I didn't post ratings last week and I have no intention of making it up. That wicked combination of family commitments, holidays, a backlog of work and a dwindling choice of ratings means that I should probably just shut down the ratings posts for the last 6 weeks of the year. I'll continue to update the VH1 Ratings Post every Tuesday and I'll be back the first week of 2017.

Reunion week it seems. Only reason why I used a picture for a show that I actually don't talk about this week. If the list seems rushed, it's because the political junkie in me wants to go cook dinner so I can watch election returns in peace.

The last two days proved to be brutal for a lot of shows.

The Walking Dead is back. Of course that dominates everything.

The big wave of fall premieres should be over with. I know The Walking Dead will be back on Sunday and there will be a few random November premieres, but this list is about as long as it's going to get until January.

Some good things to see here and some bad things as well. Also, the theme of this week may be that if your favorite show aired Tuesday, Friday or Sunday, blame politics for the depressed numbers.

The premieres are slowing down, but The CW will roll out their lineup in the next couple of weeks.

This hasn't been a promising start for returning shows so far.

I think we're going to be in for another season of ugly broadcast ratings and networks looking desperate in about 5 weeks.

The time has come yet again to start a new post for the new year. I will continue to update the 2014 post weekly until every currently airing show airs its last episode of the season. If I follow last year's standard then the updates will certainly continue through March and possibly into April. Also following last year's standard, updates will occur at least once per week and all specials that I see numbers for will be located at the bottom of the post. [Updated 8/20/16]

The fall television season officially begins next Monday. A lot of networks are going aggressive by starting their new seasons this week.

This is yet another one of those slow periods where there just aren't too many shows to talk about.

Doesn't feel like we're approaching the end of summer. I'm about ready for it to be over.

Now that the Olympics are over, some shows should begin to return to normal ratings levels.

Not much to say about the shows on the list this week.

Quite a few interesting ratings tidbits make up for the small selection of premieres and finales this week.

I'm back and my vacation and ready to get back into routine. I'm a little rusty because there are a ton of low rated shows on this list.

Who takes a vacation after a holiday? I do.

No, seriously. I do need a break. Those of you who stuck with me through my Bourgy days know that I've been trying to pursue a career as a self-published author. I've been hard at work with that (I just published a new short story a couple of weeks ago, but my full catalog of 13 books is here). Buy a book...or two...or three. It won't break your budget and you've probably wasted a dollar on worse things.

On top of that, you all know I've mentioned having issues with trying to come up with 10 shows to talk about every week since the broadcast season ended. So, I've decided to just give myself a vacation and take the rest of the month off from posting the 10 ratings blurbs list. I'll keep the VH1 2016 list updated and I'll be ready to go again in August.

This was an active week with several premieres to inject some life into this post.

If I wasn't busy with other things, I would be bothered by how short this list is getting.

It was a struggle to find 10 shows to put on this list this week.

This is the week where you start to notice that it will be a long way to September.

The holiday delayed nothing except for the fact that a lot of these networks gambled and lost on Monday night.

This is it, the last 2 days of the broadcast television season are upon us. Luckily for me, that means I get one more week of not trying to reach for shows to fill the blurb list.

Upfront week is like the last day of school. Other people get excited and treat it like a holiday. For me, it's like not looking forward to yet another terrible year of school. I say this every year, but the new shows all sound like crap and none of them are intriguing enough for me to check out.

There are a few finales here. I expect the even more to come over the next 2 weeks.

I'm going cable heavy for the list this week. Just about all of the broadcast shows will end in the next 3 weeks and I want to have room for those.

Just another average ratings week complete with a couple of dominant shows and everything else.

The TV season is winding down and that means the ratings will continue to look like one giant wasteland.

I've been somewhat of a ratings junkie for going on six years now. I don't think I've ever had a week where I've had five Real Housewives shows on the same list.

It feels good to get this list posted on time this week.

There was a delay in the Monday cable ratings that kept me from posting this yesterday.

A lot of shows had a rough week. For some, it means absolutely nothing. For others, it could be a sign of a grim future.

Quite a few finales snuck up on me this week. One was obvious, but the rest were not.

There are several finales on this list this week, but it is also balanced out by a high number of premieres and returning shows.

This is the month where the rest of the broadcast shows return from winter break and gear up for the last push for the season.

This week's list is comprised mostly of cable finales, showing coming off of a 2 week break, shows going on a 2 week break and fillers.

I usually hate when holidays push ratings back. This time is different because I actually needed the extra day.

1. The Walking Dead (13.742 million 6.8)- This may be far away from setting any new records, but this show doesn’t really have to do that anymore. There is nothing left for this show to prove. Everyone knew it would have a huge return and it delivered on that.

2. Scandal (6.955 million 2.1)- These seem like okay numbers for a return from a long hiatus. The only reason why I say they aren’t fantastic is because the return of this lineup was highly promoted.

