ABC's The Bachelorette scored the highest ratings on Monday night for a non-repeat, according to preliminary overnight ratings. The dating competition drew 6.8 million viewers, a slight increase from last week's 6.5 million. Meanwhile, NBC's I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! continues to dip, perhaps due to the lack of Speidi drama; the reality series only reached 4.3 million eyes, a drop from last week's 4.7 million.
| Time |
Show |
Viewers (in millions) |
| 8pm |
The Bachelorette (ABC)
House (Fox)
How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here (NBC)
Gossip Girl (The CW)
|
6.8
5.0 (repeat)
4.9 (repeat)
4.3
1.0 (repeat)
|
| 8:30pm |
Rules of Engagement (CBS) |
4.8 (repeat) |
| 9pm |
Two and a Half Men (CBS)
Lie to Me (Fox)
One Tree Hill (The CW) |
8.6 (repeat)
3.8 (repeat)
0.8 (repeat) |
| 9:30pm |
The Big Bang Theory (CBS) |
7.3 (repeat) |
| 10pm |
CSI: Miami (CBS)
Dateline: NBC (NBC)
Here Come the Newlyweds (ABC) |
8.0 (repeat)
5.1
4.1 |
Chace Crawford is ready to follow the fancy footwork of Kevin Bacon when he begins shooting Paramount's reboot of the 1984 dance classic Footloose next March. The 23-year-old Gossip Girl star landed the lead after Zac Efron dropped out. "I know Zac and we're actually friends," says Crawford. "He's gotta make the best choice for his career at this point and I have to make the best for mine and luckily it worked out for both of us." Still, Crawford wasn’t even born when the original premiered in theaters. So is this just an elaborate ruse to win at Six Degrees? Jokes Crawford, “I want my number to be up -- my Bacon number.” Crawford won the part after a brutal audition, including dancing and singing, for producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron (Hairspray) and director Kenny Ortega (High School Musical). “It was, like, five hours of the most rigorous tests ever,” says Crawford. “I walked out very confident.” He had a right to be, according to Zadan: “At the end of it, we all sort of looked at each other and said, ‘He’s the guy!’” Crawford may soon have his onscreen dance partner. A Paramount spokesperson confirmed to EW that Dancing With the Stars’ Julianne Hough will screen-test this week. Hough's recent success as a country music star could give her an advantage. Says Meron, "It’s a much more singing-intensive movie for the female lead."
The new Footloose, which recently got a rewrite from Erin Brockovich’s Susannah Grant, will pay homage to the first film -- the setting will still be a dance-free town, and the original cast could pop up in cameos. Also expect to hear familiar tunes like the title track. “The classic hit songs from the movie will be sung,” says Zadan, who was also a producer on the 1984 version. “There will be new songs that will be written by new artists, and those will be soundtrack songs.” Explains Meron, “It’s not really a burst-into-song musical. Any songs that are sung are coming out of an organic place.” One thing that may not reappear is some of the more elaborate choreography. “I don’t know if the gymnastics [high bar] scene is going to make it,” says Crawford, who’s about to embark on an Ortega-plotted training regimen. “I’ve got some movement in me, but I’m not a dancer,” he admits. “I need to start stretching now.” (Additional reporting by Nicole Sperling)
It was an eventful Monday night full of series premieres and season finales, but Dancing With the Stars still managed to come out on top with 18.7 million viewers, according to preliminary overnight ratings. Also on ABC, The Bachelorette premiered to rosy numbers (9 million fans). Elsewhere, 24's two-hour season finale seemed to struggle up against the Stars/Bachelorette combo, earning an okay 9.4 million, down from last week's 10.1 million. Over on The CW, Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill ended their seasons with a so-so 2.2 and 2.6 million, respectively.
