The series finale of Nickelodeon’s “Zoey 101” drew huge numbers last Friday night.
The question now is whether “Zoey” could live on in any form with teen star Jamie Lynn Spears now with child. It seems unlikely.
“Zoey” drew an average 5.1 million total viewers for the hour-long finale last Friday, May 2, at 8 p.m. Another half-hour rerun that followed averaged 5.05 million, making them the two most-watched shows on cable last week, well ahead of NBA playoff coverage and the first new episode of “Hannah Montana” since Miley Cyrus’ controversial Vanity Fair pictures were released.
Both “Zoey” episodes averaged 2.3 million kids 9-14, ranking first for the week on broadcast and cable. In fact, four additional “Zoey” reruns also made the week’s top 10 in that demo.
The finale was nowhere near the 7.3 million total viewers who watched “Zoey’s” third-season finale in January, shortly after the 17-year-old announced she was pregnant. The show has regularly finished No. 1 among tweens this season.
Will “Zoey” ever return to the network after such a successful run, beyond the reruns that will surely remain a Nickelodeon staple?
Minutes after the season finale, online messageboards began burning up with appeals from kids asking Nick to bring the show back after Spears has given birth.
“[T]hey should let her have the baby and then make new episodes,” writes a punctuation-averse poster on the BritneyBash.com boards. “[I] enjoy this show and its a shame they ended it when it finally started to get more interesting than it was i hope they decide to put it back on i know that there will be popular demand from what i have been reading from various online polls and fan sites.”
Nickelodeon’s only comment on the show since Spears’ pregnancy has been that the fourth season would be its last. The show ended with Zoey (Spears), a high school junior, breaking up with boyfriend James for longtime pal Chase.
Posters have suggested that Nick spin off some of Zoey’s classmates for their senior year, though it seems doubtful that would do as well. Certainly one thing that drew viewers this season, sick though it may seem, was looking for Spears’ baby bump, which some claimed was visible during the series finale.
It is even more unlikely that Nickelodeon, which has been criticized for keeping "Zoey" on the air, would bring Spears back after she gives birth. As the recent controversy surrounding Cyrus suggests, parents are wary of any tween role model who steps out of line. They’re not likely to welcome Spears back after she has her baby, even if their kids are.
***
Meanwhile, in other cable ratings for the week ended May 4:
Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): TNT, USA, TBS, Discovery, Comedy Central.
Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): TNT, USA, Fox News Channel, Nick at Nite, TBS.
Top movie (18-49s): USA’s “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” (Saturday, 8 p.m.) 1.37 million
Top sporting event (total viewers): TNT’s “NBA Basketball: Suns vs. Spurs” (Tuesday, 9:39 p.m.) 2.81 million
Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: USA’s “WWE Entertainment” (Monday, 10 p.m.); TNT’s “NBA Basketball: Lakers/Nuggets” (Monday, 10:58 p.m.); TNT’s “NBA Basketball: Suns/Spurs” (Tuesday, 9:39 p.m.); TNT’s “NBA Basketball: Hawks/Celtics” (Wednesday 8:48 p.m.); TNT’s “NBA Basketball: Spurs/Hornets” (Saturday, 10:10 p.m.).
Show on the rise: Adult Swim’s “Aqua Teen Hungerforce,” Monday 12:15 a.m. The animated comedy jumped 25 percent week-to-week among viewers 18-34, from 909,000 to 1.1 million, good for No. 12 for the week in the demo.
Show on the decline: Comedy Central’s “South Park,” Wednesday 10 p.m. “South Park” fell 43 percent week-to-week among total viewers, from 3.08 million to 1.74 million.
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending May 4 |
|
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
TNT
|
2197
|
NICK
|
1634
|
|
2
|
USA
|
1760
|
NAN
*
|
1295
|
|
3
|
FOXN
|
1433
|
TNT
|
1162
|
|
4
|
NAN
|
1375
|
USA
|
887
|
|
5
|
TBSC
|
1252
|
ADSM*
|
881
|
|
6
|
ESPN
|
1116
|
FOXN
|
826
|
|
7
|
LIF
|
1022
|
TOON
|
796
|
|
8
|
DISC
|
978
|
TBSC
|
742
|
|
9
|
TOON
|
941
|
LIF
|
732
|
|
10
|
SPK
|
933
|
ESPN
|
680
|
|
11
|
HALL
|
910
|
AEN
|
600
|
|
12
|
AEN
|
903
|
HALL
|
567
|
|
13
|
HGTV
|
846
|
DISC
|
556
|
|
14
|
FX
|
839
|
TRU
|
539
|
|
15
|
CMDY
|
826
|
SPK
|
529
|
|
16
|
HIST
|
808
|
HGTV
|
515
|
|
17
|
CNN
|
789
|
HIST
|
506
|
|
18
|
SCIF
|
778
|
FX
|
502
|
|
19
|
TRU
|
777
|
CMDY
|
492
|
|
20
|
MTV
|
753
|
CNN
|
485
|
|
21
|
FAM
|
724
|
FAM
|
481
|
|
22
|
AMC
|
710
|
FOOD
|
463
|
|
23
|
TLC
|
690
|
AMC
|
462
|
|
24
|
FOOD
|
641
|
MTV
|
458
|
|
25
|
TVLD
|
580
|
TVLD
|
457
|
|
* 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 May 4 |
|
Rank
|
Program |
Net
|
(000) |
|
1
|
Suns/Spurs
|
TNT
|
3539
|
|
2
|
Zoey Movie Chasing Zoey
|
NICK
|
3514
|
|
3
|
Zoey 101
|
NICK
|
3454
|
|
4
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
3325
|
|
5
|
Lakers/Nuggets
|
TNT
|
3144
|
|
6
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
3006
|
|
7
|
The Hills
|
MTV
|
2989
|
|
8
|
Hawks/Celtics
|
TNT
|
2966
|
|
9
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2948
|
|
10
|
Spurs/Hornets
|
TNT
|
2901
|
|
11
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2870
|
|
12
|
The O'Reilly Factor
|
FOXN
|
2847
|
|
13
|
iCarly
|
NICK
|
2816
|
|
14
|
iCarly
|
NICK
|
2806
|
|
15
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2772
|
|
16
|
Celtics/Hawks
|
TNT
|
|
