Primetime Ratings: 'Men' Ties Season High Following Jones' Comments

'The Office,' 'Parks and Recreation' hit series lows

By Tim Baysinger -- Broadcasting & Cable, 11/30/2012 11:43:49 AM

In its first episode following the controversial comments made by star Angus T. Jones, CBS' Two and a Half Men tied its season-high 4.1 rating with adults 18-49 from two weeks ago, according to Nielsen overnight numbers. Its lead-in The Big Bang Theory was down a tenth to a 5.4. Person of Interest fell 6% to a 2.9 and Elementary was also down 4% to a 2.2. CBS won Thursday with an overall 3.3 rating/9 share.

Fox was in second with a 2.5/7, as The X Factor was down a tenth from last week's Thanksgiving telecast to a 2.7 (although that had an NFL lead-in). Glee was up 47% from last week (but up just a tenth from its last non-holiday telecast two weeks ago) to a 2.2.

ABC's Last Resort hit its lowest rating so far with a 1.0, down 17% from two weeks ago. Grey's Anatomy was down 6% to a 3.0 while Scandal rose 10% to a 2.2. The network finished in third with a 2.1/6.

NBC barely beat out The CW for fourth with a 1.2/3, with The Office and Parks and Recreation hitting series lows. Office fell 10% to a 1.9 and Parks dropped 18% to a 1.4. Earlier, Up All Night was down 8% while 30 Rock was the only show to improve, rising 8% to a 1.3. Rock Center drew a 0.9, down 18%.

The CW finished with a 1.1/3. The Vampire Diaries was up two tenths with 18-49s to a 1.5 and remained steady with 18-34s with a 1.5 as well. Beauty and the Beast was up two tenths in both demos to a 0.8 and 0.7, respectively.

(Note: Football was carried by The CW in Atlanta and by Fox in New Orleans.)