Image Credit: Sonja Flemming/CBS
The competition took a beating Thursday because of The X Factor, which gave FOX a win in adults 18-49 (3.9 rating/10 share) and another chance to boast about its domination (like, how its the first time ever that Fox has won the first two Thursdays of the season). The two-hour show averaged 11.9 million, according to early results.
Charlie’s Angels took a direct hit on ABC — earning a mere 1.5/4, which was down 29 percent versus last week. It averaged 7.1 million. Grey’s Anatomy suffered but not too terribly; it earned a 3.5/9 (10 million) but was still down 15 percent. Most of the damage was heaped upon Kate Walsh and the return of Private Practice, which earned a 2.8/8 (and 7.8 million) and logged its lowest-rated premiere ever.
The Big Bang Theory on CBS was down 2 percent from last week but the kids still earned a 4.8/15 (14.5 million). But they didn’t stick around to check out Drama in How to be a Gentleman. The new comedy only earned a 2.7/8 and 8.9 million, down 33 percent from the premiere of $#*! My Dad Says last season. Too bad, because this is a pretty good show. Try to watch, eh? Person of Interest earned a 2.7/7 and 12.4 million while The Mentalist, a 2.5/7 and 12.7 million.
Community on NBC built slightly from last week to a 1.8/5 and 4 million, while Parks and Recreation (2.1/6, 4.3 million) was flat. The Office was off 13 percent to a 3.4/9 and 6.6 million while Whitney — whoa! — was down 24 percent to a 2.5/6 and 5.3 million. And poor Maria Bello: Her new show Prime Suspect lost 17 percent of its adults and finished with a 1.5/4 and 5.5 million. And Ken Tucker even said the episode was better, too!
Bottom line: Fox won the night with a 3.8/10, followed by CBS (3.0/8), ABC (2.6/7), NBC (2.1/6) and CW (1.1/3). In viewers, CBS led with 12.2 million, followed by Fox (11.9 million), ABC (8.3 million), NBC (5.2 million), and CW (2.3 million).
For more:
WEDNESDAY: X Factor gives FOX a nightly win; Suburgatory welcomed into ‘hood
TUESDAY: New Girl keeps her cool; NCIS still hot for CBS
MONDAY: Two and a Half Men takes a dive but still rules
SUNDAY: Desperate Housewives way down; Pan Am still manages to take flight
I started to watch how to be a gentleman but Johnny drama made me change the channel.
I really like prime suspect. It’s much better than I thought it would be.
How in the world are the ratings for Community and Parks and Recreation so low? Maybe it’s true. America loves crap. Otherwise, these fine shows would be doing much better.
Lynette…..Uhm….If Big Bang Theory scored almost ONE MILLION MORE viewers than X FACTOR, then just how do you consider that “the competition took a beating” and that FOX was the highest rated? Also, what is YOUR FASCINATION with the 18 – 49 demo (of which I am still part of)???? Are you trying to re-inforce this notion that other people don’t count?
The 18-49 demo is always highlighted because that’s what advertisers care about most. They target that demo as the one that will most likely invest dollars in what they advertise. Total viewers obviously matters, but since advertising dollars govern what stays on air, and since these same advertisers care most about the 18-49, it’s this demo that ultimately determine who “won” the night.
Eeyo, you are correct and I pretty much already know that. But WE are not advertisers. We are simply pop-culture fanatics (or maybe just readers of ew.com). All that demo-specific information goes to the advertisers in other venues. But IF those advertisers ARE reading this site, then I’d suggest to them that the younger crowd has much more of attention deficit spans and tend to multi-media task, therefore probably not paying attention to commercials anyway. It just irks me. I only have a few more years in that coveted demo and I’m far from being irrelevant.
How is it possible that dumb shows like Charlie’s Angels were put in favor over a smart show like Detroit 187? ABC cancelled on of the best new shows of last year to make way for the dumbing down of America!
Detroit 187 was hosed by ABC. I don’t watch anything on ABC now. It’s useless.
Charlie’s Angels and their monochromatic dresses took a dive. Big surprise there!
I have to wonder how new generation methods affect ratings. I watch most everything through my EVO with the Droid TV primetime app. I wonder what that does to ratings?
I think ABC made a big mistake with Detroit 187 by casting James McDaniel. He’s a fine actor, but it was too easy to look at him on that show and think it was just a retread of NYPD Blue.
James McDaniel made me think nothing of NYPD blue. The only reason I thought his casting made no sense is because he looked the same age as the man who played his father and he looked too young to have been a teen in the riots. Other than that I LOVED that show. I was pissed it was canceled. Loved Michael I and his son. They looked exactly aliked.
Why even bother getting into anything on ABC? The better it is, the faster it will be canned. Anyone remember Pushing Daisies?
Another example?? Just look at the debacle that ABC made of “V”!! They messed up that show from the start and thought throwing everything at the end would work..Then they had the gall to state that the “best” was yet to come but that we the viewers abandoned the show!..idiots!
I totally agree with comment Ann! I thought Detroit 187 was a GREAT show!!
