RATINGS RECAP: 9/24/13

ABC
8:00 Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Viewers: 12.1 million, 18-49 demo: 4.7
9:00 The Goldbergs
Viewers: 8.9 million, 18-49 demo: 3.1
9:30 Trophy Wife
Viewers: 6.7 million, 18-49 demo: 2.3
10:00 Lucky 7
Viewers: 4.4 million, 18-49 demo: 1.3

CBS
8:00 NCIS
Viewers: 20.0 million, 18-49 demo: 3.6
9:00 NCIS: Los Angeles
Viewers: 16.4 million, 18-49 demo: 3.0
10:00 Person of Interest
Viewers: 12.4 million, 18-49 demo: 2.3 

NBC
8:00 The Voice
Viewers: 14.4 million, 18-49 demo: 4.7
10:00 Chicago Fire
Viewers: 8.9 million, 18-49 demo: 2.7 

FOX
8:00 Dads
Viewers: 3.7 million, 18-49 demo: 1.5
8:30 Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Viewers: 4.0 million, 18-49 demo: 1.8
9:00 New Girl
Viewers: 4.0 million, 18-49 demo: 2.1
9:30 The Mindy Project
Viewers: 2.9 million, 18-49 demo: 1.5 

On the first Tuesday of premiere week, ABC started with a bang and ended with a fizzle. The hotly anticipated Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. did not disappoint as its 4.7 demo was the best for a drama premiere since V got a 5.2 way back in November 2009. It skewed pretty young too and actually grew at the half hour which is a great sign. Reviews seem to be pretty positive so ABC can breathe a big sigh of relief. The comedies that followed had mixed results. At 9pm, The Goldbergs posted good raw numbers. It actually posted the best demo premiere for a comedy since The Neighbors a year ago. However, retention was pretty weak but I think that's to be expected. Overall, I think it's a good showing. Trophy Wife only did OK though at 9:30pm as it lost a lot of The Goldbergs' audience. Week two will be key for these two shows. Week two barely matters though for Lucky 7 which fell flat on its face with a horrible 1.3 demo premiere. It's not a matter of if but when for this show's cancellation as it's very DOA. I'd be surprised if it lasts until November but ABC does have some other question marks like this Sunday's Betrayal so that might play a factor. Also, for those counting at home, ABC lost 3.4 demo points from 8pm-11pm. Still, the show that had to premiere strong did and that's important.

NBC won the night again thanks to The Voice as the ratings giant was just four tenths behind its mammoth Monday premiere. It tied Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the demo over two hours but lost in the 8pm hour to the Marvel show. NBC was smart to launch it with two hours but the even smarter move is airing it at 9pm this year on Tuesdays where it might have a halo effect at both 8pm and 10pm. At 10pm, the season premiere of Chicago Fire was fueled by The Voice to a series high. Retention and overall numbers were not as good as The Blacklist but that's to be expected. This show is able to find new viewers and will probably be one of the few returning shows that will grow in the ratings this year.

CBS had a good night with a trio of veteran drama premieres. At 8pm, NCIS debuted close in viewers but down in the demo to last year. Of course it had to face off against Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. this year which made things much tougher so I think 20 million viewers and a 3.6 demo is pretty impressive for a show in its 11th season now. At 9pm, NCIS: Los Angeles was also down from last season's premiere but still solid with a 3.0 demo. At 10pm, the premiere on a new night of Person of Interest was below the series premiere of Vegas a year ago but well above what Vegas and Golden Boy got during most of the season last year. I think this will end up being the most reliable Tuesday 10pm performer for CBS in years. Hopefully the 9pm Thursday slot it left holds up well for them too with The Crazy Ones and Two and a Half Men.

Finally, FOX had the second week of all its comedies and it was big drops galore as expected. Dads fell 2.1 million viewers and seven tenths in the demo. This show won't be long for this world with big drops and no critical support. At 8:30pm, Brooklyn Nine-Nine was down 2.2 million viewers and eight tenths in the demo. The bad news is it dropped more than Dads, the good news is it still built out of its lead-in and skewed pretty young. At 9pm, New Girl was down 1.5 million viewers and also eight tenths in the demo. It still skews as young as anything on broadcast TV. At 9:30pm, The Mindy Project was down nine tenths in viewers and four tenths in the demo. It has the smallest drop but it also started much lower and is actually a weaker performer than Dads right now given its lead-in. It's going to be a long year for FOX Tuesdays if Mindy stays put.