In the match-up of returning sitcom stars on Thursday at 9 p.m., CBS' Robin Williams starrer The Crazy Ones came out on top, drawing a 4.0 rating with adults 18-49 to NBC's Michael J. Fox Show's 2.1, according to Nielsen overnight numbers.
Crazy Ones, which attracted 15.6 million viewers, had the benefit of a much stronger lead-in,with The Big Bang Theory averaging a 5.3 at 8 p.m., up 6% from last fall to its best season premiere ever, and a 5.8 for a special episode at 8:30 p.m. MJF's lead-in Parks and Recreation drew a 1.3 for its one-hour episode, down a tenth from what 30 Rock opened to at 8 p.m. last year and down 24% from its year-ago premiere after The Office.
Encouraging for MJF was that it held 100% of its rating for its second episode at 9:30 p.m., which will become its regular time period next week, and saw its audience tick up from 7.2 million viewers to 7.3 million from each half hour. Its 9 p.m. rating was also on par with what The Office did in its final season premiere last fall.
At 9:30 p.m., CBS' Two and a Half Men averaged a 2.9, down 17% from what it debuted to out of The Big Bang Theory last year. Elementary fell 32% from its series premiere to a 2.1. In its move to Thursdays, NBC's Parenthood earned a 1.6, down 16% from its Tuesday opener last season though doubling the performance of the departed Rock Center at 10 p.m.
CBS won Thursday with an overall 3.7 rating/11 share and 14.2 million viewers. ABC was second with a 2.7/8, with the two-hour season premiere of Grey's Anatomy drawing a 3.4, down 23% from last fall's one-hour debut.
Fox was third with a 2.0/6 with Glee averaging a 2.0 in its return, a 35% slip from last year and even with its season finale. The X Factor was up a tenth from last week to a 2.0.
NBC was fourth with a 1.7/5 and The CW aired repeats.
