He’s back, not that he ever really went away. Fox’s favorite multitasker Gordon Ramsay returned with a new season of Hotel Hell (1.5/5) last night. Which of course meant that Fox was all Ramsay on Monday with the second-cycle debut of the reality series following his own MasterChef (2.1/7). Hotel Hell was a big hit for the network when it launched two years ago, if for no other reason than it was comfortingly reminiscent of Ramsay’s now-shuttered Kitchen Nightmares. The then-new Hotel Hell saw the often acerbic chef going into establishments in need of serious help and delivering it in his distinct fashion. Monday saw Ramsay in Las Cruces, NM, working on desert retreat that really isn’t working. The show was debut down a hard 21% from its August 13, 2012 Season 1 premiere. But don’t shed a tear for Gordon: Lead-in MasterChef shot up 17% among adults 18-49 from last week’s dip to hit a season high. It was also easily the top-rated show of the night, which helped Fox winthe night in the demo with 1.8/6 rating and among total viewers with 4.93 million.
All of the Big 4 and the CW aired originals last night. Once again CBS’ only new show of the night was Under The Dome (1.5/6). Like Hotel Hell, the 10 PM Steven Spielberg-produced drama also fell 21% from its July 14 show to hit a series low. Last week, Dome rose double digits from the previous series low of its July 7 episode.
Like CBS, NBC only had one original last night and that was American Ninja Warrior (1.9/5). part of the reason Hotel Hell and Under The Dome took hits in their respective time slots. Not only was the two-hour competition show up 12% from last week but also it tied a season high in the demo. Also, with a 1.9 rating, Ninja bested Hotel Hell head-to-head in the 9 PM hour. Additionally, after being flat for two weeks in a row, it beat Under The Dome in the 10 PM hour with a 2.0 rating. Oh yeah and ANW hit a season-high 5.78 million viewers.
Leading up to next week’s finale, it was the “Men Tell All” episode of The Bachelorette (1.8/6) on ABC last night. A fan favorite every season, this episode is where all the guys who didn’t make it so far dish the drama of the season. They laugh, they cry, and, in the case of this season, they make Andi Dorfman very uncomfortable. All of which found Bachelorette, on a night of serious competition, basically steady with its July 14 show, up 6% rise in preliminary ratings. Then again, with an audience of 6.80 million, the reality show was the most-watched program of the night. Lead-out Mistresses (1.0/3) was again even with the previous week’s show.
Over on the CW, an original Whose Line Is It Anyway? (0.6/2) took a 20% leap up after last week’s double-digit fall. Not that it was much help to newbies Backpackers (0.2/1) or Seed (0.2/0), which both stayed even with their premieres last week.
Must Read Stories
Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy.