CBS Corp

Nielsen ratings: Food shows take a bite

Jayme Deerwester

USA TODAY

After a dropoff in week 2, FX's "The Strain" (with Corey Stoll, left and David Bradley) is starting to inch upward, drawing 2.3 million Sunday.

So-so starters: NBC's culinary game show Food Fighters premiered Tuesday with 4.5 million viewers, while 4 million on Monday checked into Fox's Hotel Hell, down from 5.1 million for last year's premiere. Project Runway's 13th-season premiere drew 1.6 million viewers to the workroom Thursday. And WGN America's second scripted series, Manhattan, claimed 904,000, climbing to 1.8 million across Sunday night.

Fox farewells: Another Gordon Ramsay series, Fox's Hell's Kitchen, closed out its 12th season Thursday with 5.2 million, down from 5.6 million last summer. Summer police drama Gang Related bowed out Thursday with 2.6 million.

Supernatural selection: CBS' astronaut drama Extant continued to lose altitude in its third week, pulling in 6.5 million viewers Wednesday, down from 9.6 million for its premiere. FX's vampiric drama The Straininched up to 2.3 million in Sunday's third outing. Tuesday's Soundclash, a rare music show amid VH1's reality-heavy lineup, hit a sour note with 110,000.

The week's top 20 shows

1. America's Got Talent (Tuesday), NBC, 10.4 million
2. America's Got Talent (Wednesday), NBC, 10.3 million
3. NCIS, CBS, 8.7 million
4. 60 Minutes, CBS, 7.7 million
5. The Big Bang Theory, CBS, 7.1 million
6. The Bachelorette, ABC, 7.1 million
7. Under the Dome, CBS, 6.7 million
8. Big Brother (Wednesday), CBS, 6.6 million
9. NCIS: Los Angeles, CBS, 6.6 million
10. Extant, CBS, 6.5 million
11. Big Brother (Thursday), CBS, 6.5 million
12. Unforgettable, CBS, 6.5 million
13. Big Brother (Sunday), CBS, 6.4 million
14. Blue Bloods, CBS, 6.3 million
15. Dateline NBC, NBC, 6.1 million
16. Master Chef, Fox, 6.0 million
17. American Ninja Warrior, NBC, 5.8 million
18. 20/20, ABC, 5.6 million
19. Major Crimes,TNT, 5.6 million
20. The Millers,CBS, 5.4 million

Tops on Twitter

1. WWE Raw (USA, Mon.) | Tweets: 299,000 | Unique audience: 2,773,000

2. Pretty Little Liars (ABC Family, Tue.) | Tweets: 210,000 | Unique audience: 2,196,000

3. The Bachelorette (ABC, Mon.) | Tweets: 70,000 | Unique audience: 1,934,000

4. Love & Hip Hop 3(VH1, Mon.)| Tweets: 590,000 | Unique audience: 1,691,000

5. Keeping Up With the Kardashians (E!, Sun.)| Tweets: 47,000 | Unique audience: 1,642,000

6. Teen Wolf(MTV, Mon.) | Tweets: 250,000 | Unique audience: 1,639,000

7. Big Brother | Tweets: 91,000 | Unique audience: 1,303,000

8. Big Brother(CBS, Sun.)| Tweets: 66,000| Unique audience: 1,111,000

9. Big Brother(CBS, Thu.)| Tweets: 105,000| Unique audience: 1,063,000

10. WWE Smackdown! (Syfy, Fri.)| Tweets: 46,000 | Unique audience: 1,011,000

Data from week ending July 27; unique audience measures relevant tweets until 5 a.m. local time the day after telecast for new prime-time and late-night programs except sports. Source: Nielsen

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