GOOD WEEK/BAD WEEK: Week 1

This is a new feature on the blog that will appear every Saturday. Just a brief rundown of who should be smiling and who might be in trouble after the week of TV. It will be brief but gives you something to read on a quiet Saturday. Yes, I am ripping this idea off of TIME Magazine but oh well. Enjoy!

GOOD WEEK: SITCOMS
It was a great week for a genre that was struggling badly just a few years ago. It started off on a bang on Monday night when Two and a Half Men posted numbers unheard of in recent years for scripted TV (28.7 million viewers, 10.7 demo) and lead-out 2 Broke Girls had the best numbers for a sitcom premiere since 2001 (19.4 million viewers, 7.1 demo). But it didn't stop there. How I Met Your Mother, The Middle, Modern Family, and The Big Bang Theory were up from last year's premieres. Also, new show New Girl built from lead-in Glee to a 4.8 demo, Raising Hope posted its best numbers in awhile, Up All Night managed better than expected numbers in its second week, The Office didn't collapse without Steve Carell, and even Whitney got a solid sampling. Aside from Free Agents, Community, and Parks and Recreation, sitcoms were what people wanted to see this week and did in huge numbers.

BAD WEEK: NBC
The fourth place network showed some signs of progress last spring when they had their first breakout hit - The Voice - in years. But with The Voice not returning until February, NBC could not maintain the momentum and completely fell apart during premiere week. Not a single show drew over 7.6 million viewers and only The Office and Whitney were above a 2.5 in the demo. Of the new shows, only Whitney and Up All Night showed any potential. Free Agents is as dead as can be after two weeks and The Playboy Club and Prime Suspect disappointed big time in their numbers. Luckily NBC has football for the fall or else they would be a non-player in the ratings.