One of TV's beloved shows might be inching closer to closing the book

According to some fast overnight ratings for last night's primetime schedule, ABC's "Pushing Daisies" is in danger of not returning after this season (if it even lasts that long).

The show has been on a consistent decline ever since it came back earlier this month after a nine-month break. The decision made by the network to push back "Daisies," along with "Dirty Sexy Money" and "Private Practice" might have been one major factor to low returns this season. Though "Practice" is safe for the season, "Money" is not. The 10 p.m. show has also been steadily declining in viewership and has lost its hold on its audience from the previous year.

It is common knowledge that ABC loves "Daisies," but having the network behind you 100% doesn't necessarily justify a show scraping by and consistently placing in last place (among the major broadcast networks) in its timeslot. There's only so much you can say week in and week out when NBC's "Knight Rider" (what?!) gets more viewers than a unique and original show like "Daisies."

So please be sure to watch "Daisies" when it airs next Wednesday. Although Nielsen ratings don't necessarily tell the full story and its numbers might not reflect who actually watches these shows, it's the only measuring tool we have for TV viewership - an unfortunate truth for an inconsistent TV landscape.

'Pushing Daisies' gains half a million viewers

A little late, I know, but I am happy to announce that Wednesday's episode of "Pushing Daisies" gained 500,000 viewers from last week to push its rating up 12%. And, according to EW's PopWatch, it barely lost any viewers during the whole hour!

Let's keep this up guys!

'Daisies,' 'Practice,' 'Money' losing viewers

According to The Hollywood Reporter's Live Feed, the Wednesday ABC 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. hours are steadily decreasing, and it was no different last night.

While I loyally stayed put at 8 p.m. to watch "Pushing Daisies," I must admit that it was difficult for me to want to watch the "Grey's Anatomy" spin-off or "Dirty Sexy Money" right after.

Even though "Daisies" reached a series low last night with only 5.6 million viewers, it was only down a tenth, while "Private Practice" (7.3 million, also a series low; down 24% from the previous week) and "Money" (5.9 million, series low; down 17%) were down a lot more. So maybe that's the only good news that can be gathered from the bad.

Please get your friends and family to start watching "Pushing Daisies" next week at the very least!

'Privileged' gains traction (and viewers)

Great news for the often-struggling CW network: "Privileged" just might be the underdog of the year.

I have always sang the praises of the 9 p.m. show, ever since it premiered more than a month ago after the terrible revival series, "90210." "Privileged" is gaining traction, as evident with the impressive 22% increase with 2.3 million viewers after last night's broadcast compared to its previous week. (Yesterday's "90210" dropped slightly with 3.1 million.) It has to be one of the best scripted series of the freshman class this year, yet it hardly gets any press or exposure.

Barring anything crazy happening or the world ending, I foresee that this Tuesday night show will stay put for a while.

'How I Met Your Mother' gets more viewers than 'Heroes'

Here are the numbers on some notable shows from last night:

"How I Met Your Mother" (CBS) - 9 million viewers; up 9% from previous week.
"Chuck" (NBC) - 5.8 million; down 15% [series low].
"Heroes" (NBC) - 8.2 million; down 11% [series low].
"Prison Break" (FOX) - 5.8 million; up slightly.
"Worst Week" (CBS) - 8.9 million; up 3%.

Now I can understand the huge dips in viewership for the hard-to-follow and often convoluted storylines that plague "Heroes," but what's up with the steady declines of "Chuck"? I'm a bit confused myself.

Top 10 biggest fall gainers (and losers)

The Hollywood Reporter's Live Feed has put out an interesting fact sheet of this season's top 10 television series gainers and losers. Unfortunately, several critically-acclaimed shows are on the latter. Let's hope that it was just an abherration.

Please remember that some of these shows who might have gained the most viewers are still well below acceptable broadcast viewership standards.

Top 10 Gainers (so far)
1. CW SUPERNATURAL 1.2 to 1.7 = 42%
2. CBS CRIMINAL MINDS 3.5 to 4.7 = 34%
3. CBS HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER 3.3 to 4.0 = 21%
4. CBS CSI: MIAMI 4.6 to 5.2 = 13%
5. CBS NCIS 3.2 to 3.6 = 13%
6. CBS TWO AND A HALF MEN 4.8 to 5.3 = 10%
7. CBS CSI: NY 3.7 to 4.0 = 8%
8. CW GOSSIP GIRL 1.6 to 1.7 = 6%
9. CW ONE TREE HILL 1.6 to 1.7 = 6%
10. FOX AMERICAN DAD 3.1 to 3.2 = 3%

Top 10 Losers (so far)
1. ABC PUSHING DAISIES 4.4 to 2.0 = -55%
2. FOX TERMINATOR 4.2 to 2.4 = -43%
3. FOX DON'T FORGET THE LYRICS 2.9 to 1.7 = -41%
4. CBS WITHOUT A TRACE 4.7 to 2.8 = -40%
5. CBS OLD CHRISTINE 3.2 to 2.1 = -34%
6. ABC DIRTY SEXY MONEY 3.6 to 2.4 = -33%
7. CW AMERICA'S TOP MODEL 2.5 to 1.7 = -32%
8. FOX SMARTER THAN 5TH GRADER 2.5 to 1.7 = -32%
9. NBC HEROES 7.3 to 5.0 = -32%
10. NBC MY NAME IS EARL 3.8 to 2.7 = -29%

Thursday ratings drop for 'Ugly Betty,' 'The Office'

Oh no, say it isn't so! Last night's premieres were substantially lower than in years past, and it seems like not one show was immune to this outbreak.

According the The Hollywood Reporter's Live Feed, "Grey's Anatomy" had an impressive 18.3 million viewers, but it was down 18% from last year. "Ugly Betty" premiered to a solid 9.8 million, but was down 15% from 2007. Even though ABC's ratings slipped a little from the previous year, the network won the night.

NBC's highly anticipated "The Office" premiere held strong with 9.2 million viewers, but slipped 9% from last year. Its lead-in, "My Name Is Earl," however, lost the most viewers, down 29% with 6.4 million viewers.