For all the hype, influence on the fashion industry, and magazine spreads, Mad Men is not the ratings draw you might've been led to believe.
In fact, it "continues to shed its audience at an alarming rate," intones Michael Starr. While the second season premiered on July 27 with 2.1 million viewers, last Sunday's episode averaged just 1.1 million (and a season low of 514k in the 18-49 demo).
None of this should be terribly surprising if you've been paying attention to the hype-vs-ratings measurements of late.
Gossip Girl, which gets the attention of television critics to the Parents Television Council, still doesn't deliver the viewers, which is a dark stain on The CW's attempt to stay afloat. Despite breathless coverage and word-of-mouth from entertainment critics, bloggers, and fans, the most-watched episode of Gossip Girl still got trounced by ABC Family's The Secret Life of the American Teenager, which most critics shat on.
Meanwhile, The CW'S resurrection of 90210 is expected to draw big numbers for it's Sept. 2 premiere; but if it follows the trend, buzz from the blogs will continue in earnest, but actual viewership is going to plummet.
Editorial Director
I watched "Mad Men" exactly ONCE!! Worse show on televsion, if you ask me. Who in the year 2008 wants to watch these people and their smoking and drinking? (And hideous clothes.) I certainly don't. I don't know why the media pay attention to shows like this. Nobody watches them and no matter how much the elitist media write about Mad Men and Gossip Girl, still nobody will watch. Sorry media people. Guess you don't have as much influence as you would like to think.
Love Mad men, so sophisticated and well written. Not intended to dumb us down
Mad Men is one of the best shows on television or any year, for that matter. Gorgeously written, impeccably acted and with fantastic production values in all aspects of its period details, including costuming.
I can understand why someone like "mslewis" might not like it, but the childish overreaction and the ridiculous declaration that "nobody" watches them is laughable. Audiences might be small, they do exist.
And, "ms. lewis," I'm not in the fabled "elitist media" but I guess that won't stop morons like you from making sweeping statements about who is and is not doing whatever and why.
I don't know how old (or young) "mslewis" is but I lived through that era and remember it well. They've got the details down pat, and the storyline (if you had bothered to watch from episode one) is engrossing. And btw, the word is "worst" show on television - which it clearly is not. Pick any so-called "reality" show on any netwoork/cable or junk on MTV for comparison - eeuuwww.
Pardon, that's "network" - it's Friday afternoon.