Though several shows have come back from the writers’ strike at season or series lows, NBC’s “The Office” seems to be building. It couldn’t be at a better time for the network, which recently greenlit a spinoff of the series.
“Office” averaged a 4.9 adults 18-49 rating last night, according to Nielsen overnights, its second-best rating of the season behind only last fall’s premiere, which averaged a 5.1.
It was up 0.1 from last week’s episode, its first original since the strike ended, and it helped NBC to No. 1 for the night against minimal competition.
CBS and ABC were mostly in reruns, with the latter’s full schedule set to return with fresh episodes next week.
“Office” was the night’s No. 1 show in 18-49s and also drew its best total audience, 9.8 million viewers, since fall.
Little has been said about the “Office” spinoff, with its name, subject and stars still unknown. It will premiere behind the Super Bowl next February, following an episode of “Office.”
Meanwhile, NBC averaged a 3.4 overnight rating and a 10 share for the evening. CBS was second at 3.0/9, Fox third at 2.8/8, Univision fourth at 1.6/5, ABC fifth at 1.5/4 and CW sixth at 1.1/3.
CBS began the night in the lead with a 3.8 rating at 8 p.m. for “Survivor,” followed by NBC with a 2.7 for “My Name is Earl” (series low-tying 2.6) and “30 Rock” (2.8). Fox was third with a 2.5 for “Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?,” Univision fourth with a 1.8 for “Al Diablo con los Guapos,” CW fifth with a 1.4 for “Smallville” and ABC sixth with a 1.1 for a repeat of “Lost.”
At 9 p.m. NBC took the lead with a 4.3 average for “Office” (4.9) and “Scrubs” (3.7, its best rating since November), while Fox moved to second with a 3.2 for “Don’t Forget the Lyrics.” CBS was third with a 2.8 for a repeat of “CSI,” Univision fourth with a 1.7 for “Pasion,” ABC fifth with a 1.5 for another “Lost” rerun and CW sixth with a 0.8 for a repeat of “Supernatural.”
NBC led again at 10 p.m. with a series low-tying 3.1 for “ER,” with CBS second with a 2.4 for a repeat of “Without a Trace,” ABC third with a 2.0 for “Eli Stone” and Univision fourth with a 1.3 for “Amas de Casa Desperadas.”
Among households, CBS led the night with a 7.0 average overnight rating and a 12 share. Fox was second at 5.7/10, NBC third at 4.9/8, ABC fourth at 3.3/6, Univision fifth at 2.0/3 and CW sixth at 1.8/3.
