I filled this week out with a bunch of broadcast shows. I may need to revisit some of them in a couple of weeks as the fall finales start rolling around.

1. Real Housewives of Atlanta (3.826 million 1.8)- This is a very good start for the show and I think Bravo knew it was going to get off to a strong start. Certainly they needed it because otherwise they would have left this week to just air part 2 of the Real Housewives of New Jersey reunion (more on that later). If this is another start low and finish strong seasons then Bravo may need to brace for a rush of discomfort because if that’s the case then this show may be about to break a whole lot of network records (most of which should already be held by this show after last season) and it’s quite obvious that they prefer this show not be the flagship show of the network or the franchise.

2. The Walking Dead (13.534 million 7.0)- If any other show on TV fell 0.6 demo points in one week and it wasn’t episode 2 of the season people would be in panic mode. Honestly people would be in panic mode if it was episode 2 and the same drop occurred. Not so with this show. This show is so huge that it can lose 6 whole demo points and still be the highest rated show on AMC. Now I don’t think it will drop that far before the end of its run but I do know it will get a proper final season whenever the time comes because AMC wants to be known for doing that with all of their veteran shows.

3. Masterchef Junior (5.09 million 1.8)- I think this show took advantage of all the intermittent election coverage and the fact that the show was promoted reasonably well. Last season if I recall correctly the show had a promising start on Fridays before tumbling. That’s why I’m not sold on this move paying off for FOX just yet.

4. Once Upon a Time (7.42 million 2.5)- This show is looking more and more like it may be the only show that ABC airs on Sunday this year to survive and that’s with me taking the midseason schedule into consideration. A couple years ago these could have been described as highly disappointing numbers but these days the show is doing more than enough to get by.

5. The Vampire Diaries (1.59 million 0.8)- The CW probably came into this season thinking that for the first time ever they would have 5 big shows to help them carry the network. Well we’re into November and it’s looking more like they have one big show and four okay shows. This show is one of the 3 okay shows. There’s nothing very impressive about the ratings but because it isn’t at the back of the pack no one will say anything about it.

6. The Originals (1.46 million 0.7)- This is another show that is doing ok by CW standards. The last couple of weeks have been a little rocky but the show is beginning to show some signs of life. The CW will have some very tough decisions to make as they have 3 scripted shows with lower ratings than this and 4 more scripted shows on the bench. This show should manage to stay above the fray and manage to lock up a spot for next season fairly early (likely February or March).

7. Homeland (1.545 million 0.4)- Showtime just renewed the show yesterday and no one should be surprised by that. It is after all their highest rated shows. Doesn’t seem like it would be with numbers like this but when most of their other shows struggle mightily to reach 900,000 viewers on a consistent basis and still get renewed, shows like this become a no-brainer for them to keep around.

8. Snooki & JWoww (849,000 0.4)- There was a point early last season where the ratings seemed to inexplicably plummet and never recovered. To be honest I didn’t know this show was coming back on until Wednesday morning so I’m not surprised with these numbers and I think MTV needs to be very concerned if the show loses any more viewers.

9. Real Housewives of New Jersey (1.399 million 0.6)- Bravo knew to expect lower ratings here because this aired on a Thursday. A lot of planning and tough decisions will need to go into next season primarily because of the legal consequences surrounding a couple of castmembers. Ratings dictate that the show will certainly return. The makeup of the cast and the filming schedule will be watched very closely in the months ahead.

10. Dancing With the Stars (13.30 million 2.1)- A lot has been said about this season being the weakest on file in terms of buzz surrounding the cast and how it translates to ratings. That’s not always the case but I’ve come to realize that fall seasons are always going to be weaker than spring seasons because ABC has to deal with a moderate chance of football preemptions in local markets in the fall and they have very limited access to athletes and their own in-house talent (meaning reality, Disney and soap stars) for the fall season. Those factors generally improve in the spring giving ABC a better opportunity of piecing together a stronger cast with slightly stronger ratings but this season is just one where as long as the numbers haven’t tanked, there’s nothing for them to worry about.