Top Chef Seattle – Turkey Special
Tom Colicchio & Emeril Lagasse
Photo courtesy of BravoTV ©

With the worst start for ratings for any of the 10 seasons of Top Chef or for that matter for the four seasons of Top Chef Masters or even when compared with the two seasons of the cancelled Top Chef Desserts, the third episode, which aired on Thanksgiving Eve lent itself too easily to jokes about Turkeys. And what a ratings turkey this season is proving to be.

The fourth episode of last year’s ninth season; Top Chef Texas, aired the night prior to Thanksgiving in 2011, and drew 1,671,000 viewers with 0.70 in the 18-49 demo. At the time that was a season high for total audience numbers but not for those aged 18-49. Last Wednesday, Tom & Emeril managed to cook up just over 1m viewers for the 1st time this season, as 1,045,000 people tuned in, but their 18-49 demo rating held for the third week at 0.40. This, however means their 10th season average stays below 1 million viewers at 966,000 and a rather paltry (poultry?) 0.40 in the 18-49 demo. Read more