TV Ratings: ABC Takes Thursday Demo Win With Ellen Pompeo-Directed ‘Grey’s Anatomy’

Joe Otterson

ABC narrowly took Thursday honors in adults 18-49 thanks to a boost from a new episode of “Grey’s Anatomy” that was heavily promoted as the directorial debut of series star Ellen Pompeo.

CBS won the night in total viewers, however, with a new episode of “The Big Bang Theory.” The season premiere of CBS’ “The Amazing Race” was down from last season.

“Grey’s Anatomy” led off with a 2.1 rating in adults 18-49 and 7.9 million viewers, up in the demo compared to last week. “Scandal” followed with a 1.6 and 6 million viewers, up in both measures from last week. At 10 p.m., ABC’s fortunes sank with “The Catch” (0.8, 3.5 million).

“Big Bang Theory” (2.5, 12.6 million) was once again a tentpole for CBS. “The Great Indoors” (1.4, 7.2 million), “Mom” (1.3, 7.1 million) and “Life in Pieces” (1.1, 6 million) were on par with recent deliveries. The season premiere of “The Amazing Race” clocked in with a 0.9 and 4.4 million viewers, down in both measures from last season’s premiere.

On NBC, a repeat of “Superstore” led into a new episode of “Powerless.” The DC Comics-inspired comedy, airing its first new episode in three weeks, struggled to draw a crowd with a 0.6 and 2 million viewers. At 9 p.m. “Chicago Med” (0.9, 5.9 million) was down from its last new episode two weeks ago. “Blacklist: Redemption” closed out the night slightly up in the key demo from last week with a 0.8 and roughly steady in total viewers with 4.1 million.

For Fox, “Master Chef Junior” averaged a 1.0 and 3.5 million viewers. “Kicking and Screaming” managed a 0.6 rating and 1.8 million viewers.

And at CW, “Supernatural” drew a 0.6 and 1.7 million viewers, up from its last original episode on March 9. “Riverdale” followed with a 0.4 and 977,000 viewers.

For the night, ABC led in adults 18-49 (1.5 rating/6 share) by a hair over CBS (1.4/5). CBS had a comfortable lead in total viewers (6.9 million to ABC’s 5.8 million).

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