NBC hoped that the same five-nights-straight approach it used to launch “Deal or No Deal” so successfully four months ago would work again for another program, “Celebrity Cooking Showdown.” But after one episode, it looks like “Cooking” is no “Deal.”
 
“Cooking” premiered with a 2.9 overnight rating among viewers 18-49 at 9 p.m. last night, finishing a disappointing fourth in the timeslot behind ABC, CBS and Fox. The show lost 34 percent of its lead-in’s rating, a 4.4 for “Deal” at 8 p.m.
 
“Cooking” was also off 26 percent from the 3.9 overnight 18-49 rating the Howie Mandel-hosted game show premiered with back in December, also on a Monday night.
 
“Deal” has built to a 5.3 average on Monday nights, and it grew steadily over its debut week. It’s certainly possible that “Cooking” could see a similar jump, but that seems unlikely. The show airs again tonight at 8 p.m., where it faces Fox juggernaut “American Idol,” which has flattened most everything NBC tried in the timeslot this year and could kill even the minimal momentum from last night.

Elsewhere, ABC’s new drama “What About Brian” premiered in its regular Monday 10 p.m. slot after a special preview Sunday night. Predictably the show was down, as its lead-in was way off from Sunday.

Last night’s airing posted a 3.2 among 18-49s, down 43 percent from the 5.6 Sunday night’s “Desperate Housewives”-boosted episode earned. “Housewives” averaged a 7.7, while “Brian’s” lead-in last night, “Supernanny,” averaged just a 3.6. “Brian” did improve what “Miracle Workers” had been averaging in the timeslot.

Meanwhile, Fox took the night among 18-49s with a 4.5 average rating and a 12 share. NBC and CBS tied for second at 3.7/10, with ABC fourth at 3.1/8, WB fifth at 1.7/5, Univision sixth at 1.7/4 and UPN seventh at 1.4/4.
 
NBC opened the night in the lead with the 4.4 rating at 8 p.m. for “Deal.” Fox was second with a 3.5 for “Prison Break,” with ABC and CBS tied for third at 2.4, ABC for a repeat of “Wife Swap” and CBS for repeats of “The King of Queens” and “How I Met Your Mother.” WB was fifth that hour with a 2.0 for “7th Heaven,” Univision sixth with a 1.5 for “Barrera de Amor” and UPN seventh with a 1.2 for “One on One” (1.0) and “All of Us” (1.3).
 
Fox took the lead at 9 p.m. with a 5.5 for “24,” the night’s top-rated show among 18-49s. CBS was second with a 3.7 average for a repeat of “Two and a Half Men” (3.7) and a new episode of “The New Adventures of Old Christine” (3.7), ABC third with a 3.6 for “Supernanny” and NBC fourth with its 2.9 for “Cooking.” Univision moved to fifth with a 2.0 for “Alborada,” with UPN sixth with a 1.7 for “Girlfriends” (1.7) and “Half and Half” (1.6), and WB seventh with a 1.5 for “Everwood.”
 
CBS’s took the lead at 10 p.m. with a 4.9 for a repeat of “CSI: Miami.” NBC was second with a 3.8 for “Medium,” ABC third with a 3.2 for “Brian” and Univision fourth with a 1.5 for “Cristina.”
 
Among households, CBS led the night with a 7.8 average rating and a 12 share. NBC was second at 7.2/11, Fox third at 6.6/10, ABC fourth at 5.0/8, WB fifth at 3.0/5, Univision sixth at 2.2/3 and UPN seventh at 2.1/3.