| Time |
Show |
Viewers (in millions) |
| 8pm |
Dancing With the Stars (ABC)
24 (Fox)
Rules of Engagement (CBS)
Deal or No Deal (NBC)
Gossip Girl (The CW) |
18.7
9.4
7.5
4.8
2.2 |
| 8:30pm |
How I Met Your Mother (CBS) |
8.7 |
| 9pm |
Two and a Half Men (CBS)
The Bachelorette (ABC)
One Tree Hill (The CW) |
16.0
9.0
2.6 |
| 9:30pm |
Rules of Engagement (CBS) |
12.8 |
| 10pm |
CSI: Miami (CBS)
Medium (NBC) |
14.1
6.5 |
Its season is close to wrapping up but Dancing With the Stars is still going strong in the ratings race. ABC's competition program easily won Monday night, according to preliminary overnight ratings, with a two-hour episode that drew 18.3 million viewers. Over on Fox, medical drama House ended its season with a solid 12.3 million pairs of eyes. Meanwhile, The CW's much hyped Gossip Girl flashback episode didn't do much in terms of ratings, with a typical 2.3 million. And NBC's two-hour season finale of Medium drew an okay 6.8 million viewers.
| Time |
Show |
Viewers (in millions) |
| 8pm |
Dancing With the Stars (ABC)
House (Fox)
The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Deal or No Deal (NBC)
Gossip Girl (The CW) |
18.3
12.3
9.8
4.3
2.3 |
| 8:30pm |
How I Met Your Mother (CBS) |
8.7 |
| 9pm |
Two and a Half Men (CBS)
24 (Fox)
Medium (NBC)
One Tree Hill (The CW) |
12.9
10.1
6.8
2.3 |
| 9:30pm |
Rules of Engagement (CBS) |
10.1 |
| 10pm |
CSI: Miami (CBS)
Castle (ABC) |
13.4
10.6 |
ABC's Dancing With the Stars pranced its way to a ratings victory on Monday night, with 19.1 million viewers, according to preliminary overnight ratings. The network had less happy results with its fledgling 10 p.m. series Castle. The Nathan Fillion starrer dipped to 7.6 million viewers, a drop of 1.7 million from the previous week. Still, the show wound up tied with NBC's Medium, the most-watched program of the night for the Peacock network.
| Time |
Show |
Viewers (in millions) |
| 8pm |
Dancing With the Stars (ABC)
House (Fox)
The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Chuck (NBC)
Gossip Girl (The CW) |
19.1
11.8
10.1
6.3
1.0 (repeat) |
| 8:30pm |
How I Met Your Mother (CBS) |
9.6 |
| 9pm |
Two and a Half Men (CBS)
24 (Fox)
Heroes (NBC)
One Tree Hill (The CW) |
14.8
10.9
6.8
.9 (repeat) |
| 9:30pm |
Rules of Engagement (CBS)
Surviving Suburbia (ABC) |
11.6
10.7 |
| 10pm |
CSI: Miami (CBS)
Castle (ABC)
Medium (NBC) |
13.3
7.6
7.6 |
ABC'S Dancing With the Stars won another Monday, with 19.6 million viewers, according to preliminary overnight ratings. The night also marked the premiere of Bob Saget's new sitcom, Surviving Suburbia, which debuted to a nice 12.2 million pairs of eyes. Meanwhile, CBS scored the second-best numbers of the night with the NCAA basketball championship, which drew 16.3 million hoops fans during the 9-11 p.m. block. Over on Fox, Kal Penn's final episode of House drew a healthy 13 million viewers.
| Time |
Show |
Viewers (in millions) |
| 8pm |
Dancing With the Stars (ABC)
House (Fox)
Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Chuck (NBC)
Gossip Girl (The CW) |
19.6
13.0
8.9 (repeat)
6.0
1.2 (repeat) |
| 8:30pm |
How I Met Your Mother (CBS) |
8.5 |
| 9pm |
NCAA Basketball (CBS)
24 (Fox)
Heroes (NBC)
One Tree Hill (The CW) |
16.3
11.1
6.1
1.1 (repeat) |
| 9:30pm |
Surviving Suburbia (ABC) |
12.2 |
| 10pm |
Castle (ABC)
Medium (NBC) |
9.3
7.2 |
No surprise, ABC's Dancing With the Stars was far and away the Monday night winner with 20.2 million viewers, according to preliminary overnight ratings. The network's mid-season series, Castle, meanwhile, held steady with 9.8 million fans, same as last week. Over on Fox, a guest appearance by rapper/actor Mos Def helped drive House to a solid 12.2 million. The night was not good for NBC's Chuck, though, as the series struggled with only 5.6 million viewers.
