“American Idol” posted its lowest rating among adults 18-49 in five years Wednesday, continuing its season-long slide as it edges towards its grand finale next month.
The Fox talent show drew 22.6 million total viewers, and an 8.2 rating, 21 share among adults 18-49, a demographic coveted by advertisers. Last Wednesday’s results show drew 23.3 million viewers.
Nevertheless, Fox easily won the night, also helped by the comedies “‘Til Death” and “Back to You,” which rebounded after taking a hit last week from ABC’s Democratic presidential debate. Overall, Fox averaged 14.7 million viewers
NBC was second (10.8 million) with a two-hour “Deal or No Deal” (9.9 million) and a stronger-than-usual “Law & Order” (12.6 million) that featured the final performance of Jesse L. Martin. CBS (7.8 million) and ABC (5.5 million) brought up the rear.
In other TV news, Nick Lachey has been tapped to host ABC’s reality show spinoff of “High School Musical.” The series, tentatively titled “High School Musical: Summer Session,” is launching open casting calls this weekend with a series premiere set for Sunday, June 20.
“Musical” will be Lachey’s first major regular reality gig since MTV’s hit “Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica,” which ran for three seasons. Since, Lachey has appeared on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” and NBC’s “Clash of the Choirs.”
“Musical” is considered ABC’s tentpole summer reality show. The network hopes to capture some of the excitement that made the movie version and its sequel game-changing hits for Disney Channel.
