SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

Households: #1. CBS 8.5/13.9 rating/share; #2. ABC 7.7/12.7; #3. NBC 4.7/7.6; #4. Fox 4.5/7.2; #5. The CW 1.5/2.4.
Total Viewers: #1. CBS 13.95 million; #2. ABC 12.15 million; #3. Fox 7.8 million; #4. NBC 7.54 million; #5. The CW 2.35 million.
Adults 18-49: #1. CBS 3.7/10.3 rating/share; #2. ABC 3.4/9.5; #3. Fox 3.0/8.4; #4. NBC 2.7/7.5; #5. The CW 1.1/2.9.

Week 1 (Sept. 20-26) Analysis: We're back with another all-new TV season! The 2010-11 season has begun and most of the shows debuted this past week, with still a few shows debuting or having their season premieres in the coming week. Through the first four days, CBS has the lead in all categories thanks to some decent series premieres, with ABC in second in all categories as they have been first in premiere week the past few years, Fox is in third while NBC is back in the familiar fourth. This could change after tonight, due to NFL overrun, but I expect CBS to take the week and ABC to remain second with possibly NBC overtaking Fox. Both CBS and ABC are down though a bit from this time last year in 18-49, as is Fox, with NBC up a tick. Fox is down huge from premiere week last year.

Monday was the first night of the 2010-11 season and it was ABC on top. Two-hour season premiere of Dancing with the Stars won the total viewer race with 21.29 million and a 5.1 18-49 rating, way higher than last fall. The season premiere of Castle followed with a solid 10.7 million and a 2.7 18-49 rating, up from the season premiere last year. Next up was CBS with its comedies and the premiere of Hawaii Five-0. How I Met Your Mother started it off with 8.79 million and a 3.6 18-49 rating, below last year's premiere in viewers and Rules of Engagement followed with its season premiere doing 8.34 million and a 3.1 18-49 rating, which could be better and lower than the premiere of Accidentally on Purpose last fall. Two and a Half Men followed with 14.63 million and a 4.9 18-49 rating, up nicely from last season's premiere, but Mike & Molly's premiere did a nice 12.23 million and a 3.9 18-49 rating, but lower than Big Bang last year. It needs to maintain these numbers or CBS might have a problem. The series premiere of Hawaii Five-0 was next doing 14.2 million and a 3.9 18-49 rating, off some from the season premiere of CSI: Miami last season. While good numbers, I expected more from the premiere of this hyped-up show. Will the numbers remain here or drop, though? Fox was next with the season premiere of House down big from last year's two-hour premiere. This year's premiere was only an hour and did 10.69 million and a 4.2 18-49 rating, good but disappointing. The series premiere of Lone Star followed and dropped each 15 minutes doing just 4.1 million and a 1.3 18-49 rating, ouch. Lie to Me should be ready to jump in if needed. NBC followed with the season premiere of Chuck doing only at 5.79 million and a 2.0 18-49 rating. This is not good. The series premiere of The Event was next and showed some promise doing 10.88 million and a 3.6 18-49 rating. Much better than Heroes last year, but can it continue? The series premiere of Chase was next and did 7.31 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating, needs to be better though. The CW on Mondays has been a struggle so far, with 90210 doing only 1.83 million and Gossip Girl at 1.84 million. Don't know why 90210 was brought back and leading off a night.

Tuesday, Fox, CBS and ABC battled. CBS had the always reliable NCIS opening the night off with 19.41 million and a 4.0 18-49 rating, but down over a million from last year's premiere. The season premiere of NCIS: Los Angeles was next and did 15.76 million and 3.4 18-49 rating. And finally CBS aired another episode, as The Good Wife won't return until this week, and did 13.6 million and a 3.0 18-49 rating. ABC was next with the a recap of Dancing with the Stars leading the night off doing 12.15 million and a 2.6 18-49 rating. Even a recap did well! The regular live Results Show followed at 9pm and did a best ever for a season premiere doing 18.52 million and a 4.4 18-49 rating as we sadly said goodbye to The Hoff. The series premiere of Detroit 1-8-7 followed and did a decent 9.34 million and a 2.3 18-49 rating. Could be better though, but the episodes we hear get a thousand times better a few episodes in, so give it a chance. Fox started off huge with the season premiere of Glee doing 12.45 million but an even better 5.6 18-49 rating. Huge opening, and as of now the top rated series in 18-49. That led into the two sitcom premieres of Raising Hope and Running Wilde doing 7.31 million and 5.59 million and also a 3.1 and 2.4 18-49 rating. The jury is still out on these. NBC was next with The Biggest Loser 2-hour premiere doing 7.22 million and a 2.9 18-49 rating, down from its season premiere last season, followed by an all-new Parenthood at just 5.85 million but a better 2.5 18-49 rating. The CW aired One Tree Hill with just 1.86 million, followed by an even worse Life UneXpected at just 1.45 million.

