RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘Golden Boy’ Debuts Soft, ‘Celebrity Wife Swap’ Returns With Series High, ‘Smash’, ‘Body Of Proof’ & ‘Go On’ Tie Lows
After having been previewed online for a week, CBS’ Golden Boy (1.8/5) premiered on TV last night. It won its 10 PM slot, but the news was not all good. The midseason cop drama was up 20% in the slot from last week’s Vegas, which had tied a season low, but it was also down 28% from the Vegas premiere in the same time slot September 25. Watched by 10.46 million last night, Golden Boy did debut stronger than the 1.3/4 garnered by ABC’s new conspiracy drama Zero Hour when it premiered on Valentine’s Day, but it fell short of the 2.0/5 NBC’s Deception received for its January 7 debut. Golden Boy’s 10 PM Tuesday slot is just temporary; after one more Tuesday airing next week, it moves to Fridays at 9 PM.
Of course, part of Golden Boy‘s scheduling arrangement is to give it a boost from Tuesday heavyweights NCIS (3.4/10) and NCIS: LA (2.9/8). Last night’s most-watched show with 20.48 million viewers, the former slipped 3% from last week, while the latter was up 7% and drew 16.81 million viewers. With 15.917 million watching and a 2.7/8, CBS won the night in total viewers and in the adults 18-49 demographic.
Related: CBS Poised To Win First February Sweep Since 1998
It was a double dose of reality on ABC on Tuesday. With former Girls Next Door star Kendra Wilkinson trading places with now single mom of eight Kate Gosselin, Celebrity Wife Swap (2.4/7) returned for a second season. It was up 4% from its Season 1 debut on January 2, 2012 and scored a series high. The same could not be said of second course The Taste (1.4.4). Debuting in the 9 PM time slot, the freshman cooking reality competition was down 13% from its 8 PM show last week, hitting a ratings low. One week after its weak Season 3 premiere, Body Of Proof (1.2/3) ended the night flat with its February 19 show to tie a series low.
NBC had its usual Tuesday primetime with back-to-back Betty White’s Off Their Rockers kicking off the night. The 8 PM (1.3/4) was even with last week and the 8:30 PM (1.3/4) was down 7% — both tied series lows for the show in the slots. After that was Go On (1.1/3), which was flat with last week’s show and tied for a series low, and The New Normal (1.0/3), which saw an 11% rise from its February 19 show. NBC’s night wrapped up with the struggling Smash (0.9/3), with the musical drama flat with its February 10 show to tie a series low.
Fox had back-to-back Raising Hope episodes. The 8 PM (1.5/5) was flat with last week’s episode, while the 8:30 PM (1.4/4) was up from the 1.1/3 of a New Girl repeat on February 19. Following that was a new New Girl (2.3/6), up 5% from last week, and The Mindy Project (1.6/4), which had a guest appearance from Seth Rogen and was even with its February 19 show.
The CW had the Hart Of Dixie (0.6/2) and the second episode of its new Cult (0.3/1). The former was down a tenth from last week while the freshman was even with its debut.
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RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘Smash’ Crash In Season 2 Debut, ‘The Taste’ & ‘Mindy Project’ Up, CBS Wins Night
UPDATE: RATINGS RAT RACE: London Olympics Day 4 Scores With Biggest Tuesday Since 2002
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