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Sarah Shahi To Recur On ‘Person of Interest’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday January 8, 2013 @ 11:00am PSTTags: Person of Interest
Nellie Andreeva

Finch and Reese are about to meet their match. In-demand Fairly Legal star Sarah Shahi has been tapped for a recurring role on the sophomore CBS drama Person Of Interest. She will play Shaw, a fearless, sexy and witty operative in a secret paramilitary organization that tracks and eliminates terrorists before they can act. As POI creator/executive producer Jonathan Nolan put it, “if James Bond and Sarah Connor had a kid, Shaw would kick its ass.” Shahi will first appear in the February 21 episode titled Relevance, which will be directed Nolan. For now, Shahi has been booked for an arc this season, but I hear she may continue in Season 3 of the drama that has been growing in the ratings, boosted by a Two And A Half Men lead-in. READ MORE »

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UPDATE: RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘Big Bang Theory’ Adjusted Up To Bigger Series High

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Friday January 4, 2013 @ 2:51pm PSTTags: Mobbed, Person of Interest, The Big Bang Theory, TV Ratings

UPDATE, 2:50PM: CBS’ The Big Bang Theory has proven a bigger bang than ever. In final Thursday ratings, the comedy has adjusted upwards to hit even higher new series highs with 19.25 million viewers and a 6.1/18 rating. In fast nationals this morning, Thursday’s Big Bang Theory had already garnered a series high of 18.98 million and a rating of 6.0/17.

PREVIOUSLY, 8:49 AM: The winter break is definitely over at CBS. The network saw a full slate of original shows return strong on Thursday after their holiday hiatus. The Big Bang Theory (6.0/17) came back with a bang, delivering its largest audience ever with 18.98 million viewers. The science geek comedy’s previous viewership high was 17.63 million, set on November 15. Now in its sixth season, the series also matched its all-time high in the adults 18-49 demographic, up 11% from its last original show December 13. The riches were spread among the rest of CBS’ primetime last night: Two And A Half Men (4.6/12) had a season high in viewers, with 15.39 million, and in the demo. The other Lorre comedy was up 12% from its December 13 show. Now in its second season, Person Of Interest (3.4/9) hit a series high in viewers with 16.14 million and matched its series high in 18-49, up a solid 17% from its last original three weeks ago. At 10 PM, Elementary (2.5/7) had its biggest audience since its September 27 debut with 11.36 million. The modernized Sherlock Holmes was up 9% from its last original show on December 13. CBS won the night among overall viewers (14.895 million) and in adults 18-49.

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RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘Big Bang’, ’2.5 Men’ & ‘POI’ Hit Highs; ‘Glee’ & ‘Office’ Hit Lows

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday November 16, 2012 @ 10:15am PSTTags: Last Resort, Person of Interest, The Big Bang Theory, The X Factor, TV Ratings
Nellie Andreeva

The total viewers series high in Live+Same Day posted by The Big Bang Theory last week (16.68 million) was short-lived as the CBS comedy posted a new high last night. In the fact nationals, Big Bang‘s total audience was 17.39 million, which will climb further in the finals. Last week’s episode crossed the 20 million-viewer mark for the first time in the Live+3 window. Big Bang also posted a season high in adults 18-49 (5.5/17), up 10% from its fast national last week, when CBS’ Thursday comedies faced atypical competition from NBC’s The Voice. Two And A Half Men (4.1/12) was up a tenth from last Thursday for a new season high, eclipsing the two episodes featuring Miley Cyrus (4.0). The season-high trend continued at 9 PM with Person Of Interest (3.1/8, up 7%), which is tied with ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy in the fast nationals. Elementary (2.3/7, up 5%) posted its best demo rating in a month. CBS finished No. 1 in 18-49 and total viewers in every hour of primetime to win the night. Read More »

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Joe Mazzello To Recur On FX’s ‘Justified’, Sterling Brown On CBS’ ‘Person Of Interest’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday October 29, 2012 @ 6:00am PDTTags: Justified, Person of Interest
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: Joe Mazzello (The Pacific, The Social Network) is set set for multi-episode arcs on the FX drama Justified. Mazzello, repped by UTA and Podwall Entertainment, will play Preacher Billy, a preacher who has saved the lives of drug addicts. … Read More »

