I had enough here to do a full post today. Probably won't do one next week. I think the premieres and finales are going to trickle in for the rest of the summer.

1. Love & Hip Hop Hollywood (2.290 million 1.2)- I wonder if the people at VH1 are confused as to why the Atlanta version is the only show in the franchise to consistently average over 2.5 million viewers. You would think that this show would be in the prime position to strike at a time where there is no NBA, and at least for the next 6 weeks, no NFL to depress the ratings. It may be a sign that viewers just want to watch a show with a smaller, consistent, somewhat well-known cast over a show with literally dozens of random figures.

2. Real Housewives of New York City (1.703 million 0.6)- This looks like a season high for the show. The show got off to a slow start, but that’s most Real Housewives shows. We’ll just have to see if this was just an event episode or if the audience will hold as we get closer to the end of the season.

3. The Challenge XXX: Dirty 30 (837,000 0.5)- This show has had an easier road to 30 seasons than The Real World mostly because the formula is simple and changes to casting probably haven’t changed the overall feel of the show. Also, this show has spent a great deal of time just holding on to the viewers it has. While that means the show was never a monster hit, it also means that it doesn’t have the image of a former juggernaut staying afloat on past reputation. It delivers a steady audience and MTV never panicked with it when times on the network were good and bad.

4. MasterChef (3.450 million 1.1)- I know these numbers don’t look like much, but these are good numbers for FOX. We all know they are going to have at least 2 nights in the fall where their shows will struggle mightily (and in most cases, fail) to reach this threshold.

5. Black Ink Crew: Chicago (882,000 0.5)- This show, like its franchise partner, is also going to show a season-to-season ratings decline. Mondays provide a boon to these VH1 shows that seem to go without real explanation or acknowledgment. You just have to recognize that those Monday viewers are comfortable and not all of them are interested in migrating to Wednesdays. Looking at these Wednesday numbers, I do notice that they are lower than where the original Black Ink Crew came in, but they aren’t so low that I’m worried about the show just yet.

6. Little Women: LA (1.159 million 0.4)- I think Lifetime needs to go back to the drawing board with this franchise because they spent the spring and summer doing way too much, too soon and it may have hurt their flagship show in the process. Now I’m not saying any of the main shows of the franchise are in danger. I just think that last season, this show saw its highest rated season yet. This season, inconsistent scheduling and trying to air most of the franchise at once seems to have given viewers some fatigue. Perhaps Lifetime needs to take a page out of their own playbook and refer to what they do with Project Runway and those spinoffs as their model. I think that plan could work to keep the shows fresh.

7. Nashville (718,000 0.2)- The total viewers are up from last week, but that demo is concerning for me (mostly because I use round numbers for these posts. The number for this particular episode is 0.16). It’s very low and approaching about half of what it was getting the first half of the season.

8. Being Mary Jane (667,000 0.3)- These numbers look even more sluggish than the start of the first half of the season. The numbers for this season may put the show in an awkward position. What we know is that this is a veteran show and it has been plagued by offseason drama in the not so distant past. We also know that BET has expanded their scripted slate in the last couple of months and with the new Viacom deal with Tyler Perry now set, they are absolutely not done with their plans for further expansion. What that means is that it is very difficult to know where this show stands and what it will take to get the network to renew or cancel it. It also doesn’t help that BET is in a ratings slump with all of their current scripted shows. Their new confirmed pickups (former VH1 shows with higher ratings than current BET shows, but ratings too low to justify keeping them on VH1’s strongest night of the week) may not be the spark they need to get things going again. While the network rebuilds, it may take some time before we learn if this show will continue to be a part BET’s future plans. The numbers for the back half of this season will be an important part of figuring that out.

9. The Strain (913,000 0.3)- This slipped a little from last week’s premiere, but we have to remember that this is the final season of the show. It doesn’t matter what the numbers look like. FX will be pleased as long as it manages to hold up against the cable summer competition.

10. Teen Mum (10:00: 611,000 0.3; Finale: 417,000 0.2)- It looks like MTV just decided to go with a short, 3 week run of this. By the title, I’m assuming it is the UK version of the show and that means that if there are additional seasons, they can air the show at another random time if they choose.

Broadcast Shows:

America’s Got Talent- 12.573 million (2.5)

Big Brother (Wednesday)- 6.185 million (1.9)

Big Brother (Sunday)- 5.981 million (1.8)

Big Brother (Thursday)- 5.955 million (1.9)

Big Brother (Friday)- 5.447 million (1.5)

MasterChef- 3.450 million (1.1)

So You Think You Can Dance- 2.753 million (0.7)

Cable Shows:

Game of Thrones- 9.270 million (4.3)

The Haves and the Have Nots- 2.432 million (0.7)

Love & Hip Hop Hollywood (Premiere)- 2.290 million (1.2)

Basketball Wives- 2.050 million (1.0)

Power- 1.789 million (0.8)

Real Housewives of Orange County- 1.742 million (0.6)

Real Housewives of New York City- 1.703 million (0.6)

Teen Mom 2- 1.338 million (0.8)

Little Women: LA (Reunion Part 2)- 1.159 million (0.4)

Daytime Divas- 1.015 million (0.5)

The Strain- 913,000 (0.3)

The Challenge XXX: Dirty 30 (Premiere)- 837,000 (0.5)

Catfish: The TV Show- 831,000 (0.5)

Nashville- 718,000 (0.2)

Being Mary Jane (Premiere)- 667,000 (0.3)

Teen Mum (10:00)- 611,000 (0.3)

Teen Mum (Finale)- 417,000 (0.2)

Kendra on Top (9:30)- 389,000 (0.1)

Kendra on Top (9:00)- 324,000 (0.1)