Wednesday again it was CBS on top, but the other networks did solid. CBS started the night off on top with week two of Survivor: Nicaragua at 12.59 million and a 4.0 18-49 rating, on par with its premiere previous week. Veteran drama Criminal Minds did 14.13 million and a solid 4.0 A18-49 rating, but down from last season's premiere. At 10pm, with CSI: NY now moved to Fridays, the premiere of The Defenders aired and did a decent 12.17 million and a 2.9 18-49 rating, but lower than CSI NY's premiere last year. We cannot tell yet if CBS will benefit with these new shows until we see more ratings the next few weeks. ABC started off with its Laugh On comedy block with The Middle returning to a big 8.8 million and a solid 2.7 18-49 rating. The series premiere of new sitcom Better With You was next and did a decent 7.86 million and a 2.5 18-49 rating. It needs to stay in this area every week. The season premiere of Modern Family was next and opened with series highs of 12.67 million and a 5.1 18-49 rating. It will breakout even more I think this season. The season premiere of Cougar Town did a solid 8.32 million and a 3.4 18-49 rating, not good retention from the lead-in but this show is always consistent. At 10pm The Whole Truth premiered to just 4.85 million and a 1.5 18-49 rating, down big from Eastwick's premiere last year...not good. NBC opened the night with the series premiere of Undercovers doing 8.7 million, not bad, but the 2.0 18-49 rating is really bad. Old skewing series. Law & Order: SVU had two episodes and averaged 10.08 million and a 3.2 18-49 rating. Decent. Fox did solid with Hell's Kitchen at 5.98 million and 7.16 million and a 2.6 and 3.1 A18-49 rating. Quietly does well on a competitive night. The CW had its usual showing of Top Model at a only 2.82 million, and a new episode of Hellcats followed with 2.31 million. Not too bad.

Thursday it was CBS on top again, but ABC had the top show. ABC opened the night with the series premiere of My Generation doing only 5.17 million and a 1.6 18-49 rating, both down big from FLASHFORWARD's premiere but it did grow throughout the hour. The Grey's Anatomy season premiere followed with 14.32 million and a great 5.4 A18-49 rating. down from last tear but that was two hours. The season premiere of Private Practice was next doing 8.83 million and a 3.2 18-48 rating, solid. CBS opened with The Big Bang Theory at a huge 14.04 million and a 4.9 A18-49 rating, nice numbers for its new night and time. The series premiere of $!*# My Dad Says followed with a good sampling of 12.58 million and a 4.0 18-49 rating. Good start (and the pilot was bad)! The season premiere of CSI followed with 14.69 million and a 3.4 18-49 rating, down from last season's premiere, while the season premiere of The Mentalist did 15.5 million and a 3.4 18-49 rating, winning its hour. Fox started off well with Bones at a solid 9.89 million and a 2.7 18-49 rating, but Fringe followed and only did 5.73 million and a 2.1 18-49 rating, down a lick from last season's premiere. NBC was in the familiar fourth place with Community doing 5.0 million and a 2.2 18-49 rating only, followed by 30 Rock on its new time at only 5.91 million and a 2.6 18-49 rating. At 9pm The Office jumped to 8.48 million and a 4.4 18-49 rating, up a million from last season's premiere. The premiere of Outsourced closed the comedy block with 7.49 million and a 3.6 18-49 rating, but it had a noticeable drop in the second half, so be aware of that this week. The Apprentice closed the night with only 3.84 million and a 1.4 18-49...where is Jay Leno when you need him? The CW's big gun Vampire Diaries did 3.56 million, and a 1.6 18-49 rating followed by a new Nikita at 3.15 million and a 1.1 18-49 rating.

Now, final numbers for Friday and Saturday are not available, but CBS won Friday with their dramas including the move of CSI NY to Fridays and the premiere of Blue Bloods. ABC was in repeats, but 20/20 was new and did OK at 10pm. Fox had a dismal Friday with a new Good Guys and NBC's Outlaw bombed in its timeslot premiere.
Saturday numbers had ABC win with Saturday Night Football in 18-49, with CBS winning (f0r now) in total viewers.

Tonight are the season premieres for ABC Sunday (Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers & Sisters). Look for Vanessa Williams to join the casrton Desperate Housewives as the ratings will be good. NBC should do well with the NFL but the game is not as intriguing with the Jets/Dolphins. CBS has a 90-min season premiere of Amazing Race following 60 Minutes and Undercover Boss at a special time of 10pm. Fox launches its animation block with season premieres from 8-10pm, including the one-hour season premiere of Family Guy.

As for the week (week 1), CBS will win in HH, viewers and 18-49 most likely. ABC could come close in 18-49, especially if Desperate does big tonight, but with the NFL overrun, CBS will likely win. As for the coming week (week 2), look for the series premiere of No Ordinary Family on ABC Tuesday at 8pm and the season premiere of CBS's The Good Wife at 10pm on Tuesday.

Week 1 How the Sitcoms Did

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for summer week 16 -- September 13-19)

• The Simpsons (Fox) 3 episodes - three repeat episodes starting at 7pm did 2.54, 3.45, and 4.86 million with the latter doing a 2.2 18-49 rating, not bad ...season premiere is tonight
• The Cleveland Show (Fox) - preempted, season premiere tonight.
• Family Guy (Fox) 3 episodes - Three repeats starting at 8:30pm did well doing 5.02, 5.04, and 5.3 million but even better in 18-49 with 2.4, 2.4, and 2.5 rating ...season premiere is tonight.
• American Dad! (Fox) - preempted.
  

Monday Sitcoms

• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - The season premiere did 8.79 million, a bit lower than the season premiere last year. 3.6 18-49 rating is good. Still decent.
• Rules of Engagement (CBS) - 8.34 million for the season premiere is lower than last year's premiere of Accidentally on Purpose series premiere, and the 3.1 18-49 rating compared to Purpose's 3.3 from last year. After nice summer climbs from the lead-in, this is a bit disappointing.
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 14.63 million, up a million from last year's season premiere. Unbelievable. 4.9 18-49 rating even is excellent.
  
• Mike & Molly (CBS) - 12.23 million for the series premiere is great, but a bit off from the season premiere of Big Bang in this slot last year. 18-49 rating of 3.9 is great but well off from the premiere of Bang in this slot last year. That is expected, but can this show continue to pull these ratings or go lower?

Tuesday Sitcoms

• Raising Hope (Fox) - The series premiere aired after Glee, which did a 5.6 18-49 rating (and even better in the second half), so this show was certainly going to be sampled. The pilot did a decent 7.31 million and a 3.1 18-49 rating, could be better or worse though. If it can maintain these, then Fox is happy. Anything lower is probably not suitable.
  
• Running Wilde (Fox) - The series premiere of this new comedy did only 5.59 million and a 2.4 18-49 rating. This could be better. The pilot wasn't too good, but we hear the second episode gets better, but will the ratings?
  

• The Middle (ABC) - Season premiere on its new time of 8pm did nearly series highs in total viewers with 8.8 million and a solid 2.7 18-49 rating. Nice numbers.
  
• Better with You (ABC) - The series premiere of this new comedy did a solid 7.86 million and a 2.5 18-49 rating. Could certainly be worse, but this shows promise in quality unlike last year's Hank.
  
• Modern Family (ABC) - The season premiere did a massive 12.76 million for a series high and a gigantic series high of a 5.1 18-49 rating. This show is breaking out even more and I expect series highs to continue as we go into the season, especially in colder months.
• Cougar Town (ABC) - The season premiere of this sitcom did a solid 8.32 million and an even better 3.4 18-49 rating, no series highs here but very consistent to what it was doing last fall/winter before Idol.
  

Thursday Sitcoms

• The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - The move to a new night and earlier time paid off for the season premiere doing 14.04 million and a 4.9 18-49 rating, no series highs, but it did better than the season premiere last year on Monday at 9:30.
  
• S#*! My Dad Says (CBS) - Following the big lead-in, this series surprised a bit doing 12.58 million and a 4.0 18-49 rating. That is great, but there was a bit of a drop in the second half of the premiere. Key will be the next few weeks. If it can maintain these, numbers or only go down say another 10% or so, CBS has a hit.
  
• Community (NBC) - The season premiere did 5.0 million and 2.2 A18-49 rating. Certainly not too good, but better than expected I think. Better than Parks & Recreation for sure.
• 30 Rock (NBC) - The season premiere on its new time did 5.91 million and a 2.6 18-49 rating.
• The Office (NBC) - The season premiere of this series did better than last year's season premiere, doing 8.48 million and a 4.4 18-49 rating. Steve's last season curiosity maybe? I expect it go down below a 4 in the next few weeks, though but build by the end of the season.
  
• Outsourced (NBC) - The series premiere was not a train wreck in the ratings doing 7.49 million and a 3.6 18-49 rating. The concern was the huge drop in the second half and that doesn't bode well for next week. For now, a good start but be aware next week.
  

Friday Sitcoms

• Modern Family (ABC) - A special repeat of the season premiere did OK for a repeat with a prelim 4.17 million and a prelim 1.2 18-49 rating in a weak 8pm slot.
  
• Better with You (ABC) - A special repeat of the pilot did a prelim 3.07 million and a prelim 0.9 A18-49 rating at 8:30. Just some more sampling and hopefully it found more viewers for its regular Wednesday airings.
  

Saturday Sitcoms

• None.
  

Airing tonight (Sunday) are season premieres of Fox's animated comedies from 8-10PM.

Summing it up. Modern Family, Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, The Office, $#*! My Dad Says, How I Met Your Mother, Mike & Molly, The Middle, Cougar Town, were impressive for the week. Everything else was OK (such as Better With You, Rules of Engagement, Raising Hope, Outsourced) or just plain old terrible (such as Running Wilde, Community).