TV Ratings: '2 Broke Girls' Debut Scores, 'The Playboy Club' Starts Slow

ABC's "Castle" opened its fourth season strong following the premiere of "Dancing With the Stars."

9:37 AM PDT 9/20/2011 by Philiana Ng

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Monty Brinton/CBS

"2 Broke Girls"

Monday was all about the return of CBS' Two and a Half Men without Charlie Sheen and with Ashton Kutcher, drawing nearly 28 million total viewers in its 9 p.m. time slot. But there was a bevy of television premieres as the first official day of the fall season, according to Nielsen, began.

The entire CBS comedy lineup was strong. With a rich Men lead-in new comedy 2 Broke Girls (19.2 million total viewers, 7.0 rating in adults 18-49 demographic), starring Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs, reaped the rewards in its special time. Next week, the half-hour series launches in its time slot home following How I Met Your Mother (11.3 million, 4.7; 12.2 million, 5.1), which aired back-to-back episodes.

At 10 p.m., Hawaii Five-0 (12 million, 3.4) returned for its second season down from last September -- but still winning its time period. CBS won the night in the key 18-49 demo, averaging a strong 5.7, though ABC would win the title of most-watched network with an average of 16.9 million.

ABC's Dancing With the Stars (18.6 million, 3.9) premiere, drawing its own publicity for its celebrity cast, was down about 24 percent from last fall's opener. Following DWTS, the return of Castle (13.6 million, 3.3), up from last year's premiere, ranked second behind Hawaii Five-0.

NBC's The Sing-Off (5.2 million, 1.9) didn't exactly help launch new drama, The Playboy Club, which debuted to 5 million and a 1.6 at 10 p.m.

Fox's Hell's Kitchen closed out its season with a solid ratings effort, drawing 5.9 million and a 2.5.

The CW aired repeats of H8R and Ringer.

Email: philiana.ng@thr.com