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For 'Bachelorette,'
a night all to herself

Ratings are up for the two-hour ABC reality series

By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Jul 6, 2009

Monday may be the most competitive night on cable, with USA’s “WWE Raw,” ABC Family’s “The Secret Life of the American Teenager,” TNT’s “The Closer” and TLC’s “Jon & Kate Plus 8,” just to name a few.

But on broadcast it’s a virtual dead zone, which explains why ABC’s “The Bachelorette” was up last week. The show, which airs from 8 to 10 p.m. tonight, is the only original show in the timeslot for the second straight week.

In fact, ABC is the only network with a full slate of new shows on the night. “Here Come the Newlyweds,” the second-year reality show, airs at 10 p.m. The other Big Five networks have reruns from 8 to 10.

The only other original competition had been NBC’s “I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here,” which ended its run nearly two weeks ago. That led to a healthy jump for “Bachelorette” last week, going from a 2.3 rating the prior week, against “Celebrity,” to a 2.7, its best rating of the summer.

The show has no doubt benefited from all the buzz earlier this year over “The Bachelor,” the highest-rated edition of that long-running reality show in years. Bachelor Jason, of course, jilted fiancé Melissa during the reunion special to go off with runner-up Molly.

“Bachelorette” stars the second runner-up in that cycle, Jillian, and this week she has just four guys remaining. With the requisite weirdos tossed off and the hot tube out of the way, Jillian seems most interested in racking up frequent flyer miles.

Tonight she and the men take a trip to Spain before flying off to Hawaii next week.

A look at this week’s top TV draws
MONDAY, JULY 6
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 p.m.	ESPN	“Major League Baseball” (S)	The Braves face the struggling Cubs in Chicago.
8 p.m.	ABC	“The Bachelorette” (R)	Jillian and the remaining four guys take a trip to Spain.
8 p.m.	ABC Family	“The Secret Life of the American Teenager” (D)	Grace cuts herself off from everyone.
9 p.m.	TNT	“The Closer” (D)	Brenda looks into the murder of a gang member.
9 p.m.	USA	“WWE Monday Night Raw” (S)	Triple H takes on John Cena in the main event.
10 p.m.	A&E	“Obsessed” (R)	A woman has a fear of germs as well as claustrophobia.
10 p.m.	Showtime	“Weeds” (D)	Nancy ponders an abortion and discusses it with a doctor.
TUESDAY, JULY 7
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	NBC	“Today” (N)	Actor and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen guests.
8 p.m.	ABC	“The Superstars” (R)	The final six teams compete in basketball and swimming challenges.
9 p.m.	NBC	“America’s Got Talent” (R)	Still more auditions from across the country.
9 p.m.	Bravo	“NYC Prep” (R)	Some of the kids travel during winter break.
9 p.m.	TNT	“Hawthorne” (D)	A woman and her child are injured in a car accident, then later develop paralysis.
10 p.m.	A&E	“The Cleaner” (D)	William helps a girl who’s pregnant and addicted to crack.
10 p.m.	FX	“Rescue Me” (D)	Franco prepares for his first FDNY fight.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 8
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	Fox	“So You Think You Can Dance” (R)	The remaining 12 dancers take part in another round of performances.
8 p.m.	ABC	“Wipeout” (G)	Couples compete against other couples in this episode.
9 p.m.	NBC	“America’s Got Talent” (R)	The sixth round of preliminary auditions.
9 p.m.	History	“MonsterQuest” (N)	A look at the eternally searched-for Sasquatch.
9 p.m.	TBS	“Meet the Browns” (C)	Cora gets on Brown’s case about putting together a will.
9 p.m.	Showtime	“Nurse Jackie” (C)	Rerun from earlier this week: Zoey endures her first-ever night shift.
10 p.m.	E!	“True Hollywood Story” (N)	Examining the wives of pro baseball players.
THURSDAY, JULY 9
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 p.m.	ESPN	“Homecoming with Rick Reilly” (S)	Reilly interviews football great Jerry Rice.
8 p.m.	CBS	“Big Brother” (R)	Season premiere. The new houseguests enter the compound and compete in their first challenge.
8 p.m.	ABC	“Samantha Who?” (C)	Samantha is hired to run a charity foundation.
9 p.m.	Fox	“So You Think You Can Dance” (R)	After tonight we’ll be down to the top 10.
9 p.m.	History Channel	“Gangland” (N)	A profile of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club.
10 p.m.	Univision	“Soccer” (S)	Mexico versus Panama in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
FRIDAY, JULY 10
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	NBC	“Today” (N)	Daniel Radcliffe guests and Rascal Flatts perform.
8 p.m.	Fox	“Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” (G)	Larry the Cable Guy takes part.
9 p.m.	Fox	“Mental” (D)	A patient has both OCD and Tourette’s.
9 p.m.	Sci Fi Channel	“Eureka” (D)	Carter tries to get a job with the Department of Homeland Security.
9 p.m.	Disney Channel	“Phineas and Ferb” (K)	The guys put together a TV game show.
10 p.m.	Sci Fi Channel	“Primeval” (D)	Cutter tries to find out who the traitor on the team is.
SATURDAY, JULY 11
Time	Network	Program	Description
1 p.m.	NBC	“Swimming” (S)	Coverage of the U.S. national championships.
3 p.m.	CBS	“PGA Golf” (S)	Third-round coverage of the John Deere Classic
4 p.m.	Fox	“Major League Baseball” (S)	Fox’s weekly round of regional coverage.
8 p.m.	NBC	“Kings” (D)	Michelle gets closer to her mother while dealing with medical issues.
8:30 p.m.	Fox	“Cops” (R)	Cops in Florida chase a drug dealer on foot.
10 p.m.	ABC	“Eli Stone” (D)	Series finale. Eli has visions of a plane crash.
SUNDAY, JULY 12
Time	Network	Program	Description
3 p.m.	CBS	“PGA Golf” (S)	Coverage of the final round of the John Deere Classic, won by last year by Kenny Perry.
3 p.m.	NBC	“LPGA Golf” (S)	Final round of the U.S. Women’s Open, won last year by Inbee Park.
8 p.m.	CBS	“Big Brother” (R)	The first round of eviction nominations is revealed.
9 p.m.	NBC	“Meteor” (M)	First of a two-parter about a meteor bound for Earth.
9 p.m.	HBO	“True Blood” (D)	Bill, Sookie and Jessica search for a missing vampire.
10 p.m.	USA	“In Plain Sight” (D)	Raphael’s mom shows up and starts planning an engagement party.
10:30 p.m.	HBO	“Entourage” (C)	Season premiere. Eric considers buying his own house and Lloyd wants a promotion.
A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show.