VH1 has become a primetime halfway house of sorts for past-their-prime celebrities.
The network has chronicled their everyday lives, matched them up on dates, put them on diets and forced them to live together as one big dysfunctional household, proving there’s almost nothing these people won’t do for the camera.
But the network’s latest offering, “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew,” is a lot more serious, despite that tabloid-worthy title. The show about stars trying to kick drug or alcohol habits premiered on Thursday and became VH1’s latest celebreality hit.
“Rehab” averaged 1.5 million adults 18-49 in its 10 p.m. timeslot, ranking first for the night on basic cable in that demographic. It also bettered VH1’s fourth quarter average in the slot by 128 percent. The show averaged 1.8 million total viewers, even outdrawing the second-season premiere of the network’s hit show “Scott Baio is 46 … and Pregnant” three nights later.
“Rehab” treads a very thin line between good and bad taste. In fact, some would argue that VH1 has stepped way over it. The show challenges celebrities with an addiction problem, such as Daniel Baldwin and “Grease’s” Jeff Conaway, to stop abusing themselves, with Dr. Drew Pinsky (MTV’s “Loveline”) there to guide them.
The idea is that they’ll be scared straight, or at least scared to return to their old habits with America, and future directors or casting agents, looking on.
The show sounds schlocky, which is what you’d expect from VH1, but it’s actually quite serious. In the first episode, Conaway was shown being admitted to the Pasadena Recovery Center and going through the nasty symptoms of withdrawal from his pill habit.
During one-on-one sessions with Pinsky, who specializes in addiction, the stars confess their fears and vices. The network doesn’t shy away from displaying even their illegal activities, as the lead singer of band Crazytown takes a hit from a crack pipe.
“Rehab” has received some surprisingly good reviews, notably from The Washington Post’s John Maynard, who called it “compelling and thoughtful.”
It’s doubtful anyone’s ever said that about “Baio.”
Meanwhile, in other cable ratings for the week ended Jan. 13:
Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): USA, TBS, TNT, FX, A&E
Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): USA, TNT, Fox News Channel, TBS, Nick at Nite
Top movie (18-49s): TNT’s “Con Air” (Sunday, 8 p.m.) 1.70 million
Top sporting event (total viewers): USA’s “WWE Entertainment” (Monday, 9 p.m.) 4.60 million
Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: VH1’s “Rock of Love 2” (Sunday, 9 p.m.); USA’s “WWE Entertainment” (Monday, 10 p.m.); Bravo’s “Project Runway” (Wednesday 10 p.m.); A&E’s “Intervention” (Monday, 9 p.m.).
Show on the rise: TNT’s “NBA Basketball,” Thursday 8 p.m. TNT’s basketball coverage is up versus last year in key demos, including 18-34s (up 25 percent), 18-49s (up 22 percent), 25-54s (up 24 percent), men 18-34 (up 30 percent), men 18-49 (up 24 percent) and men 25-54 (up 25 percent).
Show on the decline: E!’s “Golden Globes Coverage,” Sunday 9-9:37 p.m. The entertainment news network’s coverage of the strike-induced Golden Globes press conference drew just 547,000 total viewers, down 26 percent from lead-in “Snoop Dogg’s Father Hood” at 735,000 viewers.
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending January 13 |
|
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
2185
|
NICK
|
1616
|
|
2
|
FOXN
|
1584
|
NAN
*
|
1285
|
|
3
|
TNT
|
1583
|
USA
|
1071
|
|
4
|
TBSC
|
1422
|
TNT
|
984
|
|
5
|
NAN
|
1291
|
FOXN
|
880
|
|
6
|
LIF
|
1208
|
TBSC
|
825
|
|
7
|
AEN
|
1130
|
TOON
|
754
|
|
8
|
HALL
|
1109
|
LIF
|
735
|
|
9
|
SPK
|
1053
|
ADSM*
|
689
|
|
10
|
TRU
|
1017
|
AEN
|
676
|
|
11
|
FX
|
992
|
TRU
|
665
|
|
12
|
CNN
|
972
|
HALL
|
643
|
|
13
|
TOON
|
970
|
ESPN
|
613
|
|
14
|
HGTV
|
947
|
TVLD
|
605
|
|
15
|
HIST
|
924
|
SPK
|
582
|
|
16
|
SCIF
|
834
|
HIST
|
574
|
|
17
|
FAM
|
824
|
HGTV
|
573
|
|
18
|
DISC
|
823
|
CNN
|
546
|
|
19
|
CMDY
|
810
|
FX
|
544
|
|
20
|
ESPN
|
810
|
DISC
|
523
|
|
21
|
TVLD
|
786
|
MTV
|
515
|
|
22
|
AMC
|
775
|
FOOD
|
496
|
|
23
|
MTV
|
735
|
FAM
|
493
|
|
24
|
TLC
|
701
|
CMDY
|
489
|
|
25
|
FOOD
|
678
|
AMC
|
475
|
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE PROGRAMS
Ranked on Households
Week Ending January 13 |
|
Rank
|
Program |
Net
|
(000) |
|
1
|
Monk
|
USA
|
3872
|
|
2
|
Psych
|
USA
|
3262
|
|
3
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
3123
|
|
4
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
3099
|
|
5
|
You Decide 2008-SC Republican Debate
|
FOXN
|
2854
|
|
6
|
Anderson
Cooper 360
|
CNN
|
2847
|
|
7
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2819
|
|
8
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2744
|
|
9
|
SR/NH Primaries 2008
|
CNN
|
2734
|
|
10
|
You Decide 2008-NH Primary
|
FOXN
|
2641
|
|
11
|
You Decide 2008-NH Primary
|
FOXN
|
2630
|
|
12
|
House
|
USA
|
2604
|
|
13
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2574
|
|
14
|
iCarly
|
NICK
|
2546
|
|
15
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2532
|
|
16
|
Hannity & Colmes
|
FOXN
|
|
