Nellie Andreeva

The finale of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars (5.3/15, 24.1 million), which crowned actress Jennifer Grey as the winner, dominated the competition last night. Boosted by Bristol Palin’s improbable run to the finals (she finished 3rd), Dancing was up 23% from the reality series’ season finale last fall to log its highest closer 18-49 rating in 5 cycles (since May 2008) and its largest audiences in 6 cycles (since November 2007). Dancing’s lead-in, freshman drama No Ordinary Family (1.8/5), posted more modest gains, up a tenth from last week. Meanwhile, Glee, which had ranked as the No.1 Tuesday program among 18-49 with every original episode this fall, slipped to No.2 behind the Dancing finale and was down 20% from last week for a season low. Raising Hope (2.4/7) was down 11%. CBS and NBC’s lineups displayed only minor ratings fluctuations. CBS’ NCIS (3.9/11, 18.8 million) was flat for a third straight week, while NCIS:LA (3.2/9, 14.9 million) and The Good Wife (2.1/6, 10 million) were each down a tenth for a season low. At NBC, The Biggest Loser (2.4/7) was down a tenth while Parenthood (1.9/5) was up a tenth from last week’s series low.

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