MTV rocks with debut of The Osbournes – Programming
Jon Lafayette
MTV’s new show The Osbournes debuted with the highest ratings the network’s ever gotten for a new series premiere.
Following an episode of The Real World, The Osbournes drew a 2.81 household rating and was the highest-rated show on cable during its 10:30 p.m. time slot last Tuesday.
The show, which follows the home life of rock star Ozzy Osbourne and his family, also recorded a 3.4 rating among viewers in MTV’s key 12- to 34-year-old demographic.
MTV has 13 episodes of the show, called a situation-reality program because it’s shot inside Osbourne’s home in Beverly Hills.
The show features Ozzy Osbourne, who despite his bat-eating reputation as one of rock’s wildmen, actually has a family, albeit one that seems to do a lot of yelling and cursing–at least, based on the first episode.
The Osbourne family includes wife/mother/manager Sharon and two of their three teenage kids, Jack and Kelly. As MTV’s publicity for the show puts it: “They wrestle on camera with typical familial issues such as school, allowance, moving, pets, tattoos, adolescence and life on the road.”
“The Osbournes is such compelling television because no one could write the characters of Ozzy, Sharon, Jack, and Kelly, they’re simply too real,” said Lois Curren, SVP-music development, MTV, in a statement.
The Osbourne family gave MTV nearly unlimited access into their personal and professional lives throughout the taping. MTV followed the family 24/7 for almost six months to record and capture the family’s daily lives.
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