[UPDATE: As expected, the post-football numbers for NBC left its shows with ratings virtually identical to last week’s. Optimists might say that’s an accomplishment with this week’s much stronger competition–but it’s also true that the shows, none above a 1.6 except THE OFFICE’s 2.1, didn’t have much room to fall. GLEE and SCANDAL also lost 0.1 each, which in the latter case meant ELEMENTARY had full rating point margin for its win.]
The game is afoot.
CBS: ELEMENTARY is off to a very solid start with 3.1: an easy winner in its 10PM hour, up from its lead-in, and also up from last season’s premiere of The Mentalist in that slot. CBS won the 8PM hour too, with THE BIG BANG THEORY just 0.2 off last year’s premiere pace to 4.8. 2 1/2 MEN was fine at 8:30, but not as spectacular a fit as one might have supposed, dropping to 3.5 in its first Thursday run (given Monday’s results a few days ago, the switch of Men for 2 Broke Girls in the Monday 9PM slot is starting to look like a not-so-win-not-so-win). PERSON OF INTEREST was a very even 2.9, down just 0.2 from its series premiere last season.
ABC: LAST RESORT was indeed ill-placed in its 8PM timeslot, and it started with a mediocre 2.2, just slightly above the debut for last year’s disastrous Charlie’s Angels reboot. GREY’S ANATOMY, though, was actually up a bit from last year’s premiere to 4.3, a remarkable feat for a show in its 9th season. (The episode did, of course, resolve a big cliffhanger about the body count after last season’s airplane crash.) SCANDAL still isn’t a hit, but its 2.2 was up 0.2 from last season’s premiere.
FOX: X FACTOR was solidly in 2d place at 8PM, although at 3.2 it continues to be a success rather than a smash. Facing new competition at 9PM, GLEE fell to 2.5 and 3d place at 9PM.
NBC: Local affiliates in both Baltimore and Cleveland carried the NFL Network feed of last night’s football game, so what are currently listed as increases of 0.1-0.5 from last week for the network’s line-up will likely disintegrate at least in part when final numbers are released this afternoon. However, even with the artificial boost, NBC was in last place in every half-hour of the night.
9PM will be the hour to watch tonight, as CBS debuts MADE IN JERSEY and FOX begins the final season of FRINGE. 8PM remains a work in progress: CSI NY is back on CBS, but both NBC and FOX are airing reruns in the hour (Grimm and X Factor, respectively) to hype their respective series. BLUE BLOODS is also back at 10PM.
About the Author
