RATINGS RAT RACE: ’30 Rock’ Up, ‘Scandal’ Hits High, ‘Office’ & ‘Parks & Rec’ Hit Lows
Big life celebrations scored in the ratings last night. The Liz Lemon wedding episode of NBC’s departing 30 Rock drew a 1.3/4 in adults 18-49 and 3.6 million viewers. That was up 8% from its last original two weeks ago and the comedy’s best demo rating since Oct. 11 and largest viewership this season. Meanwhile, ABC’s sophomore drama Scandal (2.2/6) popped 10% from its last episode two weeks ago to hit a season high. (In adults 18-34, it hit a series high). That is with Scandal‘s lead-in, Grey’s Anatomy (3.0/8), dipping 6% from two weeks ago to tie its season low. No dead cat bounce for ABC’s Last Resort. In its first airing post cancellation news, the freshman drama (1.0/3) fell 17% from two weeks ago to a series low.
Fox’s Glee (2.2/6), which featured the latest cover of Psy’s ubiquitous Gangham Style, bounced back 47% following the depressed numbers last week when the network aired originals on Thanksgiving. (Fox’s fast nationals for last night may be slightly inflated because of an NFL preemption in New Orleans). The X Factor (2.7/8) was actually down a tenth from last week’s telecast, which was boosted by a football lead-in.
The CBS lineup won the night comfortably in adults 18-49 and total viewers despite most of its series slipping slightly from their last originals two weeks ago. The only show that kept steady was Two And A Half Men (4.1/16), which may have benefited by the wave of publicity surrounding the controversial comments of co-star Angus T. Jones to match its season high from two weeks ago. Its lead-in, The Big Bang Theory (5.4/16) was down a tenth from its season-high rating two weeks ago but still ranked as the top-rated program of the night, followed by Men. Person of Interest (2.9/7) was down 6% from two weeks ago; Elementary (2.2/6) dipped a tenth to tie its lowest rating to date.
Besides the small ratings bump for 30 Rock, there was nothing encouraging about NBC’s ratings performance last night as all five of the network’s program finished below a 2 demo rating point vs. only one, ABC’s now-defunct Last Resort, on the other three major networks. Up All Night (1.2/3) was down 8% from two weeks ago, The Office (1.9/5) was down 10% to a series low, Parks & Recreation (1.4/4) down 18% to a series low, and Rock Center With Brian Williams (0.9/2) down 18%.
The CW posted gains but its numbers were likely inflated by an NFL football preemption in Atlanta and a high school football one in Baltimore. Vampire Diaries (1.5) was up 15% from 2 weeks ago, Beauty And The Beast (0.8 adults) was up 33%.
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