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Ratings Rat Race: ‘Scandal’ Inches Up, ‘Last Resort’ Drops, ‘POI’ Tops ‘Grey’s Anatomy’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday October 26, 2012 @ 9:31am PDTTags: Last Resort, Person of Interest, Ratings, Scandal, World Series
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. Read More »

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Michael Emerson Joins Woody Allen Film

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Friday June 1, 2012 @ 7:57am PDTTags: Michael Emerson, Person of Interest, Woody Allen
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Michael Emerson, best known for playing Ben Linus on Lost, has joined the cast of Woody Allen’s next film. Emerson will shoot while on hiatus from his new series Person Of Interest. He joins Alec Baldwin, Cate Blanchett, Bobby Cannavale … Read More »

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RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘Big Bang’ Tops ‘Idol’ For First Time, ‘Person Of Interest’ Hits High

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday January 20, 2012 @ 9:11am PSTTags: American Idol, Person of Interest, The Big Bang Theory
Nellie Andreeva

SECOND UPDATE: As expected, Big Bang was adjusted up to a 5.3 demo rating in the finals, edging Idol‘s 5.2 from 8-8:30 PM.

UPDATE: In the time-adjusted fast nationals, American Idol went up a tenth to a 5.7 in 18-49 from 8-9 PM and tied The Big Bang Theory’s non-time zone-adjusted 5.2 demo fast-national rating from 8-8:30 PM. But Big Bang too is projected to go up a tenth in the finals to a 5.3, so the standings in the half-hour are expected to remain the same.

PREVIOUS: After ABC’s Modern Family on Wednesday logged its best ratings ever against American Idol, CBS’ The Big Bang Theory did one better last night, besting the Fox reality juggernaut for the first time. Big Bang‘s 100th episode drew a 5.2/14 in 18-49, even with its fast national rating last week. It edged Idol‘s 5.1 demo rating from 8:30 PM. Idol grew to a 6.1 from 8:30-9 PM to top the night with a 5.6/15 in 18-49. But, just like on Wednesday, Idol was down sharply from last year, 28% from its Thursday premiere (20% from the 8-9 PM hour). With Idol as a lead-in, new Fox drama The Finder (2.2/5) was up 29% from its underwhelming premiere last week, but it still held onto a paltry third of the Idol 8:30-9 PM demo rating. Fox (3.9/10, 12.3 million) won the night in 18-49 but not in total viewers, with CBS (3.5/9, 14.0 million) topping that. Read More »

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RATINGS RAT RACE: CBS Tops Atypical Night, Fox’s ‘X Factor’ Slips

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday December 16, 2011 @ 9:27am PSTTags: Person of Interest, Rules of Engagement, The X Factor
Nellie Andreeva

Another pre-holiday night filled with repeats, specials and a burnoff (NBC’s Prime Suspect). CBS, which aired the closest to a regular original lineup, won by a wide margin. Following a The Big Bang Theory repeat (2.8/9, 10.2 million viewers), a … Read More »

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RATINGS RAT RACE: CBS, NBC Comedies Rebound, ‘Bones’ Debuts, ‘Big Bang’ Rocks

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday November 4, 2011 @ 9:33am PDTTags: Bones, Charlie's Angels, Community, Grey's Anatomy, Parks and Recreation, Person of Interest, Prime Suspect, Private Practice, Ratings Rat Race, Rules of Engagement, The Big Bang Theory, The Mentalist, The Office, The Secret Circle, The Vampire Diaries, The X Factor, TV Ratings, Whitney
Nellie Andreeva

UPDATE 2 PM: Big boost in the finals for Big Bang, which indeed posted a new 18-49 Thursday with a 5.4 rating, up from 5.1 in the fast nationals. Going up a tenth are ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, NBC’s The Office and Parks & Recreation, Fox’s The X Factor and the CW’s The Vampire Diaries, which hit a season high.

PREVIOUS: All series that were pushed down by Game 6 of the World Series last Thursday bounced back last night. CBS’ The Big Bang Theory (5.1/15 in adults 18-49, 15.5 million) was up 13% from its fast national 18-49 rating last week. The hot comedy posted a new Thursday high in total viewers and will do the same in adults 18-49 when the finals are released later today. (It currently runs tied with the Thursday demo high it logged just two weeks ago but will be adjusted up as it always does.) Big Bang once again ranked as the highest-rated program of the night in 18-49 and total viewers. Rules Of Engagement (3.7/10, up 12%, 11.9 million) also posted new Thursday highs in total viewers and 18-49. Person Of Interest (2.7/7, 11.7 million) was flat, while The Mentalist (2.9/8, up 16%, 13.6 million) hit a season high in 18-49 and drew its largest audience since the season premiere.

