Tuesday, June 2, 2026

“American Idol” Grim Wednesday Ratings Are Back to Lows from Olympics

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We may be getting ready to say goodbye to “American Idol.” Last night’s show, dreadful in many ways, was also extremely low rated. Total viewers were 10.11 million. The key demo rating was 2.4, down from 2.7 last week and back to the lows the show got during February when it was up against the Olympics. To put it simply: this dog will not hunt.

The show is suffering this season from poor contestants also. No star has emerged among the contenders. There’s no Jennifer Hudson, Kelly Clarkson, or even a Scotty McCreery. As contestants get eliminated, the ratings should be going up. Alas, it’s the other way around.

“Idol” was beaten in total viewers by “Modern Family” on ABC and “Criminal Minds” on CBS. “Survivor,” from 8 to 9pm on CBS, came close.

Last night’s theme, by the way, was Songs from the Cinema. I don’t know what they were. Maybe they were songs playing while people were walking around in a movie theater.

 

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009 and previously edited Fame magazine and wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. is articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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