Sunday, July 12, 2026

Second Time Around, Oprah’s Meghan-Harry Interview Beaten by NBC James Spader Drama “The Blacklist”

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Remember when Oprah’s interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry scored 17.1 million viewers? That was last Sunday.

The interview swamped Sunday night’s ratings and killed everything in its path. It was all anyone could talk about for days.

Well, CBS re-ran the two hour kvetch fest on Friday night from 8 to 10pm. And guess what? Just over 3 million people showed up.

The first hour was beaten by NBC’s long running drama “The Blacklist” starring James Spader. The second hour did a little better and beat the first hour of “Dateline” on NBC. But the second hour of “Dateline” outdrew Oprah. So there.

If you didn’t tape it, or record it, that’s the last we’ll see of Oprah Royal special for a while. It’s gone into her vaults for future use only by her. CBS can’t show it on Paramount Plus. Oprah’s company, Harpo, will now charge a fortune for those clips.

Good deal, huh? That’s why Oprah has mansions and we’re in five floor walkups. Dig it!

 

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009, where he covered Michael Jackson, and previously wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine in the mid-1990s, where he covered the O.J. Simpson trial. He also edited Fame 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. 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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