TNT’s The Closer lived up to its name, sealing the deal to take first place in the cable ratings for the week ending Aug. 7.
The cop drama, starring Kyra Sedgwick as a formidable police interrogator, earned a formidable 4.41 million total viewers for its Aug. 1 9 p.m. episode.
In second place, MTV’s The Real World XVI brought in 4.25 million total viewers Aug. 2 at 10 p.m., and USA’s Monk earned the third most viewers – 3.82 million – Aug. 5 at 10 p.m.
The week’s most-viewed ad-supported cable networks in prime were: TNT (an average 2.39 million total viewers), USA (2.37 million) and Nick at Nite (2.26 million).
FX’s new comedies placed a bit further down the ratings list when they debuted Aug. 4. Starved, about a group of friends with eating disorders, earned 1.12 million total viewers at 10 p.m. and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, about a group of friends who run a neighborhood bar, earned 1.03 million at 10:30.
Both series were close to FX’s July average in prime (1.13 million total viewers), but neither came close to FX’s dramas.
Rescue Me, in its second season, earned 2.05 million total viewers for its Aug. 2 episode at 10 p.m. and new war drama, Over There, pulled in 2.6 million at 10 p.m. Aug. 3.
Oxygen earned its best viewer total yet for an original telecast with F.A.T. Chance, the "full-figured" beauty pageant hosted by comedienne Mo’Nique Aug. 6. The special earned 586,000 total viewers between 8 and 10 p.m., significantly above Oxygen’s July prime time average of 193,000 total viewers.
