CBS lead the night in total viewers and in the 18-49 demo Thursday. In its new timeslot, the fourth season premiere of “Big Bang Theory” drew 14 million viewers and a 4.8 in the 18-49 demo, second highest for the night. It’s strong numbers spilled into William Shatner’s new comedy “$#*! My Dad Says,” which drew 12.5 million viewers and a 3.9 in the demo for it’s premiere. The 11th season of CSI premiered to 14.5 million viewers and a 3.4 rating; the third season of “The Mentalist” debuted to 15 million viewers, the highest for any series Thursday, and a 3.3 rating.
On ABC, “Grey’s Anatomy” drew a 5.3 rating, highest for the night, and 14 million viewers for it’s seventh season premiere. Sister show “Private Practice” bowed to a 3.3 rating and 9 million viewers. It wasn’t all good news for ABC though; new 8 p.m. drama “My Generation” floundered out of the gate to a 1.6 rating and 5.2 million viewers. ABC finished second in both categories for Thursday.
NBC didn’t have much luck either. The seventh season of “The Office” logged typically strong numbers, drawing 8.5 million viewers and a 4.3 in the demo, second for 9 p.m. hour. New comedy “Outsourced” had a strong premiere as well, pulling in 7.4 million viewers and a 3.5 in the demo, second in the 9:30 timeslot. At 8 p.m. “Community” was back in third place with a 2.2 rating and 6 million viewers; “30 Rock” drew a 2.6 and 5.5 million viewers at 8:30. The peacock finished last in the 10 p.m. hour, with “The Apprentice” logging a 1.6 rating and 3.8 million viewers.
Fox had its ups and downs with “Bones” pulling a 2.7 and 9.8 million viewers at 8 p.m., good for second place, while “Fringe” was in fourth at 9 p.m. with a 2.1 and 5.9 million viewers. Fox landed in fourth for the night. The CW was also typically in back: “The Vampire Diaries” drew 3.6 million viewers and a 1.6 rating while “Nikita” managed 3.2 million viewers and a 1.1 rating.