TVLand returned to its first run schedule on Wednesday night and it was bad news. Their linchpin show, “Hot in Cleveland,” scored low numbers. But that was good news compared to “The Soul Man.” That egregious slice of yuck failed to make the top 100 shows of the night on cable. Consider that the top 100 consists of mostly reruns. The number 1 show on Wednesday was a first run episode of “Royal Pains” with 3.67 million viewers. Number 2 was a syndicated rerun of “The Big Bang Theory.”
“Royal Pains” also had a decent 1.2 for the 18-49 age demo, top of the list.
“Cleveland,” however, finished in the middle of the pack, with half as many actual viewers (1.69 mil) and a lackluster 0.5 in the demo. That means most “Cleveland” viewers are on respirators.
I’d compare that with “The Soul Man.” That this rotten show was renewed is mind boggling. Following “Cleveland” on Wednesday night, “The Soul Man” didn’t crack the top 100. The least viewed cable show of the night was a “Seinfeld” rerun with 780,000 people tuning in. That was number 100. Cedric the Entertainer’s poor rip off of the real Soul Man, Sam Moore (of Sam & Dave) couldn’t even be counted.