Strong Start for Comedy Central’s Lewis Black's Root of All Evil
Best Debut for Cable Network Since Chapelle's Show in 2003
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/14/2008 9:58:00 AM
Comedy Central said its premiere Wednesday night of comedy court show Lewis Black's Root of All Evil was the best premiere on the network since the debut of Chapelle's Show in 2003.
The show -- which bills itself as putting pop culture on trial, with Black "presiding over the comedic proceedings" -- featured a mock trial over which was most evil, the Catholic Church or Oprah Winfrey. It grabbed 2.3 million viewers and topped the 18-24 and 18-34 male demos in the time slot and was second for the night behind its lead-in, South Park.
Comedy has long been looking for a show that could hold onto more of that South Park lead-in. South Park drew 3.1 million viewers, which Comedy said is up 11% from its debut last season.
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart added its own strong performance to the Wednesday-night lineup with 2.3 million viewers, its best numbers since before the writers’ strike.
