RATINGS RECAP: 9/23/14

ABC
8:00 Dancing with the Stars
Viewers: 10.0 million, 18-49 demo: 1.7
9:00 Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Viewers: 6.0 million, 18-49 demo: 2.1
10:00 Forever
Viewers: 6.9 million, 18-49 demo: 1.8

CBS
8:00 NCIS
Viewers: 18.2 million, 18-49 demo: 2.9
9:00 NCIS: New Orleans
Viewers: 17.2 million, 18-49 demo: 2.5
10:00 Person of Interest
Viewers: 10.6 million, 18-49 demo: 1.7

NBC
8:00 The Voice
Viewers: 13.2 million, 18-49 demo: 4.1
10:00 Chicago Fire
Viewers: 9.1 million, 18-49 demo: 2.6

FOX
8:00 Utopia
Viewers: 1.9 million, 18-49 demo: 0.8
9:00 New Girl
Viewers: 2.4 million, 18-49 demo: 1.3
9:30 The Mindy Project
Viewers: 2.1 million, 18-49 demo: 1.0

Tuesday night had just one series premiere and it was a solid one for CBS. First up for them though, the season premiere of NCIS delivered solid numbers, but it was well behind last year's 3.6 premiere. It was even with what it was getting early last season and well above what it was getting at the end of the season, though. The NCIS: New Orleans premiere followed and fit like a glove out of NCIS, as expected. It was really strong in total viewers, just a million off from NCIS but it skewed older than NCIS: Los Angeles used to. Then again, Scott Bakula is an older draw than Chris O'Donnell and LL Cool J. For now it looks like CBS was successful with this spinoff. The news was not as good at 10pm though where Person of Interest tied a series low in the demo and fell to third in the hour. This show was trending down in the spring and it looks like it has continued to lose momentum. This may become a problem slot real soon especially if NCIS: New Orleans remains strong at 9pm.

NBC had a good night as The Voice was up two tenths in viewers and the demo from its Monday premiere. Though still down from last season, it was not nearly as dramatic a year to year drop as Monday. The competition was much more favorable on Tuesday and The Voice responded. The good news kept rolling at 10pm where Chicago Fire came very close to series highs with its premiere. The total viewer count was second only to an episode last December while the demo was second only to last year's season premiere. This was a strong return for a show that's become a cornerstone of the NBC lineup. It doesn't do what The Blacklist does, but it's a real solid show and it has never appeared to be too lead-in dependent so it should be OK in a couple weeks when comedies become the lead-in.

Over on ABC, another results edition of Dancing with the Stars was down 2.7 million viewers and half a demo point from last week for a series low in total viewers. The results show won't be around anymore though as Selfie and Manhattan Love Story begin at 8pm next Tuesday. At 9pm, the second season premiere of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was a disappointment as it debuted to modest numbers. It was slightly higher than most spring numbers but not noticeably. If it declines like last season, it could be two seasons and done for this show. The best news for ABC came at 10pm where Forever surprised in a big way. It was 1.7 million viewers from its premiere but actually up a tenth in the demo, which is very surprising. After the modest Monday numbers, this result surprised me more than anything else. It actually snuck by Person of Interest for second in the demo in the hour.

FOX was not on the map with a truly terrible showing. At 8pm, Utopia was down half a million viewers and two tenths in the demo. Yep, it's the first week of the season and FOX has a show getting 1.9 million viewers. New Girl lost any momentum from its small rally for the season premiere last week as it fell six tenths in viewers and a rough four tenths in the demo while The Mindy Project fell six tenths in viewers and three tenths in the demo, tying a series low in the latter category. The sad thing for FOX is that this will be pretty normal for them all week as their lineup is in shambles on most nights. So what can they even do here? Not much.

WINNER OF THE NIGHT: Forever (ABC)
LOSER OF THE NIGHT: Utopia (FOX)