Showbiz411

Here’s a thought: with mostly reruns up against it on other networks, “American Idol” went up on Wednesday from Tuesday in number of viewers. “AI” scored a meager 3.7, but it was enough to win the night. The show had 12.71 million viewers from 8 to 10pm. That’s up from the night before. It’s also more than the total viewers who watched NBC from 8 to 10pm last night. NBC only had 10.96 million viewers who enjoyed two reruns of “Whitney” and one of “Law and Order: SVU.” So good for “Idol,” which still offered a kind of perplexing show. I do think the Tues-Weds pairing is better than Weds-Thurs. People are out on Thursday nights. As for NBC, bring over some of those USA Network shows like “White Collar” and “Burn Notice.”

Roger Friedman

Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News. Friedman previously wrote the Intelligencer column at New York Magazine, He writes for Parade magazine and has written for Details, Vogue, the New York Times, Post, and Daily News and many other publications. He is the writer and co-producer of a film about R&B Music called “Only the Strong Survive,” which was released by Miramax in 2003 and was a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals.