The fall TV season is upon us — check out our Fall Preview here — but a quick look back at the summer that was reveals some interesting, if not surprising, trends.
The No. 1 series of the past three months is NBC’s America’s Got Talent, as Howie Mandel and co. snagged the biggest crowd of the summer when 11.82 million tuned in for Week 1 in the U.S. The rest of the Top 10 shook out thusly with The Bachelorette, two episodes of Wipeout, two episodes of Hell’s Kitchen, So You Think You Can Dance and three episodes of Big Brother all pulling in the biggest numbers.
That’s right, the biggest series in the U.S. are all unscripted fare, proving that Americans like to remove their brains from their heads and indulge in mindless programming during the year’s hottest months.
The first scripted series to make a blip on the radar screen south of the border is Lie to Me, coming in at No. 13. Canada’s Rookie Blue ranks just below Lie to Me, followed by fellow Canuck drama Flashpoint. The worst-rated series of the summer? That would be Sons of Tuscon, who attracted a measly 1.85 million viewers.
Here in Canada, unscripted is tops too, with Big Brother ruling the Top 3 spots for the last couple of weeks. America’s Got Talent has been in the Top 10 all summer here, as has Hell’s Kitchen and scripted fare Rookie Blue, Hot in Cleveland, Lie to Me and Flashpoint.
Thoughts? greg@tvguide.ca or comment below.
Check out the latest behind-the-scenes TV news in Nuts & Bolts or follow Greg on Twitter.
Follow TV Guide Canada on Facebook