But did Downton Abbey cover the spread? The PBS series finished second to Super Bowl XLVI among TV viewers.
The Emmy-winning program attracted 4 million viewers at 9 o'clock Sunday, outpacing reruns of CBS' CSI Miami (3.13 million), Fox's animated tandem of Family Guy (2.41 million) and American Dad! (2.29 million) and ABC's The Middle (1.76 million) as the broadcast networks virtually forfeited the night. Those were paltry numbers for those shows, while Downton Abbey wasn't off by much (its first three episode averaged 4.3 million and the fourth 4.8 million before Sunday's 4 million).
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As mid-season shows debut over the next three months, it will be crunch time for a number of series that haven't been tearing up the Nielsen charts. Here's what network insiders say are the shows on the bubble as execs look to set their schedules in May.
ABC
A second-year ratings fade may mean it's time to pull a sheet over the Dana Delany-led Body of Proof. While the network ordered an extra episode of Pan Am in order to keep a hold on the cast until May, its chances of returning next fall are as likely as an airport going a full day without a flight delay. Comedy Happy Endings doesn't do a great job retaining the lead-in from the mighty Modern Family, but ABC parent Disney has an ownership stake in the show and it's a favorite within the network's entertainment division — so a pickup for another season is considered a lock. And fan fave Cougar Town will get a final shot for renewal if it performs well in its new Tuesday time period starting February 14.
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CBS' new police drama NYC 22 will premiere on Sunday, April 15 at 10/9c, the network announced Wednesday.
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Maybe because it qualifies as fantasy fare in the Great Recession, Undercover Boss grabbed its biggest audience since January 2011, according to Nielsen overnights. Meanwhile, the implosion of Kim Kardashian's marriage to Kris Humphries set series records for E!.
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Castle is closed. The Buy More has gone out of business. The time has come to think of life after Chuck.
For the cast of NBC's spy dramedy, the two-hour series finale Friday (8/7c, NBC) is the last vestige of the life they knew for five years. Denial will not be an option for long, and many of the cast have already started planning for a future that's alternately exciting and daunting because of the numerous possibilities.
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