“Mad Men” creator Matthew Weiner worked under a master, David Chase, creator of "The Sopranos," and it certainly shows in his taste for long takes, slow-to-resolve plot lines and oblique dialogue that sometimes only attentive long-time viewers decipher.
And yet Weiner, unlike his old boss, is not above weaving in some crowd-pleaser moments, and he did so with the AMC's series' season finale on Sunday, which goes some way to explaining the episode's hefty increase in ratings.
Clearly, the critically acclaimed drama continues to evolve from a cult hit to a mainstream hit.
Some 2.3 million viewers tuned in, according to Nielsen, up 33 percent from last season’s finale. More important, it was up 58 percent in viewers 18-49 and up 56 percent in 25-54s, good news for what has been an older-skewing series. (The finale ranked 43rd for the week in ad-supported cable among 25-54s.)
The episode, which focused on some serious challenges facing both Sterling Cooper and Don Draper’s marriages, was uncharacteristic of earlier episodes in resolving some lingering issues.
Viewers learned that characters who appeared to be on the way out would in fact be returning. They learned that Peggy has decided to stick with Don.
And though the episode, which Weiner directed, was a crowd-pleaser, none of the satisfying turns felt forced or artificial.
“Weiner gave his fans what they’ve been dying for all season, even if they strenuously denied wanting it—that is, liveliness, jokes, action, and even the suggestion of a few plot-line resolutions, " observes Entertainment Weekly TV critic Ken Tucker.
"Instead of going the screw-the-viewers route his old boss David
Sopranos Chase regularly travelled, Weiner brought back fan-faves, foremost among them Joan. (You
know Sal cannot be far behind.)”
It should be noted that the finale failed to match the ratings of the season premiere 13 weeks ago, which drew 2.8 million total viewers. But if Weiner continues to be as solicitous of viewers, we can expect next season’s premiere to beat that total and can expect more of those new viewers to stick around for the duration.
***
In cable ratings for the week ended Nov. 8:
Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): ESPN, USA, TBS, FX, TNT.
Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): USA, ESPN, Fox News Channel, TBS, Nick at Nite.
Top movie (18-49s): TBS’s “Hitch” (Sunday, 8 p.m.) 1.34 million.
Top sporting event (total viewers): ESPN’s “Monday Night Football: Falcons/Saints” (Monday, 8:30 p.m.) 12.37 million.
Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: ESPN’s
“Monday Night Football: Falcons/Saints” (Monday, 8:30 p.m.); FX’s “Sons
of Anarchy” (Tuesday, 10 p.m.).
Show on the rise: E!’s “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” Sunday 8
p.m. The Khloe-Lamar Odom wedding episode averaged 3.2 million total
viewers, the most in the show’s history.
Show on the decline: Lifetime’s “Project Runway,” Thursday 10 p.m.
Lifetime’s first season is losing momentum, last week averaging 1.67
million viewers 18-49, down 10 percent from the previous week’s 1.86
million.
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending November 8 |
|
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
2428
|
NICK
|
1821
|
|
2
|
ESPN
|
2162
|
USA
|
1250
|
|
3
|
FOXN
|
1932
|
NAN
*
|
1213
|
|
4
|
NAN
|
1407
|
FOXN
|
1127
|
|
5
|
TBSC
|
1319
|
ESPN
|
999
|
|
6
|
TNT
|
1311
|
TNT
|
929
|
|
7
|
FX
|
1139
|
ADSM*
|
872
|
|
8
|
AEN
|
1060
|
TOON
|
819
|
|
9
|
TLC
|
1003
|
TBSC
|
767
|
|
10
|
HGTV
|
992
|
AEN
|
644
|
|
11
|
TOON
|
927
|
FOOD
|
565
|
|
12
|
SYFY
|
876
|
FX
|
560
|
|
13
|
FAM
|
861
|
HGTV
|
557
|
|
14
|
CMDY
|
818
|
LIF
|
534
|
|
15
|
FOOD
|
816
|
FAM
|
514
|
|
16
|
DISC
|
781
|
TRU
|
512
|
|
17
|
AMC
|
774
|
CNN
|
509
|
|
18
|
HIST
|
754
|
HIST
|
509
|
|
19
|
SPK
|
738
|
DISC
|
497
|
|
20
|
TRU
|
719
|
SPK
|
483
|
|
21
|
CNN
|
718
|
TLC
|
466
|
|
22
|
LIF
|
715
|
SYFY
|
460
|
|
23
|
BRAV
|
697
|
AMC
|
459
|
|
24
|
ESP2
|
676
|
HALL
|
441
|
|
25
|
EN
|
604
|
TVLD
|
426
|
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE PROGRAMS
Ranked on Households
Week Ending November 8 |
|
Rank
|
Program |
Net
|
(000) |
|
1
|
Falcons/Saints
|
ESPN
|
8800
|
|
2
|
Spongebob Truth Or Square
|
NICK
|
4956
|
|
3
|
Spongebob Truth Or Square
|
NICK
|
4712
|
|
4
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
4104
|
|
5
|
Fanboy & Chum Chum
