American Idol : 'Dancing With the Stars' gets close to overtaking 'American Idol' in the weekly race

American Idol is on top of the weekly ratings yet again. For the seven days ending March 15, Fox's megahit took the Nos. 1 and 2 spots, with 25.8 million viewers for the Tuesday competition episode and 25.5 million for the Wednesday results episode. Normally, the disparity between the competition and results shows is far greater, but musical performances from Kanye West and American Idol alum Kelly Clarkson on Wednesday night likely helped bump up that installment's viewership.

That said, Idol may have finally found some serious ratings competition! ABC's celebrity hoofing juggernaut Dancing With the Stars, which premiered to a very hefty 22.8 million viewers, closely nipped at the heels of Fox's karaoke titan: It trailed Ryan Seacrest & Co. by just 2.7 million. Fox must be shaking at the prospect of DWTS overtaking Idol in the weekly ratings. We're not quite there yet, but it is a very real possibility in the not-too-distant future. In fact, the season 8 premiere of DWTS was the most-watched debut ever for the series and the second-highest-rated in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic. And there was this, too: DWTS' nearly 23 million viewers were the most drawn to ABC on a Monday night since May 2006. Guess what execs at ABC are probably doing right now? Maybe...dancing!

The rest of the Top 20 was business as usual. CBS's CSI rolled in at No. 4 and ABC's Desperate Housewives popped up next, with 14.6 million, to round out the Top 5. Then it was your usual menagerie of CBS procedurals, ABC's Grey's Anatomy, CBS's Two and a Half Men and Survivor, Fox's trio of dramas (24, Lie to Me, and House). And, NBC's Law & Order: SVU (possibly buoyed by all the news about star Mariska Hargitay lately?) made a surprise appearance in the Top 20. Want to see exactly where the rest of the shows landed? The complete breakdown is after the jump.

Photo Credit: M Becker/Getty Images

Photo Credit: M Becker/Getty Images