Wednesday September 28, 2005

Don’t Call it a Comeback

As a lay expert on doomed reality shows, I just wanted to take the opportunity to warn you off of The Apprentice: Martha Stewart, the second episode of which airs tonight. It is not doing well. It will be moved to the weekend or to the middle of the night, and that will only break your heart.

How badly is the show doing? Well, according to Mediaweek, its ratings (5.1/8) were even worse than CBS’ Stewartspoitation flick Martha Behind Bars, starring the plainly insane Cybill Shepherd. And its ratings (5.4/9) were awful, thanks to a late-running football game that pushed it deep into the night. Enjoying Martha’s humiliation is officially more popular than Martha herself. Talk about brand equity coming back to bite you.