RATINGS RECAP: 10/3/13

ABC
8:00 Scandal: The Secret is Out
Viewers: 5.8 million, 18-49 demo: 1.6
9:00 Grey's Anatomy
Viewers: 9.6 million, 18-49 demo: 3.1
10:00 Scandal
Viewers: 10.5 million, 18-49 demo: 3.6

CBS
8:00 The Big Bang Theory
Viewers: 18.2 million, 18-49 demo: 5.2
8:30 The Millers
Viewers: 13.1 million, 18-49 demo: 3.3
9:00 The Crazy Ones
Viewers: 11.7 million, 18-49 demo: 2.9
9:30 Two and a Half Men
Viewers: 9.3 million, 18-49 demo: 2.4
10:00 Elementary
Viewers: 9.4 million, 18-49 demo: 2.0 

NBC
8:00 Parks and Recreation
Viewers: 3.1 million, 18-49 demo: 1.2
8:30 Welcome to the Family
Viewers: 3.0 million, 18-49 demo: 1.1
9:00 Sean Saves the World
Viewers: 4.4 million, 18-49 demo: 1.4
9:30 The Michael J. Fox Show
Viewers: 5.4 million, 18-49 demo: 1.7
10:00 Parenthood
Viewers: 4.2 million, 18-49 demo: 1.5

FOX 
8:00 The X Factor
Viewers: 7.1 million, 18-49 demo: 2.0
9:00 Glee
Viewers: 4.4 million, 18-49 demo: 1.6 

Thursday night had three series premieres but the news was all about Scandal on ABC. At 8pm, a Scandal clip show did pretty well and easily beat the competing NBC comedies. At 9pm, Grey's Anatomy was up three tenths in viewers but down three tenths in the demo from its two hour season premiere last week. Then at 10pm came Scandal which surged to series highs in both viewers and the demo. Just to show how far this show has come in the last year, its season premiere last year drew 6.7 million viewers and a 2.1 demo. This show just keeps getting bigger and bigger and it will end the week as broadcast TV's top drama in the demo, beating NCIS and The Blacklist. Simply amazing.

In addition to TV's hottest drama, TV's hottest comedy resides on Thursday night as well. The Big Bang Theory was down eight tenths in viewers and three tenths in the demo from last week's 8pm episode but still tops of any show with a 5.2 demo. At 8:30pm, the series premiere of The Millers had very strong raw numbers but bad retention out of Big Bang, which is always the case with these 8:30pm shows. Its retention was pretty close to The Crazy Ones out of the 8:30pm Big Bang last week so we'll see where the dust settles with this show. Speaking of Crazy Ones, it fell 3.8 million viewers and a full demo point. While a huge drop, it's important to remember that it's lead in was a 6.1 demo last week and a 3.3 demo this week so that's a major difference. At 9:30pm, Two and a Half Men was down 2.3 million viewers and half a demo point. This show isn't looking as strong without the Big Bang lead-in like last season. At 10pm, Elementary was down eight tenths in viewers and a tenth in the demo. It held up well considering it had to face Scandal and its lead-in was down much more.

NBC had a brutal night with no show getting over a 1.7 demo and its new Thursday lineup falling apart fast. At 8pm, Parks and Recreation was down two tenths in viewers and a tenth in the demo for a series low. This show just can't be a lead off and probably shouldn't still be on (and this is coming from someone who absolutely loves it). At 8:30pm, the series premiere of Welcome to the Family was DOA. With three million viewers and a 1.1 demo, it has the distinction of being the worst numbers for a series premiere this season, worse than the now cancelled Lucky 7. NBC needs to patient with its Thursday comedies but this one is probably not worth saving. At 9pm, Sean Saves the World had pretty close to DOA numbers too though it did build on its lead-in so that's saying something. NBC can't yank everything so this one is probably going to stick around for awhile. At 9:30pm, The Michael J. Fox Show fell a big 2.1 million viewers and half a demo point from its one hour debut last week. The only good news for Fox was it had the best performance of any show on the night for NBC. At 10pm, Parenthood slipped nine tenths in viewers and a tenth in the demo which is low but not a horrible drop considering the competition and how much lower the lead-in was.

Finally on FOX, The X Factor was up six tenths in viewers and down a tenth in the demo. After seeing how some shows are performing, things aren't looking quite as bad for this show anymore. At 9pm, Glee took a big hit as it was down seven tenths in viewers and four tenths in the demo as it nearly hit a series low. Did this show really deserve to be renewed not just this season but next season as well? It's continuing its long downward spiral that it has been on for years. If it can't get a bounce for the Cory Monteith tribute next week, things could get pretty ugly for Glee this season.