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PEOPLE & ARTS Thursday 22 November 2018
'Dancing With the Stars' no longer hopping for ABC

By DAVID BAUDER 1.6 million, ION Television
Associated Press had 1.2 million, Telemundo
NEW YORK (AP) — The had 1.1 million and the CW
dance floor is thinning over averaged 1 million.
at ABC. ESPN was the week's most
The Nielsen company says popular cable network, av-
viewership is down for eraging 2.36 million view-
ABC's "Dancing With the ers in prime time. Fox News
Stars" franchise, which con- Channel averaged 2.24
cluded its fall season on million, Hallmark had 2.19
Monday with country radio million, MSNBC had 1.8 mil-
host Bobby Bones beating lion and USA had 1.21 mil-
Disney star Milo Manheim, lion.ABC's "World News To-
actress Evanna Lynch and night" topped the evening
model Alexis Ren. newscasts with an average
Each episode averaged of 9.3 million viewers. NBC's
8.2 million viewers the night "Nightly News" had 9 mil-
that it aired and during lion and the "CBS Evening
the week afterward, down News" had 6.6 million.
22 percent from last year's For the week of Nov. 12-
average of 10.4 million, 18, the top 10 shows, their
Nielsen said. networks and viewerships:
The show was once a rou- This image released by ABC shows, from left, judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman and Bruno NFL Football: Minnesota at
Tonioli, appear with host Tom Bergeron and Evanna Lynch and Keo Motsepe from the dance
tine top 10 performer for competition series "Dancing with the Stars," in Los Angeles. Chicago, NBC, 18.84 mil-
ABC, but last week's semi- Associated Press lion; NFL Football: Green
finals finished out of the top Bay at Seattle, Fox, 16.89
20. A figure for Monday's vision, behind CBS' "The Big For the second straight "Monday Night Football" million; "Sunday Night NFL
finale was not immediately Bang Theory" and its spinoff, week, talk show host Alec game between the L.A. Pre-Kick," NBC, 13.32 mil-
available. "Young Sheldon"Among Baldwin was pre-empted, Rams and Kansas City had lion; "The Big Bang Theory,"
In better news for ABC, the the 18-to- this time replaced by "Shark the best preliminary ratings CBS, 12.56 million; "NCIS,"
Rosanne Barr-less sitcom 49-year-old audience that Tank" reruns. ABC has said for that football franchise CBS, 12.47 million; "Young
"The Conners" has turned ABC watches most closely, the show will switch from since 2014. Sheldon," CBS, 10.78 million;
into a solid prime-time per- "The Conners" ranked No. Sunday to Saturday night Locked in a tight battle for NFL Football: N.Y. Giants
former. 15 last week, Nielsen said. — often the television ver- supremacy with CBS this at San Francisco, ESPN,
Its ratings don't measure Only "Grey's Anatomy" and sion of one step closer to season, NBC averaged 7.1 10.65 million; "60 Minutes,"
up to last year's "Roseanne" the annual CMA awards cancellation. million viewers last week to CBS, 10.29 million; "CMA
revival, but last week's epi- had more young viewers With two of the NFL's best 6.8 million for CBS. Fox had Awards," ABC, 10.11 million;
sode was the third most- on ABC last week, Nielsen teams providing an offen- 6 million, ABC had 5.3 mil- "Thursday Night NFL Pre-
watched comedy on tele- said. sive feast, ESPN said the lion viewers, Univision had Kick," Fox, 9.46 million.q

In 'Creed II,' Dolph Lundgren is happy he has better lines

By JOHN CARUCCI more substantial role. he said. “He wanted to cre-
Associated Press “I got a chance to play a ate a father-son relation-
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Be- guy who was a real person ship right from the begin-
ing cast as the villain Soviet and who has real prob- ning.”
boxer Ivan Drago in “Rocky lems, especially a father- Lundgren had a unique
IV” launched Dolph Lund- son relationship. When I see trajectory that led him to
gren’s acting career. But father-son relationships in the big screen. He was an
he had a brainier path if movies, it always gets me engineering student in Mel-
that didn’t work out. emotional. And I had a bourne, Australia, when he
The 61-year old actor holds chance to be part of that,” met actress Grace Jones.
a master’s degree in chem- Lundgren said. While dating, she took him
ical engineering and was Back in “Rocky IV,” Drago to New York and intro-
on a Fulbright scholarship kills Apollo Creed in the duced to him people like
at the Massachusetts Insti- ring, only to lose to Rocky Andy Warhol and Michael
tute of Technology when Balboa. But he loses much Jackson. It didn’t hurt that
Stallone cast him as Drago In this Nov. 14, 2018 file photo, Dolph Lundgren attends the world more than a match. he was a karate champion
for the 1985 “Rocky” se- premiere of "Creed II" in New York. In “Creed II,” we learn he when Stallone discovered
quel. Associated Press is living in squalor after the him.
Lundgren doesn’t regret embarrassing loss. He is rais- Since then, he’s had a
trading academia for because that character This month, Lundgren re- ing his son Viktor, played busy action-movie career,
those red boxing trunks with started my whole career prises the role of Drago in by Florian Munteanu, to which includes “The Ex-
the gold stripes, though he and it’s been a great thing “Creed II,” as much a se- be a boxer and is seeking pendables” trilogy, portray-
wishes his character had a for me. But it’s also kind of quel to the previous film as revenge on Rocky by get- ing He-Man in “Masters of
few more coherent lines. been a negative in one it is to “Rocky IV.” Lundgren ting his son to fight the son the Universe,” and the up-
“It felt really surreal, and, way because the guy was remains grateful to Stallone, of the man he killed. coming “Aquaman.” Still,
at the same time, it felt such a monosyllabic guy,” not only for casting him in Munteanu said he felt a he admits to soul searching
like a big moment for me Lundgren said. “He was a the first place, but for bring- bond with Lundgren. “It’s when it came to his career
in my career as a person, robot.” ing him back in a heartier, an honor to play his son,” path.q