“Good Morning America” has grabbled the lion’s share of attention for its vault into first-place in the morning — but its network cousin is making some noise in the early evening hours as well.
The “ABC World News with Diane Sawyer” averaged 7.39 million viewers at 6:30 p.m. last week, just 42,000 viewers behind the “NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams.” The broadcast also cut its total-viewer gap with “Nightly” by 92 percent, year-to-year to post its most-watched premiere week in four years. George Stephanopoulos anchored last Thursday, while David Muir subbed on Friday.
And . . . locally, on ABC-owned Ch. 7, “Eyewitness News” anchor Diana Williams hosts “Breast Cancer: New Innovations,” airing this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. It will feature new technologies in the treatment of breast cancer and was produced by Jeelu Billimoria.
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Well, that was quick.
Nickelodeon has renewed its “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” reboot for a second season of 26 episodes after the CGI series inaugural outing snared 2.1 million viewers last Saturday, the week’s top telecast in kids 2-11.
This new series stars the voices of Jason Biggs, Sean Astin, Rob Paulsen (who played Raphael in the original and now voices Donatello), Greg Cipes and Mae Whitman.
Truth be told, during my interview with Astin last week, in which he talked about his role in “Turtles” for a story we ran in last Saturday’s Post, he spilled the beans about the second season. But I was sworn to secrecy, or risked incurring the wrath of Nickelodeon publicist Wendy Zocks (and no one wants to go there, believe me).
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Anything having to do with Tom Cruise strikes me as really creepy, but apparently Hayden Panettiere doesn’t share my sentiments.
The star of ABC’s new series, “Nashville,” tells People magazine (in its Oct. 15 issue) that she was “star struck” when she met Cruise for the first time.
“When I was on ‘Heroes’ I was at the Golden Globe Awards, and Tom Cruise, whom I’d never met before, got up out of his seat, turned to me and said, ‘Hey, Hayden,’ ” she says. “He gave me a hug like I knew him, and then he introduced me to his mom.
“I was so caught off guard!”
The issue is out on newsstands today in New York.
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So shoot me — I’m a sucker for this stuff.
Yes, I’ve already watched all four seasons of the classic David Janssen series, “The Fugitive,” on DVD. So, no, I can’t explain why I was psyched to hear that, come Oct. 23, we’ll be gifted with “The Fugitive: The Most Wanted Edition Complete Series” (CBS Home Entertainment/Paramount Home Media Distribution).
This new collection (32 discs) will feature a slew of bonuses — including an extended version of the series pilot, Janssen’s 1976 appearance on “The Mike Douglas Show” (nine years after “The Fugitive” ended its run) and an audio clip of Joey Bishop’s August 1967 interview with Janssen on “The Joey Bishop Show” the night the series ended (to then-record numbers for a prime-time drama).
Also included will be a soundtrack album CD featuring the score from the series by composer Pete Rugolo — who died in October 2011 at the age of 95 — and a skit featuring Janssen and “Lonesome” George Gobel from a 1964 episode of “The Dinah Shore Show.”