Fox’s The X Factor (3.6/10, 11.3 million) aired its first-ever result show, which also was the series’ first hourlong edition. For those reasons, there is no apples-to-apples comparison to previous episodes, but X Factor grew nicely half-hour to half-hour, from a 3.3 to a 4.0 in the demo. At 9 PM, Bones opened its seventh season with a 3.3/8 in adults 18-49 and 10 million viewers. In 18-49 that was up 22% from the show’s debut last season, but this year Bones had a lofty X Factor lead-in vs. being a self-starter at 8 PM last year. Additionally, there was a significant half-hour-to-half-hour drop-off, from a 3.5 to a 3.1, which you don’t want to see in a 9 PM drama. Still, Fox (3.4/9, 10.6 million) edged CBS (3.3/9, 12.9 million) for the top spot in 18-49 to post a seventh consecutive Thursday demo win this season. Read More »

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RATINGS RAT RACE: Epic Game 6 Boosts Fox, ‘Prime Suspect’ Hits Low

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday October 28, 2011 @ 9:39am PDTTags: Community, Grey's Anatomy, Parks and Recreation, Person of Interest, Prime Suspect, Private Practice, Ratings Rat Race, Rules of Engagement, The Big Bang Theory, The Mentalist, The Office, The Secret Circle, The Vampire Diaries, TV Ratings, Whitney, World Series
Nellie Andreeva

After a lousy ALCS championship series and a slow start to the World Series, Fox got cooking last night with a thrilling 11-inning Game 6, which forced a rare World Series Game 7 (we hadn’t had one in nine years). It’s a dream come true for Fox executives and a nightmare for NBC ones whose Friday premieres of Grimm and Chuck tonight will have to face that game. (CBS has opted to sub its originals with repeats at the last minute.) The big game last night, which will propel Fox to an easy nightly win in 18-49 and total viewers when time-adjusted ratings are released, impacted the competition in a typical pattern, pushing down male-skewing shows like CBS’ The Big Bang Theory and Person Of Interest and NBC’s Community and The Office, while boosting female-oriented series such as ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice, NBC’s Whitney and the CW’s The Vampire Diaries and The Secret Circle.

Maybe ABC should’ve tried a Charlie’s Angels series with Charlie Brown as the boss. Last night, a rerun of the 45-year-old cartoon It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown at 8 PM drew a 2.3/6 among 18-49, which was higher than any episode of the canceled Charlie’s Angels in the slot. Vs. last year, the Charlie Brown animated special was up 5%. Grey’s Anatomy (3.7/9) was up 3% from last week, and Private Practice up 4%. Read More »

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It’s Official: CBS Gives Full-Season Orders To ‘Person Of Interest’ And ‘Unforgettable’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday October 25, 2011 @ 12:16pm PDTTags: CBS, full-season orders, Person of Interest, Unforgettable
Nellie Andreeva

CBS Nears Back Orders For ‘Person Of Interest’ And ‘Unforgettable’

Almost a week after word first surfaced that CBS was making pickup calls to the producers of freshmen Person Of Interest and Unforgettable, the network has made the full-season … Read More »

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Ratings Rat Race: Strong Start For ‘Rules’, ‘Big Bang’ Poised To Post Thursday High

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday October 21, 2011 @ 9:22am PDTTags: Charlie's Angels, Grey's Anatomy, How To Be a Gentleman, Person of Interest, Ratings Rat Race, Rules of Engagement, The Big Bang Theory, The Mentalist, The Secret Circle, The Vampire Diaries, TV Ratings, World Series
Nellie Andreeva

