‘Kelly Clarkson Show’ Scores Strong Debut Ratings in Syndication

A trio of syndicated series got off to promising starts in their first week on the air, with The Kelly Clarkson Show scoring the best debut ratings in several years.

Clarkson’s daytime talker had the best premiere week of any new first-run strip since 2012. The NBCUniversal-distributed show drew a 1.6 household rating and averaged 2.16 million viewers for the week of Sept. 9, which marked the start of the season for most syndicated shows.

The show, hosted by the Grammy winner, Voice judge and inaugural American Idol winner, ranked fourth among the 14 first-run talk shows in syndication, behind long-running veterans Dr. Phil (2.3 household rating, 3.12 million viewers), The Ellen DeGeneres Show (1.9, 2.67 million) and Live With Kelly and Ryan (1.9, 2.54 million). It finished 11th among all first-run weekday strips.

Disney-distributed talker Tamron Hall and Jerry Springer’s courtroom show Judge Jerry, also from NBCUniversal, had decent premiere weeks, as well.

Hall’s topical, human-interest show tied for sixth among talkers (with The Steve Wilkos Show and just behind Maury), averaging a 1.0 household rating and 1.36 million viewers. It beat out veterans including Dr. Oz and The Wendy Williams Show and improved its time period in a number of big markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta and Philadelphia.

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Judge Jerry, meanwhile, scored a 1.1 in households and 1.49 million viewers. The three debuts finished in the top half of the first-run rankings for the week.

Mario Lopez’s first week as co-host of Access Hollywood helped push the show to its best numbers in six months with a 1.4 in households and 1.94 million viewers. Billy Bush‘s debut on Extra — his return to TV three years after the infamous Access Hollywood tape with Donald Trump — did not move the needle for the show. It was on par with its recent performance, earning a 0.9 in households and just under 1.3 million viewers.

The top of the syndicated rankings remains the province of Judge Judy, which led the week of Sept. 9 with a 6.7 household rating and more than 9 million daily viewers. The game shows Family Feud (5.7, 8.3 million), Jeopardy (5.5, 8.5 million) and Wheel of Fortune (5.3, 8.4 million) are also in the top echelon of syndicated shows.

The 2019-20 season is the biggest for new syndicated launches since Oprah Winfrey ended her show in 2012. Four other series — the talker The Mel Robbins Show, the game shows 25 Words or Less and America Says and the legal show Personal Injury Court — premiered the week of Sept. 16. Complete ratings for their debuts will be available next week.