Skip navigation

Dads’ TV guilty pleasures not what you expect

‘Dancing With the Stars,’ ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ top survey conducted by TiVo

Image: EDYTA SLIWINSKA, JASON TAYLOR
Kelsey Mcneal / ABC
A recent survey by TiVo found that "Dancing With the Stars," which this season included Miami Dolphins star Jason Taylor, is a guilty pleasure of dads.
Access Hollywood video
  ‘Dancing Recap’: Aaron’s emotional elimination
Nov. 11: Aaron Carter and his “Dancing With the Stars” partner, Karina Smirnoff, tell Access guest correspondent La Toya Jackson about the emotional elimination.

Access Hollywood
updated 2:10 p.m. ET June 15, 2008

LOS ANGLES - This Father’s Day you might expect to see dads watching the big game or The History Channel, but what shows are dads watching that they don’t want anyone to know about?

They might not admit it, but dads love dancing celebrities, doctors who get steamy in broom closets, private school teenagers who can’t stop text messaging and “Access Hollywood.”

TiVo recently polled more than 700 hundred fathers from across the country and queried them on what shows they pretend to stomach while viewing with their families, but secretly love to watch.

Story continues below ↓
advertisement | your ad here

“Dancing With the Stars” topped the list for dads. Almost one third of the men polled admitted to enjoying the competition on the dance floor.

Reality shows aren’t the only favorite for fathers. ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” has dads reaching for the remote. The ups and downs of Meredith and McDreamy apparently have them hooked, as this steamy hospital drama came in second place.

And beyond hospital-based dramas, TiVo’s poll proved dads love the suburbs too, especially on Wisteria Lane! Almost one fourth of dads polled admitted enjoying the mystery, comedy and drama of “Desperate Housewives,” landing the series in third place.

Access Hollywood also made the list, coming in fourth place, as a guilty entertainment pleasure for the guys.

Copyright 2009 by NBC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Sponsored links

Resource guide