Is 12 million for X Factor considered a success?!? I thought is was expected to have Idol type numbers (20 mil +++). Getting beat by Big Bang Theory? Really? Sounds like it is a moderate success compared to most other shows but a big disappointment based on expectations. Personally, I hope it bombs and signals the end of the glut of “talent shows” on TV. Enough!
he’s exactly why I won’t watch. I never liked Entourage but I can’t stand his face or the way he talks so I’ll pass!
Think about this? BIONIC WOMAN?
That’s what you get, Whitney.
Prime Suspect is great. If NBC is smart they will switch the time.
Shout out to Ricky Wayne, former acting buddy who appeared on Charlie’s Angels. You are so fortunate to get tackled in the water by Minka Kelly. The show was terrible though.
Oh whatever!
Prime Suspect is on again on Sat. night I plan on watching then.
Prime Suspect is fantastic, smart, well written, well acted and gritty. I certainly hope it doesn’t lose out because of NBC’s bad reputation.
I’m assuming you mean 14.5 million, not 1.45 million, for the Big Bang?
I wish it were 1.45M, considering Jim Parsons sucks and took the Emmy away from Steve Carell.
Jim Parsons earns that Emmy every Thursday, his character portrayal is awesome, and so much better than Steve Carell.
You’re delusional, Will. Jim Parsons doesn’t hold a candle to Steve Carell and Alec Baldwin.
PEOPLE IN THE BUSINESS REALIZE STEVE C. IS A ONE-NOTE GUY.
Whether he plays on The Office, gets interviewed on the red carpet, hosts something, he is the same, ONE-NOTE! This is why he never earned an emmy.
Instead of including three randomly chosen actresses whose names that they picked out of a hat, they should have cast actresses like Mischa Barton, Taylor Momsen and Jessica Szohr who would have been better and guaranteed success for the new television series.
They made poor choices with the actors cast as Bosley and Charlie as well. Actors like Eddie Izzard, Jeremy Piven and William Shatner would have been better.
Really, an anorexic druggie, an emo rockchick wannabe who is heading for amy winehouse level abuse issues and Jessica Szohr would be the perfect angels for you?
Sometimes I really wonder if people are just so stupid or if I’m just so smart…
No need to be rude, he has his opinion.
I do think they should have cast older actresses, like 3 nikitas, this young ones i dont buy as angels, and Bosley just seems wrong.
That’s patently absurd. None of those actresses have any sort of track record of headlining a successful series on a major network. It would simply appeal to the tiny audience who watches Gossip Girl.
Don’t quit your day job.
Why would he quit his day job? What does his job have to do with what we are talking about?
Sorry, but the casting for Charlie’s Angels was horrid. I hit the stop button on VOD after 10 minutes or so and will not return. The producers were up against the original 70′s Angels, and Cheryl Ladd, all of whom became major stars, and the second incarnation of major movie stars who weren’t too shabby and kept the franchise top of mind. The bar couldn’t have been higher, and they aimed low with this reboot. The only twist that might have worked would have been to reverse-gender the cast – make Charlie and Bosley still-hot, high-star power mature women (ala Demi Moore?) who manage the affairs and antics of three no-name, young, hot male agents…
Its like they spent more time getting those dresses to look monochromatic then cast the right people for the right parts.. Ugh..
Another problem was the writing. It was so formulaic and had no real energy or wit in the dialogue. I mean, even the movie version had witty dialogue and interesting exchanges with the characters, but this TV version pales in comparison to both the original TV series and the movie adaptations.
This comment is a troll – stop wasting your time responding. It’s been posted before.
Yes, over and over and over, on several different sites. I recognize his trolling right off every time.
That makes sense, because otherwise who talks about those 3 actresses?
Am I really the only one who thinks Whitney isn’t all that bad? I actually laughed at several moments this episode. Yes, the supporting characters are all still cardboard flat, but some of the jokes are funny at least, which is more than I can say for some other shows (Two and a half men anyone?).
How to be a gentleman on the other hand was a bit disappointing to me. The problem for me is both lead characters are miscast and miswritten, which basically kills the show. Also the dude with the weird accent is only gonna be funny for 1-2 episodes tops, after that its gonna get annoying REALLY fast…
As for Charlie’s Angels, its the worst new show of the season and its gonna get canceled before december, thank god.
I have to watch Charlie’s Angels On Demand, but haven’t got to it yet. I already gave up on X Factor. Just more of the same.
Two thoughts: First, last week’s Charlie’s Angels was weak… all about exiting a character we’d never seen and entering a character that we ALL knew from the promos was going to be an angel. HUGE waste of time. I am interested in seeing what they do with this show, but I am strictly a Hulu watcher for this show. Too much else going on Thursday nights!
I actually think Whitney is better than New Girl.
Zooey Deschanel is über annoying in it.
Whitney is hot.
New Girl has tree stump legs.
yeah but whitney has laugh tracks a LOT of it too…
Big Bang has a laugh track. No one moans and complains about their laugh track. That dry, scientific humor needs a laugh track to tell most people when to laugh. “Whitney” is a good show. Give it time. They gave the stereotypical nerds time. Or was it given a longer chance because Lorre is the producer?
I like Whitney! It definitely needs some work – like you said, the supporting characters aren’t that great – but I think that it’s pretty funny.
