The 81st Academy Awards and American Idol led the week, but The Mentalist was the week's most-watched scripted show. NBC doesn't place a single show in this list, and fares only a bit better among adults 18-49. How well Survivor holds up is impressive, as is the renaissance of The Bachelor, and how well Two and a Half Men fares in repeats.
Nielsen Top Twenty Shows by viewers for the week ending February 22, 2009:
| Rank | Shows | R=Repeat S=Special P=Premiere | Net | # Viewers (LIVE+SD) (000) | HH RATING (LIVE+SD) | HH SHARE (LIVE+SD) | 18-49 Rank |
| 1 | ACADEMY AWARDS(S) | S | ABC | 36,310 | 20.6 | 31 | 1 |
| 2 | AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY | FOX | 25,374 | 14.3 | 21 | 2 | |
| 3 | AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY | FOX | 24,790 | 14.1 | 22 | 3 | |
| 4 | OSCAR'S RED CARPET 2009(S) | S | ABC | 24,357 | 14.5 | 23 | 4 |
| 5 | Mentalist, THE | CBS | 18,226 | 11.3 | 17 | 14 | |
| 6 | NCIS | CBS | 18,064 | 11.0 | 17 | 15 | |
| 7 | CSI | CBS | 16,920 | 10.4 | 16 | 10 | |
| 8 | GREY'S ANATOMY-THU 9PM | ABC | 15,572 | 10.0 | 15 | 5 | |
| 9 | CRIMINAL MINDS | CBS | 14,536 | 9.2 | 14 | 20 | |
| 10 | HOUSE | FOX | 14,195 | 8.5 | 13 | 6 | |
| 11 | SURVIVOR: TOCANTINS | CBS | 13,589 | 7.8 | 12 | 8 | |
| 12 | TWO AND A HALF MEN | R | CBS | 13,319 | 8.1 | 12 | 13 |
| 13 | BACHELOR, THE | ABC | 12,524 | 8.0 | 12 | 9 | |
| 14 | CSI: NY | CBS | 12,331 | 8.0 | 13 | 25 | |
| 15 | WITHOUT A TRACE | CBS | 12,102 | 7.9 | 13 | ||
| 16 | BARBARA WALTERS SP-2/22(S) | S | ABC | 11,549 | 7.3 | 12 | 23 |
| 17 | LOST | ABC | 11,406 | 6.5 | 10 | 7 | |
| 18 | 24 | FOX | 11,224 | 6.5 | 10 | 18 | |
| 19 | ELEVENTH HOUR | CBS | 11,170 | 7.3 | 12 | ||
| 20 | PRIVATE PRACTICE | ABC | 11,157 | 7.3 | 12 | 11 |
Nielsen RatingsData: ©2009 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved
All numbers above based on live plus same day DVR viewing.
Aw, those Oscars are clogging the list. ‘Lost’ could have been in the top fifteen.
congrats to the awards night.
Where’s Knight Rider!?!?!? I don’t see Knight Rider on this list!
richard less, This list is just the top 20, and Knight Rider is nowhere near the top 20.
Knight Rider was 60th out of 92 shows.
I had it at 66th ranked by viewers, but that includes five Fuego en la Sangre airings on Univision that ranked ahead of it. Sans UNI, it would have been 61 ranked by total viewers. And assuming he wasn’t being facetious to begin with, at least for a little while longer he can get his Knight Rider fix here:
http://tvbythenumbers.com/category/ratings/top-shows-by-network/nbc-tv-ratings
People actually watch Fuego en la Sangre? I don’t believe it…
Glad things returned to normal with “Lost” higher than the god-awful “Private Practice”
Anyone know where CHUCK finished in the final ratings?
Yay Survivor! lulz.
I love Simon Baker in the Mentalist, but I must say his female lead does not fit the character. I have asked at least seven people who watch The Mentalist and we all agre there is abolutely no chemistrey going on here with the two leads. Sincerely, Sarah
Sarah, I totally agree with you. They lack chemistry and that hurts a show. Actually, I believe both female characters are not as strong as the men. That’s why I don’t understand what’s the deal with everyone watching The Mentalist.