney later called “ill-timed and thus insensitive.” 

Kimmel even made light of the anticipation surrounding his return during Tuesday’s cold open, which portrayed the host and Guillermo Rodriguez agreeing they should probably change out of their costumes — a bear and a banana, respectively — after learning that his return was being called “the most anticipated monologue in late night.”

In his monologue, Kimmel said he understood why his remarks felt “ill-timed or unclear,” saying while holding back tears, “It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man. I don’t think there’s anything funny about it … nor was it my intention to blame any specific group for the actions of what was obviously a deeply disturbed individual.”

At the same time, the late night host addressed the importance of freedom of speech and in the media, saying, “this show is not important. What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this.” “I’ve had the opportunity to meet and spend time with comedians and talk show hosts from countries like Russia, countries in the Middle East who tell me they would get thrown in prison for making fun of those in power. And worse than being thrown in prison. They know how lucky we are here,” he continued. “Our freedom to speak is what they admire most about this country.”

The post Jimmy Kimmel’s Late Night Return Scores 6.3 Million Viewers on Broadcast, Monologue Gets 26 Million Views Across YouTube and Social appeared first on TheWrap.

The show finished its 2024-25 season last week ahead of “20/20” in total viewers (3.35 million vs. 3.32 million), the 18-49 age demographic (493,010 vs. 414,764) and the 25-54 age demographic (747,778 vs. 637,971). The last time the show beat “20/20” was during the 2019-20 season.

The win comes as the show saw “NBC Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt cede the evening news desk after 10 years for a full-time role with the show, and it follows its expansion into Spanish-language episodes. NBC News Now anchor Tom Llamas replaced Holt in June.

The show added Blayne Alexander as a correspondent last year alongside correspondents Andrea Canning, Josh Mankiewicz, Keith Morrison and Dennis Murphy. It has also seen growth in its podcast series, which had more than 300 million downloads for its fourth consecutive year, and its streaming channel Dateline 24/7, which saw a 14% year-over-year increase in hours viewed.

NBC News is set to celebrate its “Dateline” franchise with its first live event on Sunday in Nashville, featuring the entire correspondent roster as well as interviews with “Dateline” subjects and Q&As with audience members. Actors Annette O’Toole, Michael McKean and Holly Robinson Peete will also host sessions throughout the daylong affair.

The show’s 34th season premiere — and 3,000th episode —  debuts Friday with a two-hour look at the murder of Colorado mother Kristil Krug, who was killed in 2023 after a stab wound to the heart. A jury convicted her husband, Daniel Krug, in April on charges of first-degree murder.

The post ‘Dateline’ Finishes Season 33 by Beating ‘20/20’ for the First Time in 6 Years | Exclusive appeared first on TheWrap.