The second season of FOX's The Simple Life appeared to pick up where last season's edition of the show left off, as two premiere night episodes of the program once again performed well for the network in the ratings.

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The 9PM premiere of the new Simple Life season which will chronicle Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie's cross-country road trip misadventures proved to be a hit with viewers, drawing 9.8 million overall viewers and a 4.9/15 rating/share in the Adults 18-49 demographic, according to Nielsen Media Research figures reported by The Hollywood Reporter. The performance placed the The Simple Life 2 episode first in its time period in both metrics.

An earlier special 8PM bonus "preview" episode of the show also performed well for FOX, drawing 8.3 million overall viewers and a 4.0/15 in Adults 18-49, placing second to a Bill Clinton-boosted edition of CBS' 60 Minutes II (15.8 million) in total viewers, but defeating the program soundly in Adults 18-49 (3.1/12 versus 4.0/15.) The performance was 60 Minutes II's best household share in more than three years and placed it as the most watched entertainment program for the week.

The Simple Life 2's premiere performance was down from the 13 million viewers that watched last December's premiere of the series, however such a drop is expected during the lighter summer television viewing season. The two broadcasts ranked 14th and 23rd overall in the overall weekly ratings for the week ending June 20, 2004.

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