The ratings are in for last night’s primetime TV shows and The Big Bang Theory came out on top. A lot of people watched TV last night, but with so many new and returning shows premiering, there weren’t any huge break-out hits and a number of shows were down from last season’s premiere ratings, which isn’t all that surprising given the amount of competition on Thursday nights.
Deadline posted the numbers, stating that CBS’ The Big Bang Theory came out on top by a fair margin with 14.1 million viewers at 8:00 p.m. and then 14.7 million viewers for the second episode, which aired immediately afterward at 8:30. Community and Parks and Recreation both saw drops from their previous season premieres, posting their lowest-rated openers to date with 1.7/5 and 2.0/8 ratings. Boo x2 to that news. Clearly I’m not in the majority here, but given the choice to watch an hour that consists entirely of The Big Bang Theory or an hour split between Community and Parks & Rec, it’s no contest.
Meanwhile, The Office was also down 11%, despite the fact that last night’s season premiere answered the question many of us were wondering all summer (Who will replace Michael Scott?). Also down from last year was Grey’s Anatomy. The series’ 2-hour season premiere earned a 4.1/10 rating, marking the series’ lowest rated season premiere yet. CBS’ Mentalist earned itself 13.4 million viewers, and was also down from last year’s season premiere.
Among the new shows that made their debut last night, ABC’s Charlie’s Angels took in 8.7 million viewers, which certainly isn’t bad, but it isn’t all that great either, especially given the fact that it’s a reboot of a very popular franchise. CBS’ new series Person of Interest, which stars Michael Emerson and Jim Caviezel, did much better, earning 13.2 million viewers. And NBC’s new comedy Whitney topped off NBC’s comedy block with a 3.2/8 rating.
Unfortunately, NBC’s premiere of Prime Suspect, which aired after the two-hour comedy block scored 1.8/5, which makes it the lowest-rated fall Thursday series debut ever on NBC. Let’s hope either more people tune in next Thursday night or NBC considers putting the series somewhere a bit more visible to people with an interest in cop dramas.
Finally, Fox’s new series The X Factor held up for its second episode, bringing in 12.5 million viewers last night and winning the night for Fox for the first time ever among adults 18-49.
