If Bo Burnham is “gonna be famous” with mainstream audiences, it will evidently not be as “Zach Stone.”
Burnham’s mock-mockumentary “Zach Stone is Gonna Be Famous” premiered earlier this May as a ratings nonfactor, and after two subsequent episodes, interest has only declined.
Thursday’s airing–the show’s third–delivered a mere 0.2 adults 18-49 rating with only 399,000 viewers. Disappointing enough as it is, the number is even worse given its reflection of a ratings free fall: the May 9 episode posted a 0.3 with 575,000 viewers, while the May 2 premiere managed a 0.4 with 659,000 viewers.
While “Zach Stone” is clearly the weak link of MTV’s 10PM Thursday block, “The Show with Vinny” is not providing a dazzling lead-in. After opening to a 0.6 rating with 1.197 million viewers on May 2, the latest “Jersey Shore” project fell to a 0.4 with 1.023 million on May 9 and a 0.3 with just 646,000 viewers for the most recent episode.
Now that the broadcast season is over, the two series will face less competition in the coming weeks (especially “Vinny,” which also dealt with the “American Idol” and “Office” overruns this week) and have a chance to slightly rebound in the ratings. Still, given the nearly nonexistent response after three weeks, there is no chance either will gravitate towards the word “hit” this summer.