TV Ratings: ‘New Girl’ Premieres as Tuesday’s Highest-Rated Show

Fox may have found its newest hit.

Zooey Deschanel’s quirky half-hour comedy New Girl, debuting after the season premiere of Glee, delivered at 9 p.m. — outperforming its lead-in in both total viewers and the adults 18-49 demographic.

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Drawing 10.1 million total viewers and a 4.8 rating in the ad-coveted demo, New Girl was the highest-rated show on broadcast during primetime. The comedy was up drastically (specifically 55 percent) from the debut of Raising Hope, when it premiered in the time slot last fall. Raising Hope opened its second season with solid numbers compared to last year’s comparable time period performance, drawing 6.8 million and a 3.1.

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Glee (8.9 million, 4.0), on the other hand, launched its third season dipping 29 percent from last year’s opener but still topped its 8 p.m. hour in the younger 18-34 demo. With New Girl’s strong debut, Fox won the night among the 18-49, 18-34 and teens categories.

CBS’ NCIS (19.5 million, 4.2) and NCIS: LA (16.7 million, 3.6) returned, both up 5 and 6 percent respectively. The former outrated Glee in adults 18-49 (4.2 vs. 3.8) Those ratings performances helped rookie procedural Unforgettable (14 million, 2.9), starring Poppy Montgomery, be just that: unforgettable. The hourlong won its 10 p.m. period in all categories. Its launch was relatively steady compared to the second hour of the NCIS: LA premiere last September. CBS ranked second on the night, averaging a 3.6 rating, but maintained its “most-watched network” title, drawing 16.7 million in primetime.

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ABC’s Dancing With the Stars results show (14.5 million, 2.8) sank 36 percent compared to last year, which in turn affected the return of Body of Proof (9.7 million, 2.3), down 26 percent from its series debut in late March.

NBC’s The Biggest Loser (6.2 million, 2.3) premiered with its new crop of coaches, down 21 percent. Parenthood (5.3 million, 2.1), in its second week, dipped 5 percent.

90210 (1.6 million, 0.7) and Ringer (2 million, 0.9) aired their second episodes, both taking a dip from its premieres up against fierce premiere competition on the other broadcast networks.