Nellie Andreeva

Tim Allen proved his drawing power last night when his new sitcom, ABC’s Last Man Standing, opened with an excellent 3.5/10 in adults 18-49 and 13 million viewers overall at 8 PM against baseball and CBS’ juggernaut NCIS. Last Man Standing eclipsed Suburgatory as the highest-rated new comedy series on ABC this fall, and Allen did it all by himself, with no help from a lead-in, to give ABC the much needed anchor for opening a new comedy night. This was the most watched 8 PM comedy premiere in 7 years and the highest-rated in 18-49 in 5. The hourlong Last Man Standing was up 9% in the demo from the premiere of drama No Ordinary Family in the slot last fall and posted ABC’s highest 18-49 rating in the 8 PM hour in 2 years. The comedy boosted the Dancing With The Stars result show (3.2/8, 16.6 million) to a season high, up 10% in the demo from last week. But the gains didn’t carry over to the 10 PM hour where Body Of Proof (1.9/5) was down 2 tenths from last week’s fast national.

CBS’s NCIS (3.9/11, 18.9 million) was down two tenths in the demo but still rock solid and, with Fox’s New Girl preempted for baseball, the veteran drama won the night in both 18-49 and total viewers. NCIS: LA (3.3/8, 15.4 million) and rookie Unforgettable (2.3/8, 11.8 million) was down a tenth each from their fast national ratings last week. CBS (3.1/8, 15.3 million) won every half-hour and the night in 18-49 and total viewers. Reliable data for Fox’s coverage of Game 3 of the ALCS championship series will be released later today. NBC’s The Biggest Loser (2.0/5) matched its fast national from last Tuesday, while Parenthood (2.1/5) was up a tenth.

Nice rebound for the CW’s drama Ringer (1.7 million, 0.8/2 in 18-49), which was up 15% in viewers from last week and 33% in adults 18-49 and 18-34. The series could get an additional boost from airing repeats on Wednesday night starting today. (It replaced canceled reality series H8R.)

TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.