NBC’s “Heroes” didn’t fly quite as high as usual last night upon its return from a long hiatus. The first-year hit drama fell to a series-low 5.3 adults 18-49 rating, according to Nielsen overnights, airing opposite ABC’s potent “Dancing with the Stars” for the first time.

The show still won its timeslot, but it finished behind “Stars” during the two shows’ shared half hour at 9 p.m. “Stars” averaged a 5.5 to “Heroes’” 5.2.

It marked “Heroes’” lowest performance since a 5.5 for its second episode back in October. The show went on hiatus for much of March and April, and it was down 20 percent from its most recent original episode, which averaged a 6.6 on March 5.

Certainly “Heroes” was not helped by the continuing softening of lead-in “Deal or No Deal” opposite “Stars.” “Deal” averaged a 3.3 last night at 8 p.m., down 39 percent from the 5.4 it averaged leading into “Heroes” on March 5.

And "Heroes," the season's No. 1 new show in 18-49s, is still a hit by any measure. It was last night's No. 1 show in 18-49s as well.

“Heroes” may simply need a week or two for viewers to become aware that the show is back. Long hiatuses have been difficult for broadcast shows this year, with ABC’s “Lost” and CBS’s “Jericho,” two similarly mysterious, action-packed shows, both showing deep declines after leaving the air for several months. Though “Heroes” wasn’t gone for as long, and its declines aren’t as serious, the network may nonetheless want to reconsider future long momentum-sapping absences.

Meanwhile, ABC finished first among 18-49s last night with a 4.1 average rating and an 11 share, with NBC second at 3.9/10, CBS third at 3.8/10, Fox fourth at 2.8/8, Univision fifth at 1.9/5 and CW sixth at 1.2/3.
 
At 8 p.m. ABC led with a 4.5 for the first hour of “Stars,” followed by NBC with a 3.3 for “Deal.” CBS was third that hour with a 2.3 average for a repeat of “How I Met Your Mother” and an original “New Adventures of Old Christine” (2.4), with Fox and Univision tied for fourth at 1.8, Fox for “Drive” and Univision for “La Fea Mas Bella.” That left CW sixth with a 1.2 average for “Everybody Hates Chris” (1.3) and “All of Us” (1.1).
 
NBC took the lead at 9 p.m. with a 5.3 for “Heroes,” while ABC fell to second with a 4.5 average for the last 30 minutes of “Stars” (5.5) and the first half hour of “The Bachelor” (3.5). CBS was third with a 4.0 average for “Two and a Half Men” (3.9) and “The King of Queens” (4.1), Fox fourth with a 3.9 for “24,” Univision fifth with a 2.0 for “Destilando Amor” and CW sixth with a 1.1 average for “Girlfriends”(1.2) and “The Game” (1.1).
 
CBS took the lead at 10 p.m. with a 5.1 for “CSI: Miami,” with ABC second with a 3.4 for the end of “The Bachelor.” NBC was third with a 3.1 for the premiere of “The Real Wedding Crashers” and Univision fourth with a 1.8 for “Cristina.”
 
ABC finished first for the night among households with a 9.6 average rating and a 15 share. CBS was second at 7.7/12, NBC third at 6.3/10, Fox fourth at 4.6/7, Univision fifth at 2.4/4 and CW sixth at 1.7/3.