Ratings: ‘Heroes Reborn’ Rises Thursday, ‘Big Bang Theory’ Tops in Return to Night

It’s hard to get a read on the premiere of the CBS Thursday slate of entertainment series due to inflated preliminary results from football pre-emptions, but the net’s “The Big Bang Theory” returned to the night as the No. 1-rated series. ABC’s drama lineup was in line with recent results and led among the broadcasters in young adults, while NBC’s “Heroes Reborn” jumped to its best scores since September.

At NBC, “Heroes Reborn” (1.3/4 in 18-49, 4.0 million viewers overall) became the network’s latest program to rise in the ratings in its first outing since the end of DST (joining “The Voice,” “Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris” and “The Mysteries of Laura” earlier this week). The reboot of the 2006-2010 NBC series shot up 0.3 week to week in 18-49 for a five-week high, and saw an even bigger 60% growth spurt in adults 18-34 (0.8 vs. 0.5).

It was followed by “The Blacklist” (1.4/4 in 18-49, 6.3 million viewers overall), which was down a tick and placed third among the broadcasters in 18-49 for the 9 o’clock hour, and “The Player” (0.7/3 in 18-49, 3.2 million viewers overall), which matched last week’s score. “Blacklist” continues to be among the biggest time-shifted gainers in 18-49 and is also the season’s most upscale-skewing drama, indexing at a 154 among adults 18-49 living in homes with $100,000+ incomes.

CBS aired football in both Cincinnati and Cleveland, so its early averages — especially post-“The Big Bang Theory” — appear to be inflated. “Big Bang” averaged a 3.8 rating/13 share in adults 18-49 and 15.0 million viewers overall leading off the night, in line with its Monday results prior to last week’s spike on the night of the “Supergirl” premiere.

From there, “Life in Pieces” averaged a 2.3/8 in 18-49 and 9.2 million viewers overall in its first Thursday airing — at least in the prelims, the show’s best results since its premiere. It was followed by “Mom” (2.0/6 in 18-49, 8.4 million viewers overall), a repeat “Big Bang Theory” (1.7/5 in 18-49, 7.2 million viewers overall) and the season premiere of “Elementary” (1.5/5 in 18-49, 6.6 million viewers overall). Nielsen will issue final nationals this afternoon.

At ABC, “Grey’s Anatomy” (2.3/8 in 18-49, 8.5 million viewers overall) withstood the return of “The Big Bang Theory” to perform in line with recent episodes as it returned after a week off, and “Scandal” (2.3/7 in 18-49, 8.0 million viewers overall) held steady week to week and was the No. 1 program for the 9 o’clock hour in key demos. Barring an unforeseen jump in the finals, though, this would mark the first time that “Scandal” hasn’t built on the medical drama in 18-49.

Closing the night, “How to Get Away With Murder” (1.9/6 in 18-49, 6.5 million viewers overall) was up a tick from its series low of last week. Last Thursday’s “Murder” fared especially well in “live plus-3” delayed viewing, rising 1.5 points in 18-49 (a series-record 83% lift) to match the prior week (3.3) even though it had been down by 0.3 in same-day numbers.

Following the late local news, ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” averaged a 2.5 household rating/7 share to tie NBC’s “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and beat out CBS’ “Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (2.1/6). Featuring the first appearance on the show by Hillary Clinton, “Kimmel” matched its top Thursday rating since March. Fallon still prevailed in early 18-49 ratings (0.9), followed by Kimmel (0.7) and Colbert (0.5)

Fox’s “Bones” (1.2/4 in 18-49, 5.3 million viewers overall) and “Sleepy Hollow” (0.9/3 in 18-49, 3.0 million viewers overall) both fell off from their crossover-boosted averages of last week, but the former at least held up better opposite the return of “Big Bang Theory” than it did last year.

CW’s “The Vampire Diaries” (0.6/2 in 18-49, 1.4 million viewers overall) and “The Originals” (2.3/7 in 18-49, 8.0 million viewers overall) held steady week to week.

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