Not only has CBS finally found a comedy that can hold “Two and a Half Men’s” audience, it may have broken the “Seinfeld” curse at the same time.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ new comedy “The New Adventures of Old Christine” posted a 5.2 overnight rating at 9:30 p.m. last night, up 8 percent versus the 4.8 the show earned in the same timeslot last week. It was also up 33 percent over last week’s season premiere, which averaged a 3.9 in a special 8:30 p.m. airing.
“Christine” retained an impressive 95 percent of the 5.5 “Men” earned at 9 p.m., and its 15.3 million total viewers was down just 9 percent from the 16.9 million who tuned in for “Men.”
CBS has already cycled two shows through the 9:30 Monday timeslot with disappointing results. “Out of Practice” and “Courting Alex” will move to Wednesday nights tomorrow after averaging a 4.1 and a 4.2, respectively, during their post-“Men” runs.
Meanwhile, Louis-Dreyfus becomes the first “Seinfeld” alum to land on a show with some promise. She and former co-stars Jason Alexander and Michael Richards already have four failed shows between them.
Elsewhere last night, Fox’s “Prison Break” returned to the schedule with a 4.3 overnight 18-49 rating at 8 p.m., up 7 percent versus what Fox averaged in that slot over the last four weeks.
That number was down 7 percent, however, from the 4.6 the show averaged over its two-hour August premiere and off 22 percent from the 5.5 the show’s last original episode earned in November.
Also at 8 p.m., NBC’s game show “Deal or No Deal” grabbed a 5.5 rating among 18-49s, a series high and good for No. 1 in the timeslot.
CBS edged Fox for first place for the night among 18-49s with a 5.1 average rating and a 12 share. Fox was a close second at 4.9/12, NBC third at 4.1/10, ABC fourth at 3.5/9, UPN fifth at 1.2/3 and the WB sixth at 1.1/3. Last night’s ratings for Univision were unavailable.
NBC started the night in the lead with the 5.5 rating for “Deal” in the 8 p.m. timeslot. Fox followed with its 4.3 for “Prison Break” with ABC and CBS tied for third at 3.4, ABC for a repeat of “Wife Swap” and CBS for “The King of Queens” (3.5) and “How I Met Your Mother” (3.3). UPN was fifth that hour with a 1.1 for repeats of “One on One” and “All of Us,” and WB sixth with a 1.0 for “Related.”
Fox took the lead at 9 p.m. with a 5.5 for “24,” followed by a 5.3 for CBS for “Men” (5.5) and “Christine” (5.2). ABC was third with a 4.4 for “Supernanny,” NBC fourth with a season-best 4.2 for new dad Donald Trump and “The Apprentice,” UPN fifth with a 1.3 for repeats of “Girlfriends” and “Half and Half,” and WB sixth with a 1.2 for the series finale of “Related.”
At 10 p.m. CBS took over with a 6.5 for “CSI: Miami,” the night’s highest-rated show among 18-49s. ABC was second with a 2.8 for “Miracle Workers” and NBC third with a 2.6 for a “Medium” rerun.
Among households, CBS led the night with a 9.9 average rating and a 15 share. Fox was second at 7.3/11, NBC third at 7.2/11, ABC fourth at 5.8/9, UPN fifth at 2.0/3 and WB sixth at 1.7/2.
