Nellie Andreeva

Fox’s Human Target (1.8/5) had a quiet second season premiere last night in the Wednesday 8 PM slot it was upgraded to after Lie to Me was summoned to Mondays. It is unfair to compare the premiere to the show’s series debut after a big football game last season (it was down 38% from that), but the season opener was down from what Hell’s Kitchen has been doing in the hour this fall and down a tenth from its first season finale. Hell’s Kitchen (2.6/7), now abbreviated to one hour, was flat with its two-hour edition last week.

ABC’s comedy block returned after a preemption for the American Music Awards a tiny bit lower. The Middle (2.8/9) was down a tenth, Better with You (2.3/7) was down 8%, Modern Family (4.7/13) was down a tenth and Cougar Town (3.0/8) was flat. The Kim Kardashian-hosted special People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive did a 1.5/5.

CBS’ Wednesday lineup rebounded after taking a hit against the AMAs last week when all series posted season lows. Survivor: Nicaragua (3.5/10) was up 9%, Criminal Minds (3.7/10) up 19% and The Defenders (1.9/6) up 6%. CBS locked another Wednesday win in adults 18-49 (3.0/9) and total viewers (11.9 million)

NBC’s Law & Order dramas were also up from last week’s lows, boosted by a stronger lead-in at 8 PM from a Dateline special about the engagement of Britain’s Prince William (1.6/5), which was up 33% from Undercovers‘ performance in the time period last week. Law & Order: SVU (2.1/6) at 9 PM was up 5%, while Law & Order: LA (1.9/6) was up 12% to tie The Defenders as the highest-rated program at 10 PM among 18-49.

TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.