Holzhauer And ‘Jeopardy’ Just Keep Winning

The May sweep got underway in the week ending April 28 with the James Holzhauer-fueled Jeopardy jumping to its highest ratings in four years.

Superstar contestant Holzhauer, who will not appear again until May 20 while the show airs a two-week tournament, amassed $1.69 million by May 3. The Las Vegas gambler has so far won 22 games, a record exceeded only by all-time Jeopardy champ Ken Jennings.

The household ratings for Jeopardy in the session ending April 28 led all shows for a second straight week, pole-vaulting 12% from the prior frame to a nosebleed-level 7.5 live-plus-same-day national Nielsen.

That was the program’s strongest performance since the week ending Feb. 8, 2015. The only other strip in the same league as Jeopardy’s Holzhauer episodes and able to reach the lofty 7-rating level was season-to-date syndication leader Judge Judy, which surged to a seven-week high 7.0 with an 8% increase.

Among the closely watched talk shows, Dr. Phil held steady at a 2.7 and remained in command for the 138^th week in a row.

Live with Kelly and Ryan cemented its standing as the second-highest talker, grabbing the No. 2 for the ninth straight week despite a 4% dip to a 2.2.

Rounding out the top six were Ellen DeGeneres, Wendy Williams, Maury and Steve Harvey’s Steve at 1.9, 1.4, 1.4 and 1.2, respectively.

Elsewhere, scripted newcomer Chicago P.D. was on fire, racing ahead 22% to a 1.1 and matching its highest rating to date.

Meanwhile, corporate sibling Dateline dominated the true crime genre for the  33^rd consecutive with a solid 1.3.

The week’s top-rated daytime talk shows in the women 25-54 demo were:

• Dr. Phil (1.1, unchanged from the week before)
• Live with Kelly and Ryan (1.0, unchanged)
• Ellen DeGeneres (0.9, +13%)
• Wendy Williams (0.8, unchanged), tied with Maury (0.8, +14%)
• Steve (0,5, unchanged), tied with Steve Wilkos (0.5, -17%)

In the household rating rankings that follow, % change is from the previous week; * indicates a new season-high rating; ** indicates a new season low; NC indicates no change from the previous week; NA mean not applicable.

TALK SHOWS

Dr. Phil (CTD) 2.7 NC

Live with Kelly and Ryan (Disney-ABC) 2.2 -4%

Ellen DeGeneres (WBDTD) 1.9 NC

Maury (NBCU) 1.4 +8%

Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 1.4 -7%

Steve (NBCU) 1.2 NC

Rachael Ray (CTD) 1.1 +10%

Steve Wilkos (NBCU) 1.1 NC

Dr. Oz (Sony) 1.0 NC

The Real (WBDTD) 0.7 NC

The Doctors (CTD) 0.6 NC

Pickler & Ben (Disney-ABC) 0.4 NC

Jerry Springer (NBCU) 0.4 NC

FIRST-RUN ROOKIE SHOWS

Face the Truth (CTD) 0.7 NC

Caught in Providence (20th Television) 0.6 +20%

COURT SHOWS

Judge Judy (CTD) 7.0 +8%

Hot Bench(CTD) 2.1 NC

People’s Court (WBDTD) 1.5 NC

Judge Mathis (WBDTD) 1.0 NC

Divorce Court (20th Television) 0.7 NC

GAME SHOWS

Jeopardy (CTD) 7.5* +12%

Family Feud (Debmar-Mercury/FMNA) 6.0 -2%

Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 5.8 -2%

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Disney-ABC) 1.6 +7%

Funny You Should Ask(Entertainment Studios) 0.5 NC

INTERNET VIDEO

Right This Minute (Disney-ABC) 1.2 NC

OFF-NET TRUE CRIME

Dateline M-F (NBCU) 1.3 NC

Live PD: Police Patrol (Sony) 1.0 -9%

True Crime Files (20th Television) 0.3 NC

SCRIPTED OFF-NET POLICE PROCEDURAL

Chicago P.D. (NBCU) 1.1 +22%

MAGAZINE SHOWS

Inside Edition (CTD) 2.7 -4%

Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 2.6 -7%

TMZ (WBDTD) 1.3 NC

Access (NBCU) 1.1 -8%

Extra (WBDTD) 1.0 NC

Daily Mail TV (CTD) 0.9 NC

Page Six TV(20th Television) 0.6 NC

Celebrity Page (Trifecta) 0.2 NC

OFF-NET SITCOMS

Big Bang Theory (WBDTD) 4.4 +2%

Last Man Standing (20th Television) 2.1 NC

Modern Family (20th Television) 1.8 NC

The Goldbergs(Sony) 1.5 NC

Two and a Half Men (WBDTD) 1.4 NC

Family Guy (20th Television) 1.2 NC

Mike and Molly (WBDTD) 1.1 NC

Black-ish (Disney-ABC) 1.1 +10%

Two Broke Girls (WBDTD) 1.0 NC

Seinfeld (Sony) 1.0 NC

OFF-NET WEEKLY HOURS

Dateline Weekly (NBCU) 2.9** -17%

NCIS: New Orleans (CTD) 1.6 +7%

Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBCU) 1.2 -8%

Chicago P.D. (NBCU) 1.2 NC

Major Crimes (WBDTD) 1.2 +33%