3. Better Call Saul (2.573 million 1.1)- It was obvious that this wasn’t going to match the season 1 premiere, but it is still a good start. This is AMC after all where nearly every other show not related to or helped by The Walking Dead struggles to get a 0.5 demo.

4. Teen Wolf (883,000 0.4)- I can’t think of much to say here. I’m still not impressed with these ratings, but I’m not unimpressed either.

5. Real Housewives of Potomac (1.421 million 0.6)- I’m conflicted about this show. On one hand, this is in the same range as the other Real Housewives shows (though now slipping to the lower end of that spectrum). On the other hand, the other Real Housewives shows don’t get the benefit of being helped by Real Housewives of Atlanta. Now RHOA may not be the juggernaut of seasons past, but it is still unquestionably the highest rated show on the network. This show needs to be doing better.

6. How to Get Away with Murder (5.822 million 1.8)- The total viewers seem a little low to me for some reason. I’m not sure why other than the fact that I can’t remember how they looked before the break. Anyway, there are only a few episodes left before the finale, so I’m sure ABC already knows what they want to do with the show (It is a pretty safe guess that they will renew it).

7. Duck Dynasty (1.579 million 0.6)- This has obviously dipped since the premiere, but the numbers are still decent.

8. Project Runway All Stars (1.090 million 0.3)- This could have done just a little bit better, especially after coming off of a successful previous season. The good news here is that there is plenty of time to grow and this is one of the few shows that does have the potential to grow as it goes along.

9. I Love New York (658,000 0.3)- So, VH1 decided to air a 3 day Valentines weekend marathon of the first seasons of Flavor of Love, Rock of Love and I Love New York. I looked for the ratings out of pure curiosity and this was the only number I could find from the entire marathon (this particular episode aired around 9:30 PM on Saturday night. I have no idea what episode that might have been).

10. The Next 15 (319,000 0.1)- My understanding is that these are not horrible premiere ratings for a TVOne show, but I have seen better. With a lineup composed of primarily VH1 and Bravo reality alums, these numbers may be just a little disappointing.
------------------------------------------

Broadcast Shows:

American Idol (Wednesday)- 9.159 million (2.2)

American Idol (Thursday)- 8.956 million (2.1)

Chicago PD- 8.278 million (2.0)

Chicago Fire- 8.128 million (1.8)

Chicago Med- 7.019 million (1.6)

Scandal- 6.955 million (2.1)

2 Broke Girls- 6.363 million (1.6)

Elementary- 6.103 million (1.1)

How to Get Away with Murder- 5.822 million (1.8)

Hell’s Kitchen- 4.401 million (1.3)

Grimm- 4.187 million (0.9)

The Flash- 3.957 million (1.6)

Marvel’s Agent Carter- 2.662 million (0.8)

Arrow- 2.445 million (0.9)

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow- 2.392 million (0.9)

Supernatural- 1.829 million (0.8)

The Vampire Diaries- 1.049 million (0.4)

The Originals- 797,000 (0.3)

Cable Shows:

The Walking Dead (Premiere)- 13.742 million (6.8)

The Haves and the Have Nots- 2.812 million (0.7)

Better Call Saul (Premiere)- 2.573 million (1.1)

Real Housewives of Atlanta- 2.600 million (1.0)

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills- 1.807 million (0.7)

Keeping Up with the Kardashians- 1.693 million (0.8)

Duck Dynasty- 1.579 million (0.6)

Teen Mom OG- 1.486 million (0.9)

Vanderpump Rules- 1.454 million (0.7)

Real Housewives of Potomac- 1.421 million (0.6)

Little Women: LA- 1.407 million (0.6)

Dance Moms- 1.405 million (0.5)

Pretty Little Liars- 1.224 million (0.6)

Little Women: Atlanta- 1.219 million (0.5)

Mob Wives: The Last Stand- 1.145 million (0.6)

Project Runway All Stars (Premiere)- 1.090 million (0.3)

Teen Wolf- 883,000 (0.4)

Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars- 738,000 (0.3)

The Challenge: Battle of the Bloodlines- 730,000 (0.4)

Ridiculousness- 682,000 (0.3)

Real Husbands of Hollywood- 529,000 (0.2)

Tamar & Vince- 522,000 (0.3)

The Next 15 (Premiere)- 319,000 (0.1)

Preachers of Atlanta-194,000 (0.1)

Next week, I can inject some new blood into this post. Unfortunately, that probably means another picture featuring The Walking Dead.

The two weeks that make up late January and early February are a little odd. You get a few premieres, even fewer finales and a ton of specials. I didn't have to scrape together too many shows to make up this week's list, but the next two might have a recycled feel to them.

There are several DC and Marvel related shows and a couple of VH1 premieres on the list this week.

Can't help the holiday delays. Fortunately, this is the last one for a long while.