RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘The Following’ Up In Week 2, ‘Bones’ Hits Season High
Fox‘s serial killer drama The Following has accomplished something that no other new drama this season has — to beat the Week 2 slump and build on its premiere in its second airing. Last night, the Kevin Bacon-starring series drew a 3.3/8 among adults 18-49, up 6% from the fast national for its debut (+3% from the final Live+Same Day number). Overall, The Following joins NBC’s Chicago Fire as the only new dramas to improve on their premiere demo rating this season. (Chicago Fire has done it three times, first in Week 5). In total viewers, The Following (10 million), dipped 4% from the opener. The new drama has helped reinvigorate Fox’s Monday night, boosting its lead-in, Bones (2.6/7, 9.2 million), which posted season highs for a second straight week. The veteran procedural was up 13% from last week in 18-49 to log its best demo and total viewer numbers in over a year.
Fox’s lineup was helped by the fact that CBS’ comedy block was in repeats this week vs. originals last Monday, which makes week-to-week comparisons favorable for the Fox dramas. The Following and Bones ranked as the top two programs of the night in 18-49, with Fox taking top demo honors. No.3 was ABC’s The Bachelor (2.5/7), flat with last week. After tipping the scales at 2.4 for each of its first three airings, NBC’s The Biggest Loser (2.3/6) dipped a tenth last night. New drama Deception (1.3/3) stemmed the ratings erosion, even with last week.
The CW’s The Carrie Diaries is experiencing a generational shift. Last night’s third episode posted the midseason drama’s best numbers yet in A18-34 (0.7/2, up two tenths from last week), W18-34 (1.0/3, also up .2) and female teens (1.2/4). In total viewers, Carrie Diaries was up 15% (1.5M). Yet, its A18-49 rating was flat (a soft 0.5/2). That means that many Sex And The City fans from the upper range of the 18-49 demo, who checked out the series out of nostalgia, have left, and new younger audiences of teens and young adults have joined in after discovering that The Carrie Diaries is mostly another teen soap. Speaking of teen soaps, 90210 (0.3/1 in 18-49) continues to fade, down a tenth from last week.
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