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Summer sleeper:
USA's ‘Royal Pains’

Once again a case when viewers ignore the critics

By Kevin Downey
Jun 17, 2009

USA’s “Royal Pains” debuted two weeks ago to just so-so reviews. The Newark Star Ledger's Alan Sepinwall summed it up this way: “Premiering immediately after ‘Burn Notice,’ ‘Royal Pains’ can’t help but suffer in comparison, but it’s not a bad summer diversion."

But as it turns out the lukewarm critics’ welcome didn’t much matter with viewers.

The show, about a disgraced New York doctor who finds a second career as a private medic to rich people in the Hamptons, premiered to huge ratings. And unlike the vast majority of new series, it actually improved in its second outing last Thursday.

Last week it was the No. 3 cable show in primetime in total viewers with 5.6 million people tuning in, just better than flat to the prior week, even outdrawing “Burn Notice,” now in its third season, which ranked No. 5 with 5.2 million viewers.

In 18-49s, “Royal” ranked No. 4 with 2.3 million viewers, up 2 percent from its premiere.

In 25-54s it ranked No. 6 with 2.6 million viewers, up 3 percent from 2.5 million for its premiere.

It did less well among younger viewers, failing to make the top 10 in 18-34s, which was dominated by repeats of “Family Guy” on Adult Swim.

“Royal” has several things going for it, and right up there is that it's a light drama well suited for summer viewing. It’s also easy to look at, with its sweeping shots of the Manhattan skyline and Hamptons mansions. And it has a likeable star in Mark Feuerstein, who until now was best known for NBC’s short-lived “Good Morning, Miami.”

Meanwhile, USA ranked No. 1 in all key adult demographic groups for the week ending June 14. TNT was No. 2. It is doing well with its own summer series, including its biggest, “The Closer.”

***

In cable ratings for the week ended June 14:

Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): USA, TNT, TBS, Discovery Channel, FX.

Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): USA, TNT, Fox News Channel, AMC, Nick at Nite.

Top movie (18-49s): TNT’s “The Pursuit of Happyness” (Saturday, 8 p.m.) 1.29 million.

Top sporting event (total viewers): TNT’s “Sprint Cup Racing/Michigan” (Sunday, 1:59 p.m.) 5.12 million.

Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: TLC’s “Jon & Kate Plus 8” (Monday, 9 p.m.); USA’s “WWE Raw” (Monday, 9 and 10 p.m.).

Show on the rise: History Channel’s “Ice Road Truckers,” Sunday 9 p.m. The series jumped 12 percent week-to-week among 18-49s, from 1.37 million viewers to 1.54 million.

Show on the decline: E!’s “Kendra,” Sunday 10 p.m. The reality series fell 39 percent week-to-week among viewers 18-49, from 2.02 million to 1.24 million.

TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS Ranked on Household Rating Week Ending June 14
Rank	Primetime		Total Day
Rank	Net	(000)	Net	(000)
1	USA	2528	NICK	1604
2	TNT	1728	USA	1259
3	FOXN	1660	NAN *	1238
4	AMC	1298	TNT	1070
5	NAN	1241	ADSM*	1010
6	TBSC	1136	FOXN	946
7	HGTV	1080	TOON	881
8	TOON	1041	TBSC	704
9	DISC	999	AMC	622
10	AEN	983	ESPN	607
11	TLC	973	DISC	600
12	LIF	960	TRU	597
13	HIST	940	AEN	586
14	FX	930	HIST	574
15	FAM	883	FOOD	567
16	FOOD	881	HGTV	555
17	ESPN	874	LIF	547
18	SCIF	770	FX	527
19	HALL	767	FAM	495
20	TRU	756	SPK	495
21	CMDY	691	TLC	468
22	SPK	648	TVLD	458
23	MSNB	614	HALL	446
24	BRAV	607	CNN	443
25	BET	576	MTV	441
* 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 June 14
Rank	Program	Net	(000)
1	The Closer	TNT	5349
2	Royal Pains	USA	4022
3	NASCAR Post Race Show	TNT	3950
4	Burn Notice	USA	3876
5	WWE Raw	USA	3832
6	Sprint Cup Racing/Michigan	TNT	3754
7	In Plain Sight	USA	3312
8	WWE Raw	USA	3274
9	Jon & Kate Plus 8	TLC	3262
10	Law & Order: Criminal Intent (Orig)	USA	3187
11	Army Wives	LIF	3079
12	NCIS	USA	2988
13	NCIS	USA	2946
14	Deadliest Catch	DISC	2878
15	NCIS	USA	2811
16	Raising The Bar	TNT	2764
17	NCIS	USA	2760
18	NCIS	USA	2752
19	NCIS	USA	2746
20	NCIS	USA	2733
21	The O'Reilly Factor	FOXN	2698
22	Lonesome Dove Part 3 & 4	AMC	2680
23	Law & Order: SVU	USA	2677
24	The Closer Special	TNT	2663
25	Family Guy	ADSM	2636
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data

TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS Adults 18-34 Week Ending June 14
Rank	PRIME TIME		TOTAL DAY
Rank	Net	(000)	Net	(000)
1	USA	568	ADSM*	466
2	TBSC	550	NAN *	354
3	TNT	381	NICK	318
4	FX	355	TBSC	315
5	CMDY	331	USA	291
6	DISC	325	TNT	259
7	MTV	325	ESPN	241
8	TLC	325	MTV	235
9	AEN	297	CMDY	216
10	FOOD	278	FX	213
* 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 June 14
Rank	PROGRAM	NET	(000)
1	Jon & Kate Plus 8	TLC	1515
2	WWE Raw	USA	1460
3	Real World/Road Rules: The Duel 2	MTV	1301
4	WWE Raw	USA	1250
5	Family Guy	ADSM	1201
6	Family Guy	ADSM	1200
7	Family Guy	ADSM	1181
8	Family Guy	ADSM	1174
9	Family Guy	ADSM	1075
10	Family Guy	ADSM	1072
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data

TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS Adults 18-49 Week Ending June 14
Rank	PRIME TIME		TOTAL DAY
Rank	Net	(000)	Net	(000)
1	USA	1370	USA	662
2	TNT	950	NAN *	631
3	TBSC	912	ADSM*	624
4	DISC	743	TNT	618
5	FX	703	TBSC	546
6	AEN	640	NICK	503
7	TLC	613	ESPN	415
8	FOOD	589	DISC	401
9	NAN	555	FX	399
10	HIST	532	TRU	355
* 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 June 14
Rank	PROGRAM	NET	(000)
1	WWE Raw	USA	2879
2	Deadliest Catch	DISC	2662
3	Jon & Kate Plus 8	TLC	2482
4	Royal Pains	USA	2348
5	WWE Raw	USA	2325
6	NASCAR Post Race Show	TNT	2271
7	The Closer	TNT	2249
8	Sprint Cup Racing/Michigan	TNT	2201
9	Burn Notice	USA	2171
10	Family Guy	ADSM	1770
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data

TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS Adults 25-54 Week Ending June 14
	PRIME TIME		TOTAL DAY
Rank	Net	(000)	Net	(000)
1	USA	1488	USA	699
2	TNT	1033	TNT	660
3	TBSC	765	NAN *	500
4	DISC	745	TBSC	460
5	FX	683	ADSM*	410
6	AEN	650	NICK	390
7	AMC	623	DISC	385
8	FOOD	607	TRU	380
9	HIST	599	FX	368
10	TLC	595	AEN	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 June 14
Rank	PROGRAM	NET	(000)
1	The Closer	TNT	2938
2	NASCAR Post Race Show	TNT	2857
3	Deadliest Catch	DISC	2761
4	WWE Raw	USA	2708
5	Sprint Cup Racing/Michigan	TNT	2689
6	Royal Pains	USA	2599
7	Burn Notice	USA	2428
8	Jon & Kate Plus 8	TLC	2255
9	WWE Raw	USA	2159
10	In Plain Sight	USA	1929
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data