What’s Hot: Monday Ratings

Is there anything Thomas Jane and ‘The Mentalist‘ can’t do? CBS’s smash hit series aired an episode on a new night (outside of its customary Tuesday slot) and it was a repeat, yet it still won the 10pm hour handily. This show couldn’t be any hotter right now, and CBS is in a great situation where it can “sit the week out” by airing repeats of its strong Monday lineup (‘How I Met Your Mother,’ ‘Two and a Half Men‘ etc) and still finish a strong second behind ABC and ‘Dancing with the Stars.’ CBS reruns hold up much better than the other networks’ re-airings as most are procedurals as opposed to serialized dramas, which puts the Eye in an enviable position.

What’s Hotter: The Natalee Holloway Story

Lifetime Movie Network’s Original Movie ‘Natalee Holloway‘ delivered the network’s highest ratings ever in its 11-year history, garnering 3.2 million total viewers and breaking all previous records set among the network’s key women demographics with its airing last Sunday. The movie, starring Tracy Pollan as Holloway’s mother Beth, was also the highest rated movie in ad-supported basic cable in the last 12 months among women 18-49.

What’s Definitely Not Happening: Chuck

Fan favorite ‘Chuck‘ didn’t do itself any favors last night, dropping almost 20 percent from last week and pulling in just over 6 million viewers. This show is the one probably most on the bubble in terms of whether it will come back next season or not. NBC has fewer slots available in its Fall lineup with the 5-nights-a-week Jay Leno show coming, and tumbling ratings will not help ‘Chuck’s’ chances. The show does have its die-hard fans though and some critical love, so if you’re a fan of the show, it’d probably be a good idea to tune-in next Monday for the season finale. Every little bit helps…

Tuesday Sizzlers:

American Idol: 8pm ET on Fox It’s your Top 7….again! After last week’s “save” of Matt Giraud, the final seven singers are back on stage, but this time they’re singing disco hits. Uh-oh, can you say trainwreck? Because of last week’s save, two singers will be sent packing Wednesday night, and if we had to bet, our money’s on Lil and Anoop.

Real Housewives of New York: 10pm on Bravo Can this show get any juicier? In a word, yes! Tonight’s episode finds the ladies headed to Kelly’s Halloween party. Just one problem: Kelly’s MIA.

The Phone: 10pm on MTV From executive producer Justin Timberlake, this new series pairs strangers up in potentially dangerous tasks, all for the chance to win $50,000. And the challenge all starts with a phone call… the contestants then have to follow their instructions to win the cash.