You may have heard there was a presidential debate
There is no debating how well NBC’s “The Weakest Link” reboot was received on Tuesday. Still the Jane Lynch-hosted revival couldn’t hold a candle to ratings for the first Trump-Biden debate, which was hosted by Fox News Channel but simulcast across many networks.
Due to the nature of live television, the below numbers for the presidential debate — which aired from 9 p.m. ET to 11 p.m. ET (or 6 p.m. PT to 8 p.m. PT) — are not adjusted for time-zone differences and thus should be considered subject to significant adjustment. Final Nielsen ratings for the debate, as well as Tuesday’s data for the cable news networks, will be available later on Wednesday.
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NBC was second in ratings with a 1.8/8 and in viewers with 7.1 million. At 8, “The Weakest Link” debuted to a 1.3/7 and 6.1 million viewers. The debate drew a 2.1/10 and 7.5 million viewers.
CBS and Fox tied for third in ratings, both with a 0.9/4. CBS was third in total viewers with 4.3 million, Fox was fourth with 3.5 million.
For CBS, “Love Island” at 8 got a 0.6/3 and 2.8 million viewers. At 9, the debate had a 1.1/5 and 5 million viewers.
For Fox broadcast network, “Cosmos” at 8 had a 0.5/2 and 2 million viewers. At 9, the Trump vs. Biden showdown received a 1.3/6 and 4.4 million viewers.
Telemundo and Univision tied for fifth in ratings, both with a 0.4/2. Telemundo was fifth in total viewers with 1.3 million, Univision was sixth with 1.2 million.
The CW was seventh in ratings with a 0.1/1 and in viewers with 643,000. Following reruns, the finale of “Tell Me a Story” had a 0.1/0 and 318,000 viewers.
17 TV Shows Based on Podcasts Ranked, From 'Homecoming' to '2 Dope Queens' (Photos)
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Epix, IFC, Matt Sayles/Netflix, Showtime"Desus & Mero" is going strong with its third season and "The Shrink Next Door" premiered just last month. Here are other TV shows based on successful podcasts, with their Metacritic ranking (as of December 3, 2021).
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Oxygen"Up and Vanished" (2018 - )
Metacritic score: n/a
Payne Lindsey's true-crime podcast first became a successful two-part special on Oxygen, exploring the disappearance of Georgia schoolteacher Tara Grinstead. And then it became a series, with Payne and his team exploring a new cold case in each episode.
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Matt Sayles/Netflix
Song Exploder (2020 - )
Metacritic score: n/a
Based on the acclaimed podcast of the same name, the Netflix docu-series takes a look at how the world's greatest musicians have created their songs, while exploring their various creative processes and inspirations.
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Tine Harden/Netflix
Equinox (2020 - )
Metacritic score: n/a
Based on the Danish podcast "Equinox 1985," this Netflix thriller follows a young woman investigating the suspicious circumstances surrounding the disappearance of a group of kids, one of whom was her sister.
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Epix
Slow Burn (2020 - )
Metacritic score: n/a
The true-crime podcast hosted by Leon Neyfakh is now a docuseries on EPIX. Similar to the podcast, Neyfakh dissects historical figures and events and outlines how the lesser-known subplots behind the stories have changed history.
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ABC
"Alex Inc." (2018)
Metacritic score: 49
Zach Braff plays a journalist who quits his job to start his own podcast business -- in a short-lived ABC sitcom very loosely based on Alex Blumberg's "StartUp" podcast about the founding of his own Gimlet Media podcast network.
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National Geographic
"StarTalk" (2015 - )
Metacritic score: 55
Astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson adapted his hit podcast into a long-running talk show on NatGeo, with a wide variety of guests beyond the science (and even sci-fi) field.
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USA
"Dirty John" (2018 - )
Metacritic score: 58
Connie Britton and Eric Bana starred in the first season of this true-crime anthology series based on the Wondery podcast about love gone wrong. The second season starred an ill-fated coupled played by Amanda Peet and Christian Slater.
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Amazon Prime
"Lore" (2017 - 18)
Metacritic score: 60
Aaron Mahnke's podcast exploring the true histories behind horror legends like werewolves and vampires inspired an anthology series that blended dramatic scenes, animation and narration and ran for two seasons on Amazon.
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Apple TV+
"The Shrink Next Door" (2021 - )
Metacritic score: 61
The dark comedy series based n the podcast of the same name premiered November 12 on Apple TV+ and follows the dysfunctional and increasingly manipulative relationship between celebrity psychiatrist Dr. Isaac "Ike" Herschkopf and his longtime patient Martin "Marty" Markowitz.
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"Limetown" (2019)
Metacritic score: 62
Jessica Biel starred in this Facebook Watch series that told the fictional story of the disappearance of 300 people at a Tennessee neuroscience facility. However, the show failed to capture the creepy immersiveness of the original podcast and lasted only one season.
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HBO
"The Ricky Gervais Show" (2010 - 12)
Metacritic score: 62
The creator of "The Office" adapted his radio show (with Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington) into a podcast, and then into an animated HBO series that made its potty-humor jokes literal.
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IFC
"Comedy Bang! Bang!" (2012 - 16)
Metacritic score: 64
Scott Aukerman adapted his comedy podcast into a parody talk show that ran for five seasons on IFC.
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St. Martin's Press
"The Case Against Adnan Syed (2019)
Metacritic score: 66
The four-part HBO documentary series follows the 1999 disappearance and murder of 18-year-old high school student Hae Min Lee and the conviction of her ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, which was a case that was covered in the widely popular investigative journalism podcast, "Serial."
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IFC
"Maron" (2013 - 16)
Metacritic score: 71
The sitcom, which was based on the comedian's podcast, stars Marc Maron as a fictionalized version of himself, as he navigates life, trying to balance all his relationships.
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Showtime
"Homecoming" (2018-)
Metacritic score: 75
Julia Roberts starred in the first season of this show, based on Gimlet's fictional podcast about a secret government program to transition U.S. war veterans back to civilian life.
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Amazon Prime
"Desus & Mero" (2019 - )
Metacritic score: 78
Bronx natives Desus Nice and The Kid Mero star in Showtime's first ever talk show, which was adapted from their comedy entertainment podcast "Desus vs. Mero."
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HBO
"2 Dope Queens" (2018 - 19)
Metacritic score: 87
"Daily Show" alum Jessica Williams and Phoebe Robinson adapted their hit comedy podcast into an HBO series that hits a broad range of topics.
A growing number of TV shows have been inspired by audio hits
"Desus & Mero" is going strong with its third season and "The Shrink Next Door" premiered just last month. Here are other TV shows based on successful podcasts, with their Metacritic ranking (as of December 3, 2021).
Tony Maglio
TV Editor • tony.maglio@thewrap.com • Twitter: @tonymaglio