Will Fox’s third try at a matchmaking reality show this year–“Mr. Personality”–be a boom like “Joe Millionaire” or a bust like “Married by America”? Is the 8 p.m., Monday time slot a blessing or a burden?
And how is success really measured in these arranged marriage experiments? By number of viewers or number of marriages?
The score is about 68 million–0 on that ballot, considering the number of total people who watched the finales of “Joe Millionaire,” “Married by America,” and ABC’s “Bachelorette,” vs. the number of participants who’ve actually tied the knot.
Check out the draws for each finale:
– “Joe Millionaire,” Feb. 17, 40 million viewers.
Despite the million-dollar paycheck, Evan and Zora were finished before they even went out on a camera-free date.
– “Bachelorette,” Feb. 19, 20 million viewers.
Although Trista and Ryan are engaged, we haven’t heard any wedding bells yet.
– “Married by America,” April 14, 7.85 million viewers.
The two couples set to live together forever–and have the chance at $500,000 and a new home–didn’t even make it off the altar as husband and wife.
But let’s not shortchange Fox’s one made marriage three years ago on “Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire?”
All it takes is one mention of Darva Conger to know what happened to that happy couple.
The joke’s on her
“I’ve come to realize that I’ve already had my own reality show,” Monica Lewinsky told Newsweek. “I walk down the street and people recognize me.”
“That happened before I decided to do this show,” she said, “and it will happen after.”
And plenty of people made fun of Lewinsky then–just as they’re doing now.
“Saturday Night Live” comic Tina Fey said Lewinsky agreed to host the show because “this way, when people ask her about the most degrading thing she’s ever done, she’ll have a new answer.”
“Oh, here you go, Monica Lewinksy hosting a reality show for Fox,” Jay Leno remarked last week. “Show’s called ‘Mr. Personality,’ where a woman will try to choose between 20 men who all have masks on. And Monica Lewinsky will offer her dating advice. Well, who better to offer advice on choosing a guy without seeing his face than Monica Lewinsky?”
Viewers can’t get enough of their reality television
America still has an appetite for reality fare. “American Idol”, “Survivor,” and “Fear Factor” captured a total of almost 72 million viewers for the week ending April 13 (the most recent figures available from Nielsen Media Research).
“Idol” and “Survivor” are consistently among the most watched shows on television.
– – –
THE TOP 15 PROGRAMS
(By number of viewers, in millions)
KEY: Traditional TV shows
Reality TV shows
1. “CSI: Crime Scene
Investigation,” CBS
26.4
2. “American Idol-Tuesday,” Fox
20.1
3. “American Idol-Wednesday,” Fox
19.2
4. “Survivor: Amazon,” CBS
19.1
5. “NCAA Basketball Championship” CBS
18.6
6. “Without a Trace,” CBS
17.5
7. “Cher: Farewell Tour,” NBC
16.6
8. “Friends,” NBC
14.9
9. “Prelude to a Championship,”
CBS
14.1
10. “Law & Order: Special
Victim’s Unit,” NBC
13.8
11. “Fear Factor,” NBC
13.5
12. “Third Watch,” NBC
12.9
13. “Bernie Mac,” Fox
12.9
14. “60 Minutes,” CBS
12.7
15. “Wanda at Large,” Fox
12.1
SOURCE: Nielsen Media Research