This is a nice vindication for a series that never had a permanent time slot or launch date, shuffled around the schedule and bounced between fall and midseason. Getting a last-minute upgrade to Thursdays from its original Saturday(!) time slot this fall, veteran CBS utility player Rules Of Engagement (3.7/12, 11.5 million) posted its best fall premiere in four years last night. Compared with last fall, when Rules aired Mondays at 8:30 PM, the veteran comedy was up 19%. Rules delivered far stronger numbers than the comedy it replaced, rookie How To Be A Gentleman, which posted a 2.5/7 in its last Thursday airing, and matched the demo performance in the Thursday 8:30 PM slot last week of a Big Bang Theory repeat. The Big Bang Theory (4.9/15, 14.7 million) had a great night, up 11% from its demo fast national last week to match its best Thursday demo rating with a regularly scheduled telecast and post its second-biggest audience on the night. Big Bang is expected to break the tie and post its best Thursday number when the finals are announced this afternoon as the hit comedy always gets adjusted up. UPDATE PM: It’s official – a new Thursday high for Big Bang, which rose to a 5.1 rating in 18-49 in Live+Same Day. Big Bang once again ranked as the top program on Thursday in 18-49 and total viewers. At 9 PM, Person Of Interest (2.7/7) matched its fast national from last week, as did The Mentalist (2.5/7) at 10 PM. CBS (3.2/9, 12.6 million) is expected to finish second for the night behind Fox’s coverage of Game 2 of the World Series. There is no time-adjusted data for the game, but, just like Game 1 on Wednesday, it appears to be down from the corresponding telecast last year. Read More »

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CBS Nears Back Orders For ‘Person Of Interest’ And ‘Unforgettable’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday October 20, 2011 @ 7:47pm PDTTags: CBS, Person of Interest, Unforgettable
Nellie Andreeva

I’ve learned that CBS is finalizing deals for back orders to rookies Person Of Interest and Unforgettable. Neither of them has been the breakout hit that CBS’ new comedy 2 … Read More »

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Ratings Rat Race: ‘Charlie’s Angels’ Dives, ‘Suspect’ Steady, ‘Office’, ‘Grey’s’ Hit Low

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday October 7, 2011 @ 9:41am PDTTags: Community, Grey's Anatomy, How To Be a Gentleman, Person of Interest, Prime Suspect, Private Practice, Ratings Rat Race, The Big Bang Theory, The Mentalist, The Playboy Club, The Secret Circle, The Vampire Diaries, The X Factor, TV Ratings, Whitney
Nellie Andreeva

Fox got some really bad news last night when the Yankees get eliminated from the playoffs, leaving the network’s post-season baseball coverage without its 2 biggest draws – the Yankees and the Red Sox, which bowed out a week ago. Softening the blow was the fact that the network won its third Thursday in a row among adults 18-49 with The X Factor (3.8/10), which still refuses to grow but has been extremely persistent in its ratings performance. The reality series matched its fast national rating from last week, just as it did on Wednesday. (X Factor always gets adjusted up in the ratings.) Keeping steady was actually a major accomplishment last night as the big Yankees-Tigers game on TBS pushed most broadcast series down.

There were only 2 other series not to drop week-to-week last night and one of them was a show that needed good news — NBC’s Prime Suspect (1.5/4), which matched its performance last week even as its lead-in, Whitney (2.3/6) was down 8%. Prime Suspect is the only new NBC series whose fate is undecided but the network’s brass are rallying behind it, and its hold last night is encouraging thought it needs to eventually grow to earn a pickup. That could happen next week when the network will start airing reruns of the show in the Monday 10 PM slot vacated by cancelled Playboy Club to give the crime drama starring Maria Bello additional sampling. Prime Suspect was not the lowest-rated NBC series on Thursday this time – it was tied with Community (1.5/5), which was down 17%. Parks & Recreation (1.9/5) was down 10%, while The Office (3.1/8) was down 11% to log its lowest-rated episode in 6-and-a-half years, since the finale of its poorly rated 6-episode first season in the spring of 2005. While baseball was a factor, it is still disconcerting for the veteran comedy to drop so much as it raises concerns about the show’s viability without star Steve Carell. Read More »

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RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘Gentleman’ Debuts Low, ‘Angels’, ‘Whitney’ & ‘Suspect’ Drop

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday September 30, 2011 @ 9:13am PDTTags: Charlie's Angels, Community, Grey's Anatomy, How To Be a Gentleman, Parks and Recreation, Person of Interest, Prime Suspect, Private Practice, Ratings Rat Race, The Big Bang Theory, The Mentalist, The Office, The Secret Circle, The Vampire Diaries, The X Factor, TV Ratings, Whitney
Nellie Andreeva

