NBC's 'I'm a Celebrity' debut tops 'Bachelorette'

UPDATED: One of the biggest mysteries of the summer is whether NBC can pull off stripping its reality show revival "I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here" multiple nights a week.

Based on Monday's premiere ratings, the network is off to a good start.

The two-hour "Celebrity" opener drew 6.5 million viewers and a 2.6  rating among adults 18-49 rating, beating the third week of ABC's "The Bachelorette" head-to-head and ranking as the highest-rated original entertainment program of the night. The "Celebrity" rating also managed to climb with each successive half hour, which could bode well.

NBC tied CBS as the evening's top-rated network in the adult demo, with CBS airing its usual chart-topping repeats (with a "Two and a Half Men" encore winning the night). "Celebrity" led into the NBC finale of "Medium" (7.4 million, 2.3) at 10 p.m., which won the hour.

ABC was in second place, a two-hour "Bachelorette" (6.4 million, 2.2) climbing from last week despite the added competition from NBC's reality debut. At 10 p.m., "Here Come the Newlyweds" (5 million, 2.0) likewise climbed from last week's second season premiere, holding most of its lead-in. Fox and the CW aired repeats.

UPDATE: Did Heidi and Spencer quit "I'm a Celebrity" as they threatened on air last night? TMZ is saying "yes," NBC is saying no comment. "Speidi" were among the more interesting characters in last night's episode and supposedly walked off, not appreciating the experience or castmates. Interesting if true since "Celebrity" is produced by Granada America, which also produced (tho with different exec prods) the recent and short-lived "Chopping Block" for NBC where the exact same thing happened -- two characters quit at the end of the first episode citing the tone/cast of the show. Viewers point fingers at the quitters, but it's part of a reality producers' job to cast participants who are game for the experience and to talk potential quitters off the ledge.

Spencer whined last night, "I'm too rich and too famous to be sitting with these people ... this cast is devaluing my fame" which is the hallmark of (A) somebody who is insanely arrogant and six months away from having a post-"Hills" reality check and (B) somebody who hasn't processed what he was getting into in the first place.

Reality show walk-offs after five episodes can be high drama. Somebody quitting after one episode is a production screw up.

See also from Monday: Conan O'Brien's 'Tonight Show' debut scores highest Monday in four years