2009 Mid-Season TV Preview: ‘Lost,’ ‘Damages,’ ‘Nip/Tuck,’ ‘24,’ More

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Nip/Tuck: Season Five, Part Two debuts on FX on January 6th, 2009.

The first full week of January sees a remarkable slate of returning shows on both cable and the broadcast networks, starting with the return of ABC’s reality stalwart “The Bachelor” on January 5th. The runner-up on the last season of “The Bachelorette,” single father Jason Mesnick, has the potential to bring high ratings to a show that always delivers in that department but is not the break-out hit it once was. Female fans fell in love with Mesnick, a great choice for the 13th edition of this popular romance series.

Tuesday, January 6th is one of the biggest days of the 2008-2009 season for returning shows with “Scrubs” making its anticipated eighth season debut on ABC after making the rare network hop from the peacock network. I realize that NBC never treated “Scrubs” right but did anyone there actually think “Kath and Kim” would do better? I’ve seen the first two episodes and “Scrubs” returns better than it has been in the last few seasons and it would be TV karma if it became a huge hit on ABC. Watch for a full review next week.

That same day sees the return of the fifth season of “Nip/Tuck” on FX, a show pulling one of those weird two-part seasons a la “The Sopranos” and “Entourage” in recent years. Why isn’t the fifteenth episode of season five of Ryan Murphy’s hit show just episode one of season six? I have no idea, but Drs. Christian Troy and Sean McNamara return to over-the-top glory next week. We’ll talk more about those bad boys then.

Comedy fans will be excited about the return of the improvisational “10 Items or Less” on TBS and “Monk” and “Psych” on the USA Network the same night, January 6th. “10 Items or Less” enters its third season while “Monk” returns for its seventh season and “Psych” comes back for number three. All have loyal audiences that should be satisfied with shows unlikely to change their comic formulas too drastically.

Damages: Season Two debuts on FX on January 7th, 2009.

Wednesday, January 7th provides two of the more distinctly different options for TV fans of the new season - FX Networks’ “Damages” and The CW’s “13: Fear is Real”.

The former Emmy winner and nominee for Best Drama for its first season would have been back last summer but the strike pushed it to 2009. If any series is going to improve on its ratings, it is likely to be “Damages,” as the buzz and awards it’s earned while audiences have been able to catch up with it on DVD has been deafening. The latter? There are very few words as scary as “a CW reality series” but this one, where contestants have to battle their greatest fears to survive, has the potential to be a breakout hit for the fledgling network. It’s certainly unlike anything else on this month.

Last summer, as fans were desperate for a new show to watch, many of them turned to CBS and made “Flashpoint” into a surprise action hit. The Enrico Colantoni series will return on Friday, January 9th. Low expectations for ratings on Friday nights combined with the continued massive success of CBS should make the return of “Flashpoint” a relative success.

24: Season Seven debuts on HBO on January 11th, 2009.

One of the more interesting ratings stories in the first half of January 2009 is going to be the new bad day for Jack Bauer on the seventh season of “24”. With a four-hour premiere spread out over two nights starting Sunday, January 11th, the question of whether or not fans still remember or care about a show they haven’t seen in nearly two years will be finally be answered. Come back to HollywoodChicago.com for full coverage next week and check out our review of the “prequel” movie from last November, “24: Redemption”.

Even “American Idol” was damaged by the declining state of TV in 2008, looking like it may have finally jumped the shark for many fans. Of course, that means changes were in order. The seventh season of “AI” will see a new judge, less brutal auditions, and more contestants. Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell, Ryan Seacrest, and Randy Jackson will be back on Tuesday, January 13th with a two-night premiere. Face it. You can’t avoid “American Idol” even if you want to.

Patrick Swayze brings his new show, “The Beast” to A&E TV on Thursday, January 15th, hoping to continue the trend of audiences going to basic cable stations like AMC, FX, and USA for original programming.

Anonymous's picture

Not true about Chuck, it’s

Not true about Chuck, it’s numbers are lower than last year but it did not keep dropping every week like you claim:
Chuck season premiere - 6.6 million, 18-49 2.6
Chuck mid-season finale - 7.56 million. 18-49 2.6

And while The Mentalist may be doing great in total viewers, calling it a “massive success” may be a bit of an exaggeration as it’s still being beaten in the 18-49 demo (more important for setting ad rates than total viewers) by shows like Grey’s Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, House, Two and a Half Men, CSI, How I Met Your Mother etc.

BrianTT's picture

Chuck and Mentalist

I’ll give you Chuck. I know numbers were down for a while - 6.23 for a November episode - but I’ll admit that I missed the December swing in the positive direction. It’s been corrected. I’m actually very happy for the success of the show. That’s good news.

As for The Mentalist, I understand the demo situation but any first season show that can boast being the #1 show on television for even one single week is a “massive success”, as the show did this month. It’s the first time that had happened since May 2005.

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