NBC’s Bob Greenblatt Not Rushing To Cancel Low-Rated ‘Playboy Club’ Or ‘Free Agents’

CBS’ decision to put two unproven new series back-to-back on lucrative Thursday night — comedy How To Be A Gentleman and drama Person Of Interest — was quite a gamble for a risk-averse network like CBS. And now, the tandem starts to spell trouble for the network in their first airing together. In its premiere, How To Be A Gentleman (2.7/8) was down 33% from the debut of the now-defunct $#*! My Dad Says in the 8:30 PM slot last year but still did better than anything but X Factor in the half-hour. Gentleman dragged down Person Of Interest (2.7/7, 12.4 million), which slid a modest 13% from its premiere last week directly behind The Big Bang Theory. The ripple effect continued with The Mentalist (2.5/7, 12.7 million), down 11%. The only good news for CBS last night came at 8 PM, where Big Bang (4.8/15, 14.5 million) matched the fast national 18-49 rating for its season premiere last week and was once again the top program of the night in viewers and the 18-49 demo. CBS (3.0/8, 12.3 million) was No. 1 for the night in total viewers and second in 18-49.

How quickly they fall. After a disappointing start last week, ABC’s Charlie’s Angels (1.5/4) took a 29% dive in Week 2 and is facing likely early cancellation. Grey’s Anatomy (3.5/9) was down 15% from its two-hour opener last week. At 10 PM, Private Practice launched its fifth season with a 2.8/8, down 15% from last season’s debut and its lowest-rated premiere ever, but it still won the 10 PM hour in 18-49. ABC (2.6/7, 8.4 million) finished third for the night in viewers and 18-49. Read More »

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PREMIERE WEEK: Comedies In Comeback, Dramas Mixed While NBC & CW Struggle

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday September 27, 2011 @ 2:30am PDTTags: 2 Broke Girls, Charlie's Angels, Free Agents, How I Met Your Mother, Modern Family, NCIS, New Girl, Pan Am, Person of Interest, Prime Suspect, Revenge, The Big Bang Theory, The Middle, The Playboy Club, The X Factor, TV Ratings, Two and a Half Men, Unforgettable, Up All Night, Whitney
Nellie Andreeva

As network executives break out the “I Survived Premiere Week” T-shirts, they are probably relieved as most nets have something to brag about. Overall, the comedy genre’s comeback was in full force: Half-hour series had a big showing, claiming the top six highest-rated non-sports programs of premiere week among adults 18-49, including rookies 2 Broke Girls (7.1/16 in Live+Same Day) and New Girl (4.8/12) and returning Two and a Half Men (10.7/25), Modern Family (average of 6.1/16 for two episodes), How I Met Your Mother (5.0/13) and The Big Bang Theory (5.0/15). (Additionally, Modern Family, HIMYM and The Middle were all up double-digits from last fall’s premieres, while Big Bang was essentially flat). For comparison, the highest-rated drama series last week was veteran NCIS (4.3/12) and the highest-rated reality series was the X Factor premiere (4.4/12).

Comedies also stood out among the crop of new series, with two potential breakout hits, Fox’s New Girl and CBS’ 2 Broke Girls; two promising new entries, NBC’s Whitney (3.3/8) and Up All Night (2.4/7); and only one dud, NBC’s Free Agents (1.3/4). In contrast, there were no drama breakouts this past week, with four solid openers — ABC’s Revenge (3.3/9) and Pan Am (3.1/8) and CBS’ Person of Interest (3.1/8) and Unforgettable (2.9/8) — and three disappointments in NBC’s The Playboy Club (1.6/4) and Prime Suspect (1.8/5) and ABC’s Charlie’s Angels (2.1/6). Read More »

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Ratings Rat Race: ‘Big Bang’ Tops, ‘Angels’ & ‘Prime Suspect’ Soft, ‘X Factor’ Holds

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday September 23, 2011 @ 9:12am PDTTags: Charlie's Angels, Community, Grey's Anatomy, Parks and Recreation, Person of Interest, Prime Suspect, Ratings Rat Race, The Big Bang Theory, The Mentalist, The Office, The X Factor, TV Ratings, Whitney
Nellie Andreeva

Last night’s ratings continued the trend this premiere week of new comedies on average opening stronger than the dramas. Two more high-profile new dramas, ABC’s Charlie’s Angels and NBC’s Prime Suspect, had lackluster openings, while NBC’s comedy Whitney was promising. CBS’ Person of Interest was solid (as has been every series — new or returning — on CBS this week), but at first blush it looks more like The Mentalist than the series it replaced, CSI, in terms of breakout potential. Here is the rundown network-by-network.

