Nellie Andreeva

Scandal Ratings ABCABC’s lineup last night featured two series anxiously awaiting word on a back order: dramas Last Resort and Scandal. One of them got good news. Scandal (2.0/5 in adults 18-49), which had been all but assured a back-nine order, sealed the deal with a ratings uptick of 5% from last week. (It was up across all key demographics, including 18-34, where it spiked 15%). And Scandal did it with its lead-in, Grey’s Anatomy (2.9/8), down 15% from last week to a season low. Airing against Game 2 of the World Series, ABC’s male-skewing Last Resort (1.3/4) tumbled 24% from last week to a series low despite ABC putting extra promotional muscle behind the episode. Baseball was a mitigating factor, and Last Resort is a major DVR gainer but the Live+Same Day delivery was nevertheless disappointing.

CBS’ male-skewing The Big Bang Theory and Person Of Interest did not get dinged by baseball. Big Bang (4.8/14) was up a tenth from its fast national last Thursday, even with the final, to again lead the night. Person Of Interest (3.0/8) was up 7% to match its season high and top Grey’s for the first time this season. The hammock show between the two, veteran Two And A Half Men (3.7/11), slipped 7% from last week’s highly rated Miley Cyrus episode but was still 6% above the episode from two weeks ago, indicating some of the Cyrus ratings gains have stuck. At 10 PM, Elementary (2.2/6) shed another tenth for a new low but still topped the 10 PM hour. In the fast nationals, CBS (3.1/9 in 18-49, 12.8 million viewers) is running as No. 1 in both categories but may be tied or eclipsed by Fox when the finals for the World Series are released later today. In the non-time-zone-adjusted fast nationals, the game drew a 2.9 rating in adults 18-49, down 9% from Wednesday’s Game 1 and down 22% from last year’s Game 2. The World Series has now been down double digits through two games. (Game 1 was down 18% in the fast nationals, adjusted to a 14% decline in the finals.)

NBC’s Thursday fast nationals were likely inflated by an NFL pre-emption in Minneapolis, so don’t expect all of the preliminary gains to stick. Here are the numbers: 30 Rock (1.3/4, up 8% from last week), Up All Night (1.6/5 , up 23%), The Office (2.1/6, up a tenth from the fast national, flat with the final), Parks And Recreation (1.9/5, up 19%) and Rock Center With Brian Williams (1.3/4, up 44%).

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