Excerpt from Multichannel News
Business As Usual: Monk, Psych Deliver in Season Premieres
Popular USA Network Series Return to Stellar Ratings
By R. Thomas Umstead -- Multichannel News, 7/21/2008 7:49:00 PM

USA Network's venerable dramedy Monk continued its remarkable ratings run, drawing 5.6 million viewers for its July 18 seventh-season premiere.

The premiere episode of the series, which stars Tony Shalhoub as an obsessive-compulsive detective, matched the Jan. 2008 debut episode for the second half of the show's sixth season. That season finished as the show's most watched ever, averaging 6.1 million viewers over six episodes including a 6.8 million viewer performance for the sixth-season finale.

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It's a great number
Thanks Teresa for posting this

Thanks for posting it Teresa... Go Monk Go! I hope another episode will bring more viewers in front of their TV's

It's a good number. Way to go, Monk!

Thank you, Teresa for passing that along.

I'm a returning fan, so that's one more to the millions...my tv blew up a little over a year ago, and it took me about a year to save for the one I wanted....I missed the show so much, and am trying to catch up with the marathons and reruns...love this show!!!!

wow, the ratings seem to be going up .

Thanks Teresa for the info

Teresa, this news makes me even happier! Thank you for letting us know.

Thanks for posting the ratings. Yeah!

Thanks for posting the ratings. It is very exciting that the ratings keep going up!

Yay, Monk! :::happy dance mode:::

glad to see that Monk is still on top

<<lets do the happy dance>>



Thanks for the info Teresa

Happy dance!!!

The numbers from USA Today

Cable: Top 15

1. Home Run Derby ESPN 9.1

2. The Closer TNT 7.8

3. Derby Preshow ESPN 6.0

4. Monk USA 5.6

* Avatar/Comet Nickelodeon 5.6

6. Saving Grace TNT 5.2

7. Psych USA 4.9

* Burn Notice USA 4.9

9. Law & Order: CI USA 4.8

* WWE Raw (Mon, 10 p.m.) USA 4.8

11. WWE Raw (Mon, 9 p.m.) USA 4.7

* In Plain Sight USA 4.7

13. Avatar (Fri, 8 p.m.) Nickelodeon 4.5

14. Avatar (Thurs, 8 p.m.) Nickelodeon 4.2

15. Avatar/Rock Nickelodeon 4.0

Wow! Number 4! That is AWESOME!! Monk would love it because it is an even Number!!! That is GREAT news!

Love the cat dance! Way to go Monk!

Thank you Teresa! It is so good to hear something positive about the premiere. So many negative things are being said.

More numbers from Marketwatch:

USA Takes Week With Unprecedented Five Originals on the Air
USA's Original Series Continue to Deliver Stellar #s beating Cable and Broadcast Competition MONK and PSYCH Return to Own Friday Night

Last update: 10:40 a.m. EDT July 23, 2008

USA leads the way this summer in original programming as the only cable network with five original hit series currently on-air simultaneously. All seven hours of USA's original programming placed in the week's top ten P25-54 telecasts, each delivering over 2 million viewers.

-- The Season 7 premiere of MONK was the most-watched telecast of the night Friday with 2.48 million in P25-54, 5.64 million total viewers, and households 4.02 million. This was Monk's top season series premiere since 2005, delivering +17% more P25-54 and +24% more P18-49 than last year's Season 6 premiere. In MONK's timeslot, USA was the #1 TV network, broadcast or cable, among P25-54.

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I like those numbers.

Coming off its finest season and arguably its best episode, the high number of viewers of the first episode are impressive but these figures as wonderful as they are, are most likely due to the great expectations of many that the high level of excellence that characterized the closing duo of episodes would be continued and sadly stand in stark contrast to the post-show critical reaction of some posters.

I wonder what the ratings for the next episode will be? If they are on the same level as the first then there is hope that most of the millions of fans rightly ignored such bickering that ocassionally plagues the board but fortunately represents the feelings of only a very small percentage of Monk's grande army of fan followers.

Even though this first episode was toned down, I still loved it. Even if I didn't like an episode, I would still watch, I think. Monk is such an endearing character, how can you stay away for very long?

I'm glad the ratings are as high as they are. I hope they stay that way.

Spoken like a devoted fan. Although I have not seen the episode (and won't till January) it is inevitable that individual episodes may vary in quality but these are just small ripples that hopefully leaves little lasting imprint on one who truly loves the series regardless of what others may feel.

Very true, Kawa.

I`m with you Bratcat, I find Monk so endearing, I can`t stay away. I am in this for the long haul. Monk has brought so much joy to my life. I will be there till the end, and after that, watch the reruns and DVDS forever.

I agree with you. I am sticking with Monk until the end...and then some!

Count me in the group -- to me, even a mediocre episode of Monk is better than almost anything else on television.

I'm standing right with you all.

Many long running shows have the problem of maintaining the quality, keeping the shows fresh, the actors retaining their enthusaism....in Broadway, especially, playing the same role night after night can get taxing and indeed, boring. Honestly, as much as I love MONK and TL, I would prefer to see it go out in a blaze of glory (if it ever came to that) rather than they just churn out substandard, mediocre eppys.

I agree with everyone here. Besides, Monk should have some "good" days, right? Otherwise, he's just a cartoon and not a "real" person.

Anyway, they could have Monk just sitting in a chair not talking for an hour, and I'd still find it entertaining. I'm weird that way, I guess.

Yes, you are right. an avid fan can endure an ocassional flop or two, finding consolation in ruminating "well there is always the next one" but if the series were to ever begin to decline into a stagnate string of "mediocre eppys" then we would rather have it end, remembering the good times but I feel that the integrity and professionalism of the cast and writers are up to the challenge and if they should ever feel the inspiration begin to ebb, they would themselves pull the plug not wanting to taint the glorious achievements attained by the series.

True, true.