the buzz log

Not everyone can be Oprah. It's tough to crack the daytime talk show market. Every year, syndicators throw a new batch of fresh meat at bored housewives and somnambulant shut-ins, but few hosts survive even one season at the chat game. Remember Jane Pauley, Sharon Osbourne, and Tom Joyner? Each tried their hand at winning over the fickle fans of daytime, but flamed out in quick fashion.

Undaunted, two new ladies are trying to crack daytime's difficult code this fall. Both Rachael Ray and Megan Mullally have tasted success in other televised ventures, but will viewers follow them to their new endeavors? More importantly, who's building the best buzz?

We looked at data from the past seven days and found perky Food Network fixture Rachael has about five times as many searches as former sitcom diva Megan. Searches on both doubled within the last week, but Ray ranks among our top 500 queries while Mullally languishes at around 4,400.

Both ladies have strong personalities which have sparked quick opinions. Viewers may find Rachael's gregariousness grating and possibly annoying, while some critics are puzzled by Megan's jumbled mix of skits and chit-chat.

When we delved further into the data, one bit of demographic information raised our eyebrow. A stunning 57% of searches on Megan are from dudes. If she plans on a season two, she'll have to flip the script to match Rachael's more robust figure—60% of Ray searches come from women.

After all, Oprah didn't become queen of daytime by winning over Joe Six-Pack or even fervent male "Will and Grace" fans—she knows her bread is well-buttered by an adoring female audience. Winfrey accumulates 80% of her searches from women, and the two new aspirants in the daytime field would be well-served to try and match that lofty number.