|
NICK
|
3726
|
|
6
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
3715
|
|
7
|
Fanboy & Chum Chum
|
NICK
|
3608
|
|
8
|
The O'Reilly Factor
|
FOXN
|
3560
|
|
9
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
3466
|
|
10
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
3382
|
|
11
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
3353
|
|
12
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
3231
|
|
13
|
Spongebob Truth Or Square
|
NICK
|
3190
|
|
14
|
Spongebob Truth Or Square
|
NICK
|
3183
|
|
15
|
The O'Reilly Factor
|
FOXN
|
3149
|
|
16
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
3142
|
|
17
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
3139
|
|
18
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
3093
|
|
19
|
Hannity
|
FOXN
|
3092
|
|
20
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
3045
|
|
20
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
3045
|
|
22
|
Kate: Her Story
|
TLC
|
3010
|
|
23
|
The Penguins Of
Madagascar
|
NICK
|
3005
|
|
24
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2993
|
|
25
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2974
|
|
25
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2974
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending November 8 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
ESPN
|
709
|
ADSM*
|
487
|
|
2
|
TBSC
|
592
|
NICK
|
381
|
|
3
|
FX
|
532
|
ESPN
|
371
|
|
4
|
USA
|
532
|
NAN
*
|
328
|
|
5
|
CMDY
|
413
|
TBSC
|
311
|
|
6
|
TLC
|
351
|
USA
|
271
|
|
7
|
TNT
|
331
|
FX
|
239
|
|
8
|
MTV
|
320
|
MTV
|
227
|
|
9
|
EN
|
310
|
TNT
|
219
|
|
10
|
SPK
|
290
|
CMDY
|
217
|
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending November 8 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Falcons/Saints
|
ESPN
|
3243
|
|
2
|
Keeping Up With The Kardashians
|
EN
|
1479
|
|
3
|
South
Park
|
CMDY
|
1440
|
|
4
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1417
|
|
5
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1381
|
|
6
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1332
|
|
7
|
It's Always Sunny In
Philadelphia
|
FX
|
1325
|
|
8
|
Sons Of Anarchy
|
FX
|
1256
|
|
9
|
The Hills
|
MTV
|
1255
|
|
10
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1240
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending November 8 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
ESPN
|
1473
|
ESPN
|
700
|
|
2
|
USA
|
1198
|
ADSM*
|
664
|
|
3
|
TBSC
|
1058
|
USA
|
614
|
|
4
|
FX
|
950
|
NICK
|
608
|
|
5
|
TNT
|
772
|
TBSC
|
569
|
|
6
|
CMDY
|
684
|
NAN
*
|
555
|
|
7
|
TLC
|
651
|
TNT
|
522
|
|
8
|
AEN
|
612
|
FX
|
439
|
|
9
|
SYFY
|
590
|
AEN
|
362
|
|
10
|
DISC
|
566
|
CMDY
|
335
|
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending November 8 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Falcons/Saints
|
ESPN
|
6770
|
|
2
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2330
|
|
3
|
Sons Of Anarchy
|
FX
|
2320
|
|
4
|
Kate: Her Story
|
TLC
|
2301
|
|
5
|
Sportscenter
|
ESPN
|
2280
|
|
6
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2259
|
|
7
|
Keeping Up With The Kardashians
|
EN
|
2190
|
|
8
|
South
Park
|
CMDY
|
1985
|
|
9
|
The Real Housewives Of
Orange
County
|
BRAV
|
1978
|
|
10
|
The Ultimate Fighter
|
SPK
|
1883
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending November 8 |
|
|
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Rank
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
ESPN
|
1457
|
USA
|
661
|
|
2
|
USA
|
1332
|
ESPN
|
636
|
|
3
|
TBSC
|
896
|
TNT
|
554
|
|
4
|
TNT
|
815
|
TBSC
|
493
|
|
5
|
FX
|
802
|
NICK
|
485
|
|
6
|
FOXN
|
695
|
NAN
*
|
479
|
|
7
|
SYFY
|
664
|
ADSM*
|
444
|
|
8
|
AEN
|
652
|
AEN
|
383
|
|
9
|
TLC
|
622
|
FX
|
371
|
|
10
|
FOOD
|
586
|
FOXN
|
367
|
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending November 8 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Falcons/Saints
|
ESPN
|
6633
|
|
2
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2427
|
|
3
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2386
|
|
4
|
Sons Of Anarchy
|
FX
|
2194
|
|
5
|
Kate: Her Story
|
TLC
|
2142
|
|
6
|
Sportscenter
|
ESPN
|
2053
|
|
7
|
The Real Housewives Of
Orange
County
|
BRAV
|
1817
|
|
8
|
Monk
|
USA
|
1760
|
|
9
|
Ghost Hunters
|
SYFY
|
1757
|
|
10
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
1748
|
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
