Z on TV: Jon & Kate dominate with record ratings Monday - Sun critic David Zurawik writes about the business, culture and craziness of television

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May 27, 2009

Jon & Kate dominate with record ratings Monday

All the tabloid mania was certainly good for Jon & Kate at the ratings gate Monday night. The new season opener for the reality TV show about a Pennsylvania family with eight children drew an estimated 9.8 million viewers, according to preliminary Nielsen ratings.

That would make it the highest rated show anywhere on TV for Memorial Day -- a remarkable feat for a relatively small basic cable channel like Maryland's TLC (The Learning Channel), which has never had a show that kind of mass appeal.

Posted by David Zurawik at 8:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Reality TV

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About David Zurawik

I've been The Baltimore Sun's TV critic since 1989. My writings on TV and media have appeared in such publications as TV Guide, Esquire magazine and American Journalism Review. I have a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Maryland, College Park, and an M.A. in specialized reporting (on popular culture) from the University of Wisconsin. I'm the author of The Jews of Prime Time (Brandeis University Press), a look at 50 years of Jewish characters and identity on network TV. I have also been with WYPR-FM (88.1) radio since 1994 and can be heard Thursday mornings at 7:30 doing a weekly "Take on Television" report.

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Z ON TV COLUMN • David Zurawik's "Take on Television"
(Courtesy of WYPR FM)

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