The CW's Beauty and the Geek premiered its fifth season Tuesday night, but even the show's new twist that pits the male brainiacs against the pretty ladies wasn't enough to put an end to the network's ratings woes.

Beauty and the Geek's fifth season premiere lost around half of its usual viewership.  It earned a mere 1.9 million viewers and a preliminary 0.9 rating/ 2 share in adults 18-49.  The figures reflect a 47 percent decrease from its season debut last fall and a 59 percent decrease from its January debut last year.

The season opener served as a lead-in to an episode of One Tree Hill, which saw a 21 percent decrease with a viewer count of 2.5 million and a ratings/share of 1.1/3.

Executive-produced by That 70s Show actor Ashton Kutcher and Jason Goldberg, Beauty and the Geek is a reality competition that subjects its male and female contestants to challenges testing not only their intelligence but also their social adeptness.  During the first four seasons of the show, the male “geeks” were paired up with the “beauties,” with each pair competing for several prizes, including a $250,000 cash reward.  Last season, the show introduced one female “geek” and one male “beauty” into the cast as a twist.

As mentioned earlier, the twist this time around is that the boys will no longer be paired off with the girls.

"Now, it's beauty vs. geek," Goldberg said.  "We're almost through the run right now, but it's been really interesting to see the evolution of what's been happening in the house and with these people."

Goldberg believes that the new twist, coupled with a cast that's “louder” than ever, is what accounts for this season's Beauty and the Geek's drawing factor.

"It's certainly got heart, and it's got comedy,” he said.  “Those things are there, but it's an outrageous cast."

Beauty and the Geek airs Tuesday nights at 8pm on The CW.


-Lisa Claustro, BuddyTV  Staff Columnist
Source: Hollywood Reporter
(Image Courtesy of the CW)