Tonight at 9 p.m., ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” becomes the latest, and one of the last, hit shows to return from an extended writers’ strike hiatus.
No coincidence, tonight also begins the four-week May sweeps period used to set local affiliates’ advertising rates.
When “Grey’s” aired its most recent new episode in January, it was the No. 3 scripted series on TV, behind only “Desperate Housewives” and “House,” with a 6.3 average rating among adults 18-49, though that was off about 20 percent from last season’s 7.9 average.
Certainly some of that can be attributed to increased DVR viewership and online viewing, but there have also been some complaints from fans about the direction of the series. It took months last fall to wrap up the unpopular Izzie-George love affair storyline, and Derek and Meredith broke up (again), to the ire of many viewers.
Perhaps that’s why show creator Shonda Rhimes has pledged that by the end of this abbreviated four-week run Derek and Meredith will be back together heading into next year, the show’s fifth season.
Still, ratings may continue to fall, mirroring a trend seen across all of the networks this spring. ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” has hit two series lows, Fox’s “American Idol” slipped to its lowest ratings in five years, and CBS’s “Survivor” is having its worst season ever.
On tonight’s episode, set six weeks after the conclusion of the last one, George and Lexie adjust to their new apartment, Callie and Hahn become better buds, and Bailey judges a surgery contest between the residents.
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A look at this week’s top TV draws
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THURSDAY, APRIL 24
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Time
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Network
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Program
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Description
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7 a.m.
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NBC
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“Today” (N)
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“30 Rock” star Tina Fey visits the set.
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8 p.m.
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ABC
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“Ugly Betty” (D)
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A surprise visit from Charlie may change Betty’s birthday plans.
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8 p.m.
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CW
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“Smallville” (D)
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Clark looks for the only person who can change Lana’s condition.
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9 p.m.
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ABC
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“Grey’s Anatomy” (D)
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Bailey judges a surgical contest between the ladies and Alex.
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9 p.m.
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CBS
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“CSI” (D)
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The crew tries to solve two murders that occur in the same apartment building.
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9 p.m.
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NBC
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“The Office” (C)
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Michael and Dwight head to New York to try to hang with Ryan.
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10 p.m.
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ABC
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“Lost” (D)
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A body washes up on shore and Jack tries to identify it.
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FRIDAY, APRIL 25
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Time
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Network
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Program
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Description
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7 a.m.
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ABC
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“Good Morning America” (N)
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Mariah Carey performs.
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8 p.m.
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CBS
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“Ghost Whisperer” (D)
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Melinda looks into the death of a student who was filming a movie.
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9 p.m.
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Travel Channel
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“Disney: On A Dime” (N)
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Looking at how to head to Disney World without breaking the bank.
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10 p.m.
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CBS
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“Numb3rs” (D)
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A gang of military thieves takes a family hostage.
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10 p.m.
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History Channel
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“Battle 360” (N)
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Reliving the largest naval battle of World War II.
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10:30 p.m.
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ESPN
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“NBA Basketball” (S)
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The Suns versus the Spurs in game three of their first-round playoff series.
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SATURDAY, APRIL 26
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Time
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Network
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Program
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Description
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3 p.m.
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CBS
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“PGA Golf” (S)
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Coverage of the third round of the Byron Nelson Championship, live from Irving, Texas.
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3 p.m.
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NBC
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“NHL Hockey” (S)
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A game from the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
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3 p.m.
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ESPN
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“NFL Draft” (S)
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Your favorite team is on the clock.
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3:30 p.m.
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Fox
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“Major League Baseball” (S)
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It’s Yankees-Indians, Angels-Tigers or Padres-Diamondbacks.
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8 p.m.
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Nickelodeon
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“iCarly” (K)
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Freddie and Sam try to convince Carly to stay at their school.
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11 p.m.
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Fox
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“Mad TV” (C)
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Among other things, a parody of ABC’s “Lost.”
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SUNDAY, APRIL 27
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Time
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Network
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Program
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Description
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1 p.m.
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Fox
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“NASCAR Racing” (S)
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The Aaron’s 499 from Talladega Superspeedway.
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3 p.m.
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CBS
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“PGA Golf” (S)
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Final round of the Byron Nelson Championship, won last year by Scott Verplank.
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3:30 p.m.
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ABC
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“NBA Basketball” (S)
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Game four of the first-round playoff series between Shaq and the Suns and Duncan and the Spurs.
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8 p.m.
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Fox
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“The Simpsons” (C)
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Bart joins 4-H and raises a calf.
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9 p.m.
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ABC
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“Desperate Housewives” (D)
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Bree and Katherine decide to go into business together.
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9 p.m.
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CBS
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“Cold Case” (D)
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A 1962 suicide is reexamined as a murder situation.
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10 p.m.
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E!
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“Keeping Up with the Kardashians” (R)
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Kim, Khloe and Kourtney get into a fight. Except this time it’s serious.
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A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show.
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