In the red-hot race among off-net series in syndication, “Two and a Half Men” ruled the off-net roost for the second week in a row, as ratings for the sweeps came in from Nielsen Media Research for the week ending Nov 4. That includes the first two weekdays of the sweep.
The Warner Bros.-distributed show scored a new season high for the company, growing 5% to a 4.3 average for the week, despite being the only top show to not have a cable run incorporated into the numbers. That 4.3 was good enough to pace ahead of “Everybody Loves Raymond” which earned a 4.2 for the week, also up 5%.
Tied for third place were Sony’s “Seinfeld,” up 5% to a new season high of 3.9, and Twentieth’s “Family Guy,” which slipped 3%.
Among the rookie first-run shows hitting their first November book, “TMZ” continued atop the rankings despite slipping 6% to a 1.7. Tied for second place were “Steve Wilkos” and “Judge David Young” at a 0.9. “Wilkos” was off a tenth of a point from the prior week’s all-time high, while “Young” held even.
“Morning Show With Mike & Juliet” and “Merv Griffin’s Crosswords” filled out the next slots, tying at a 0.8; “Morning Show” was down 11% and “Crosswords” was unchanged. “Temptation” was unchanged with a 0.5 and “Jury Duty” held even at a 0.2.
Among talk shows, three veterans were up for the week and most of the rest held even. “Oprah” continued its lead in the genre, up 2% to a 5.8, with “Dr. Phil” second at a 4.8 (up 7% to a season high) and “Montel Williams” in third, up 7% to a new season high of 1.6.