Here’s a quick rundown of some recent ratings and renewals news: Yesterday, Fox renewed its Tuesday night lineup, giving “Glee” a fourth season (boo!), “Raising Hope” a third season (cool), and “New Girl” a second (awesome). It’s worth noting that “New Girl” has gotten significantly better over the course of the season, “Raising Hope” hit a lull but has bounced back since its Valentine’s Day episode, and “Glee” blows on every single level. There’s some question about the fate of the characters played by Chris Colfer, Lea Michele and Cory Monteith, who are all graduating, but honestly, I don’t care enough to explore it. The only minor surprise among the renewals is “Raising Hope,” because I thought that Mindy Kaling’s new show would be a shoo-in as a time-slot partner with “New Girl.” That may still be the case, and “Raising Hope” may anchor another comedy block.
Meanwhile, in ratings news, “Game of Thrones” held up nicely in its second week, holding on to 97 percent of its debut ratings. That’s outstanding, suggesting not only that viewers are watching “Game of Thrones” in droves, but they’re not even DVR delaying it. They’re watching it live. “Game of Thrones” had 3.8 million viewers (6.5 million once the later airing was factored in), while over on AMC, “Mad Men” had 2.5 million viewers, and “The Killing” had 1.8 million. It’s worth noting, too, that what little momentum “The Killing” regained last week all but vanished in Sunday night’s episode.
Finally, Jennifer Love Hewitt — a chesty favorite around here, despite protestations of Warming Glow Native Son, Matt — scored sizable ratings with her Lifetime show, “The Client List.” It fetched 2.8 million viewers, Lifetime’s biggest debut since “Drop Dead Diva,” whatever that is. My colleague over on Pajiba reviewed the debut of “The Client List” and summed it up thusly: “Jennifer Love Hewitt is cleavage and cheekbones with a whirling vortex of stupid for a brain.” That is to say: Just because she’s appreciated in a low-cut blouse doesn’t mean anyone has any intention of actually watching her show.