Whitney would drastically improve without the laugh track. I can’t stand it.
I watched half of the 1st episode. When I heard the laugh track I thought they were trying to be ironic, but then it kept on. It seemed so dated and stale. Pass
Dated and stale? I pass on you, Madox.
Last night was better…and it still beat Community (which was awful last night) and the underappreciated P&R.
1.45 million viewers for Big Bang? Do you mean 14.5 million?
I tried How to Be a Gentleman. TERRIBLE!!! Not one laugh in the whole show. I work during prime time so I have to DVR everything and try to fit it all in before bed. I watch Parks and Rec first because it is hilarious! Then The Office, then Big Bang, then Whitney. I hate how everything runs over a minute now and I have to record the show after just to get the last joke.
Agreed on “How to Be a Gentleman.” It was awful. I love Johnny Drama and Rhys Darby, but they are not enough to keep me watching. The lead actor is SO grating!!
Wonderful new shows we are all blessed with this season!
Agree, specially when theres a Writers Strike going on.
Give ‘Whitney’ some credit because it’s still getting better ratings than Community, Park & Recreation, Up All Night and Free Agents. It dropped but it’s still the 2nd highest rated comedy on NBC.
NBC needs to move Prime Suspect. People aren’t watching it.
ABC is squandering it’s chances to have a hit with Charlie’s Angels. Move it. It doesn’t pair well with Grey’s.
X-Factor still isn’t the hit FOX hoped for…it’s a demo hit for them though nonetheless…however to be a breakout hit bigger than The Voice and to challenge Idol they need to STOP focusing on the bad auditions and bring back Cheryl Cole. Get to work Simon!
I don’t think it matters much what ABC does with Angels, a turd will always be a turd, no matter when it airs.
No matter how long you air a turd, it will still smell (it just gets kinda crusty and grey looking).
NBC = Nobody Buys (their) Comedies
The fact that it airs after The Office (NBC’s highest rated comedy) sure helps thos numbers. Put Whitney on at 8:30 or move it to Wednesday and see what kind of numbers it gets…
I will give Whitney the credit I gave Outsourced last year, zero. Community (foolishly) anchors the night and has to bring in its own audience. For a quirky, nichy show like Community, that is a horrible plan. Whitney leading off the night would be getting in the 1.2-1.4 range.
Since we are all in the business of saying what NBC should and should not do. NBC should gave moved the rebooted Office to 8 (has an audience already and would be an excellent anchor), Parks and Rec at 8:30, Community at 9, and 30 Rock at 9:30.
That’s a really good idea. Office would do fine at 8pm and bump up Parks&Rec a little. Whitney sucks.
That’s a pretty bad Idea. The office is NBC’s number 1 show and you think they’re going to put it in direct competition with the Big Bang theory. It will never happen. The office is a gem for NBC so they can’t mess around and squander it.
I think the reason Community is at 8:00 is because Community’s ratings seem to be independent of what its against. No matter the competition it gets the same ratings, thus NBC puts it up against TBBT and X-Factor/American Idol because its nearly impossible to get high ratings against both (just ask ABC who didn’t get a hit with The Deep End last year and didn’t get a hit with Charlie’s Angels this year). Thus NBC puts community against them because community will always get a low rating (1.8) but a new show will get like 1.4. Thus NBC is smart to keep Commmunity at 8:00. They can’t do any better.
The only reason in my mind that Community has fairly low numbers is its in a very tough, and a losing, battle with The Big Bang Theory.
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I was amped for Prime Suspect because I liked the original British version. The premiere was pretty so-so though. Too many characters that are all the same guy, and the character interactions were just all over the place. I’m sticking with it for a while though because at least it’s different than the usual network bubblegum. DVR’d the 2nd ep but haven’t watched it yet; glad to hear Ken Tucker thinks it’s better than the pilot.
ABC squandered its chance with Charlie’s Angels when they aired the pilot. This show is god-awful. It makes “Gigli” look like life-changing visual art.
On a positive note, I am digging ‘Revenge’. Very cool premise and interesting characters. It reminds me of the first season of ‘Damages’.
I agree Revenge is great. They should just ax Charlie”s Angels and Private Practice already.
Revenge is new favorite show. I am kind of glad Charlie’s Angels isn’t doing too well. It helps Revenge’s chances of renewal better.
Yeah, Revenge is pretty decent. Who would have thought Emily VanCamp could play such a bad-ass (I only say that because she’s usually cast as the nice girl. What’s the name of the actor playing the rich guy who’s helping her? He’s great, too!
I saw a commercial that said that 41 million people watched the X Factor! Who does Fox’s math?
41 million over 4 episodes is probably what they meant.
It seems like most of the networks do that kind of “math” sometimes, just to make a show seem like a bigger hit than it actually is. Maybe they were adding last Wed. & Thurs., plus DVR watchers of those 2 episodes, together?
It’s like saying “Smurfs was last week’s #1 animated comedy!”
I’d rather watch “Johnny’s Bananas” than “How to Be a Gentleman.”
Parks and Recreation must be too smart for America. Keep wallowing in CBS crap, you fools.