| Time |
Show |
Viewers (in millions) |
| 8pm |
Dancing With the Stars (ABC)
House (Fox)
Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Chuck (NBC)
Gossip Girl (The CW) |
20.2
12.2
9.8
5.6
2.5 |
| 8:30pm |
How I Met Your Mother (CBS) |
9.2 |
| 9pm |
Two and a Half Men (CBS)
24 (Fox)
Heroes (NBC)
One Tree Hill (The CW) |
14.4
11.2
6.3
2.3 |
| 9:30pm |
Rules of Engagement (CBS) |
11.0 |
| 10pm |
CSI: Miami (CBS)
Castle (ABC)
Medium (NBC) |
13.4
9.8
7.3 |
The May 11 episode of Gossip Girl doubles as a pilot for a spin-off about young Lily van der Woodsen’s (Brittany Snow) raucous teen years in 1980s Los Angeles. But don't go looking for her current flame, Rufus Humphrey, to pop up. "It's not the story of how Lily met Rufus," explains executive producer Josh Schwartz. In fact, he and co-creator Stephanie Savage are toying with the notion that Lily may have crossed paths with characters from their previous hit, which ended its run on Fox in 2007. The duo say they are discussing the idea of having teenage Lily interact with earlier versions of The O.C.'s Kirsten Nichol and Jimmy Cooper. Our dream casting? Megan Fox as Julie Cooper!
Coming off last week's record premiere numbers, ABC's Dancing With the Stars dipped slightly but still hit a huge 21.1 million viewers, according to preliminary overnight ratings. New series Castle held up well in its second week with 11.5 million eyes, nearly on par with its premiere outing of 11.6 million.
Meanwhile, the CW's Gossip Girl returned after a six-week hiatus to 2.2 million viewers. That's about the same audience size as there was for the show's last original episode in early February, but Gossip Girl's ratings remain down in the new year. The competitive 8-9 p.m. hour, especially ABC's Dancing With the Stars juggernaut and recently resurgent Bachelor, is a likely culprit for Gossip Girl's ratings slide.
| Time |
Show |
Viewers (in millions) |
| 8pm |
Dancing with the Stars (ABC)
House (Fox)
Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Chuck (NBC)
Gossip Girl (The CW) |
21.1
12.8
9.8
4.0 (repeat)
2.2 |
| 8:30pm |
How I Met Your Mother (CBS) |
9.2 |
| 9pm |
Two and a Half Men (CBS)
24 (Fox)
Heroes (NBC)
One Tree Hill (The CW) |
14.0
11.4
3.0 (repeat)
2.3 |
| 9:30pm |
Rules of Engagement (CBS) |
11.4 |
| 10pm |
CSI: Miami (CBS)
Castle (ABC)
Medium (NBC) |
13.4
11.5
4.3 (repeat) |
Break out those leg warmers, Gossip Girl fans! The CW has announced that a pilot for a potential spin-off series, created by GG executive producers, Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, is on the way. The show will actually be a prequel, focusing on Serena's momma, Lily Van Der Woodsen (Kelly Rutherford, pictured), as a troubled teenager in 1980s Los Angeles. According to an early plot description, we'll see young Lily move out of her wealthy parents' home in Montecito to live with her outcast sister in the Valley, where she'll attend public school and experience the glitz of Hollywood and the excess of the Sunset Strip. No word on if a young Rufus (Matthew Settle) shows up, but I could totally see Lily running into Lincoln Hawk on Sunset Boulevard.
The pilot, which is still untitled and hasn't been cast, will air on May 11 in place of a Gossip Girl episode; the spin-off has not yet been greenlit as a full series. Originally, there had been rumors that producers would center a spin-off on Jenny Humphrey (Taylor Momsen), but those rumblings were quickly shot down. By choosing to do a prequel, Gossip Girl doesn't have to deal with the loss of any of its talented ensemble.
More Gossip Girl:
EW.com's All About Gossip Girl page
Gossip Girl recap: The Son Also Rises
