“Bob Newheit: A Legacy of Laughter,” an “Entertainment Tonight” special honoring the comedy icon after his recent death, drew 4.1 million viewers on CBS Monday.
That made it the most-watched show in its 8 p.m. time slot — surpassing “American Ninja Warrior” (2.7 million viewers on NBC), “The Bachelorette” (2.6 million viewers on ABC), “Name That Tune” (1.4 million viewers on Fox) and “All American: Homecoming” (322,000 viewers on The CW) — and the most-watched show of the night when sports broadcasts are excluded.
The Newhart tribute also became the most-watched “Entertainment Tonight” special to date. That title previously belonged to “NCISVerse: The First 1000,” which aired to 3.8 million viewers in April. The third and fourth most-watched ET specials are “Salute to NCIS: LA,” which aired to 3.4 million viewers in May 2023, and “Norman Lear: A Life on TV,” which aired to 3.1 million viewers in December 2023.
Hosted by Nichelle Turner, “Bob Newhart: A Legacy of Laughter” explores Newhart’s 70-year career with behind-the-scenes footage from his films and sitcoms, his final interview and more. The special also features new and archival interviews with his friends and colleagues including Jim Parsons, Will Ferrell, Reese Witherspoon, Jason Bateman and Michael Weatherly.
“Entertainment Tonight” is produced by CBS Media Ventures and co-hosted by Turner and Kevin Frazier. Rachel Smith, Casey DeLaura and Denny Directo serve as correspondents. Erin Johnson serves as executive producer, while Whitney Wallace and Leslie Kawaguchi serve as co-executive producers.
Newhart, known for “The Bob Newhart Show” and “Newhart” as well as more recent hits like “Elf” and “The Big Bang Theory,” died on July 18 at the age of 94.
