The Nielsen Rating's Top 20 TV Shows for August 23 - August 29. The first number is the ranking, the second number is the season average, then the show name and network. The last number represents the number of viewers in millions. An asterisk * indicates a tie.| Rank | Show name | Network | Viewers in millions | Season-to-date average (in millions) |
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| 1. | Emmy Awards | NBC | 13.5 | -- |
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| 2. | America's Got Talent (Tues.) | NBC | 10.8 | 11.8 |
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| 3. | America's Got Talent (Wed.) | NBC | 10.5 | 11.8 |
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| 4. | NFL:Steelers/Broncos | Fox | 10.1 | -- |
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| 5. | NCIS | CBS | 9.2 | 16.5 |
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| 6. | 60 Minutes | CBS | 8.7 | 11.9 |
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| 7. | The Big Bang Theory | CBS | 8.4 | 13.0 |
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| * | Two and a Half Men | CBS | 8.4 | 13.3 |
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| 9. | Big Brother (Wed.) | CBS | 8.0 | 7.5 |
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| * | Wipeout | ABC | 8.0 | 8.9 |
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| 11. | Big Brother (Thurs.) | CBS | 7.9 | 7.6 |
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| 12. | Big Brother (Sun.) | CBS | 7.8 | 7.7 |
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| 13. | NCIS: Los Angeles | CBS | 7.0 | 13.7 |
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| 14. | The Mentalist | CBS | 6.6 | 14.1 |
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| 15. | Criminal Minds | CBS | 6.5 | 11.9 |
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| 16. | CSI: Miami | CBS | 6.4 | 11.3 |
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| * | Minute to Win It | NBC | 6.4 | 5.9 |
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| * | NFL: Cowboys/Texas | CBS | 6.4 | -- |
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| 19. | Minute to Win It | NBC | 6.2 | 5.4 |
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| 20. | CSI: NY | CBS | 6.1 | 10.8 |
