Attention shifts this week to those other new talk shows -- Fox's "Wanda Skykes Show" and George Lopez' TBS series "Lopez Tonight."

Skyes debuted on Saturday to the very preliminary 2.2 household rating among metered-markets at 11 p.m.

The trick here is what you compare it to. 

"Wanda Sykes" is replacing "MadTV" in the slot as Fox's alternative to NBC's "Saturday Night Live," which last night hit a season high 5.0. and featured Taylor Swift as host and musical guest.

"Sykes" was 16% higher than the "MadTV" winter average in the time period and 100% higher than the six-week-trial average of Spike Feresten in the slot during Jan. and Feb. Note that these are averages and not premieres. 

Rihanna breaking her silence about her tumultuous relationship with ex-boyfriend Chris Brown put "20/20" at the top of Friday's TV ratings charts, giving the show a season high.

Diane Sawyer's exclusive interview with the singer drew a 2.7 rating among adults 18-49 and 8.2 million viewers. It also drew the show's best 18-34 number in three years.

That was enough for ABC to tie usual Friday winner CBS in the adult demo, though CBS still won among total viewers. ABC's "Supernanny" (4.7 million viewers, 1.3 preliminary adults 18-49 rating) was on par, while "Ugly Betty" (4.8 million, 1.3) grew 18% from last week's all-time low.

On CBS, "Ghost Whisperer" (7.9 million, 1.8), "Medium" (7.6 million, 1.8) and "Numbers" (8.1 million, 1.8) all did the same dull rating, with the first two slipping a bit from last week.

NBC aired "Law & Order" (8 million, 1.8), a "L&O" special airing (8.4 million, 1.9) and "Jay Leno Show" (4.6 million, 1.2). Fox had repeats. On the CW, "Smallville" (2.8 million, 1.2) matched last week's preliminary season high (which later fell back to 1.1 in the national ratings), we'll see if this one sticks.

Guess it was the World Series.

FX's "The League" (1.4 million, 0.9) climbed 40% after last week's middling debut up against Fox's sports coverage. Though once again trailing its "Always Sunny" (2 million, 1.3) lead-in, "The League" was the 7th highest-rated show on cable last night.

Over on Bravo, the "Real Housewives" franchise, which seems to give the network a never-ending supply of  gleeful ratings press releases, hit a record once again for the fifth season debut of "Real Housewives of OC" (2.6 million). The series topped the previous "OC" high by 44%. It was also a "Housewives" premiere franchise record among the adult demo with 2 million 18-49s.

Showtime set return dates for most of its series, with most shows not returning until spring.

In descending order of coolness: 

UPDATE: In the nationals, CBS' "The Mentalist" (3.6) beat "Private Practice" (3.4) for the first time. If CBS' sophomore crime procedural keeps growing, and "CSI" continues declining, I expect the network will shift "Mentalist" to 9 p.m. and push "CSI" to 10 p.m. like all its spinoffs. Also, NBC's "The Office" (4.1) improved notably and "Vampire Diaries" dipped (1.9).

PREVIOUS: "Community" and "Parks & Recreation" rose to their highest ratings in weeks on Thursday night. The NBC comedies were recently picked up for full seasons and showed spark on a night when most shows declined. While over on Fox, some viewers didn't get the message that no Game 7 meant the return of "Fringe" -- the series hit a dramatic series low.

ABC won the night, with its lineup slipping about 4% across the board: "FlashForward" (8.5 million viewers, 2.6 preliminary adults 18-49 rating), "Grey's Anatomy" (13.6 million, 5.0) and "Private Practice" (9.2 million, 3.5). Both medical dramas won their hours.

J.J. Abrams wants to take a hands-on approach to “Undercovers,” his pilot at NBC.

In addition to co-writing and executive producing the project with Josh Reims, Abrams is in talks to direct the Warner Bros. TV-produced pilot.

Schedule permitting, Abrams will make “Undercovers” the first TV pilot he has directed since 2004’s “Lost” opener. ABC’s two-hour “Lost” opening is considered one of the best-directed pilots of all time and helped launch Abrams’ feature career into helming such films as “Mission: Impossible 3”
and “Star Trek.”

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation is coming out against Wednesday's "South Park" episode that attempted to re-define the word "fag."

In the episode, the "South Park" gang rally their Colorado town to use the anti-gay slur to refer to "annoying and inconsiderate" riders of Harley Davidson motorcycles. Local gays initially take offense the boys' use of the world, then get on board with the re-branding after noting the word is "never going to disappear, [it's] simply too much fun to say."

GLAAD says they get the joke ... they just didn't find it very funny. Here's GLAAD:

By James Hibberd and Nellie Andreeva

In what might be an industry record, CBS' freshman drama series "NCIS: Los Angeles" has been sold into syndication after seven weeks on the air.

CBS TV Distribution has licensed the show to USA Network, which has enjoyed great success airing the off-network run of franchise flagship "NCIS."

The spinoff is going for more than $2 million per episode. USA will have the right to air the show weekly beginning in Sept. 2011 and will start stripping the episode in 2013.

The unusually quick deal is testament to the popularity of the "NCIS" brand -- and the ability for top cable networks to capitalize on crime procedurals in syndication. In its seventh season, "NCIS" has grown to become the most-watched drama series on broadcast, while its USA repeats are the most-watched syndicated crime drama, averaging 3.5 million viewers.