Dore delivers for Comedy

Coming off a strong second season The Jon Dore Television Show has more than tripled its audience with The Comedy Network’s main 18-34 demographic over last year.

The Toronto-shot interview/issue comedy averaged 65,000 viewers over its latest 13 episodes, airing Wednesdays at 10 p.m., compared to its season one average of just 18,000, according to BBM Nielsen.

The show is among the top five most-watched non-sports programs on specialty television for men aged 18-34 from September through March, according to Comedy, though the season finale (‘Jon Does Drugs’) dropped to 22,000 viewers on April 15 opposite the start of the NHL playoffs. There’s no word yet on a third season.

‘This year’s storylines really resonated with viewers in a new way… the episodes about money, aging, saving the planet and medical scares were timely,’ says John Brunton, who exec produces through his Insight Productions (Canadian Idol, Deal or No Deal Canada).

Over on Global, reality series Project Runway Canada saw a big boost for its season finale on Tuesday, April 14 with 38% more viewers than its season average. The episode — in which Toronto designer Sunny Fong was named the winner — nabbed 489,000 viewers, compared to an average 354,000 viewers for its second season. (All numbers 2+.)

Meanwhile, Prison Break took a big hit when it returned to Global on Friday to air the remainder of its fourth season episodes. The Fox show, which was cancelled earlier this year, managed only 600,000 viewers, losing to a repeat of CTV’s Flashpoint. Prison Break was a staple of Global’s Monday fall lineup since it premiered in 2005, clocking in at well over one million viewers per episode. The two-hour series finale airs May 15.

Also airing on Friday, the third episode of Spectacle: Elvis Costello with… averaged 650,000 viewers after Flashpoint — down from the 861,000 who tuned in for the premiere.

New animated comedy Bob & Doug averaged 209,000 viewers for its first ep on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. on Global.