ABC’s Charlie’s Angels reboot (2.1/6 in 18-49, 8.7 million) got off to a slow start given its pre-sold title. (Last fall, CBS’ Hawaii Five-0 reboot premiered with a 3.9 demo rating.) Still, Charlie’s Angels was up 31% from last fall’s debut in the slot of My Generation, which was canceled a couple of weeks later. Despite a slightly better lead-in this year, Grey’s Anatomy‘s (4.1/10) two-hour premiere was down 24% from last season’s hourlong opener (which too was down 21% year-to-year) to log the veteran medical drama’s lowest-rated season premiere. ABC (3.4/9, 9.8 million) was third for the night in demo and viewers.

CBS opened big with two back-to-back episodes of The Big Bang Theory, which drew a 4.8/15 — down a fraction (2%) from Big Bang‘s Thursday debut last fall — and 14.1 million viewers at 8 PM and a 5.0/14 and 14.7 million at 8:30 PM. Big Bang was the top program of the night by a wide margin in both 18-49 and total viewers. Person of Interest (3.1/8, 13.2 million) was down 9% in the demo from last fall’s premiere of veteran CSI in the Thursday 9 PM hour. The Mentalist (2.8/7, 13.4 million) was down 18% from last season’s opener. CBS (3.6/10, 13.4 million) finished No. 2 in 18-49 and first in viewers. Read More »

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New Broadcast Season: Which Network’s Got The X Factor?

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday September 13, 2011 @ 11:56pm PDTTags: Dancing With The Stars, Desperate Housewives, Free Agents, Glee, Hart of Dixie, House, How To Be a Gentleman, Last Man Standing, Person of Interest, Ringer, Sunday Night Football, Terra Nova, The Playboy Club, The Secret Circle, The Sing-Off, The X Factor, TV Schedule, Two and a Half Men, Two Broke Girls, Up All Night
Nellie Andreeva

The broadcast season unofficially kicks off tonight. And just like in a kids board game, the youngest of the networks, the CW, got to start first, unspooling its new series Ringer starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. Also launching tonight are the new seasons of the CW’s 90210 and NBC’s Parenthood, marking the unofficial start of the new season, which kicks in on Monday. Here are the networks’ standings going into the fall season:

With Yankees, Red Sox and Phillies on tap for baseball’s postseason this year, along with the heavily promoted The X Factor and new big-budget dinosaur drama Terra Nova, Fox is in a position to significantly outperform last fall when the network carried the National League Championship Series and had two DOA shows, drama Lone Star and comedy Running Wilde. The question marks at the network this fall are the new comedies, New Girl and I Hate My Teenage Daughter, though both are propped up by solid lead-ins, Glee and X Factor, respectively, and whether Glee and House can rebound after a disappointing 2010-11 season. If the stars align and X Factor lives up to its ratings expectations, Fox may win the fourth quarter as it did two years ago when it also had the American League Championship Series and the highly rated freshman season of Glee.

Fox’s main rival for the top spot in the fall will be the epitome of stability, CBS, which will get a ratings boost from the re-launch of Two and a Half Men. The consensus is that CBS has potential breakout hits on its hands with new Monday comedy Two Broke Girls, which is launching behind the much-hyped return of Two and a Half Men, and possibly Thursday drama Person of Interest. The network is getting high marks for taking its aging series such as the CSI franchise and Survivor and relocating them to troubled spots on the schedule that they shore up. The network is expected to accomplish that again this season with the mothership CSI series, which is moving to Wednesday 10 PM, with its replacement on Thursday, Person of Interest, looking to do at least as well as CSI if not better. The only question marks at CBS are new Thursday 8:30 comedy How To Be a Gentleman and where Men will settle after the initial ratings spike. Read More »

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TCA: Is ‘Person Of Interest’ J.J. Abrams’ Next “Kick-Ass” TV Show?

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Wednesday August 3, 2011 @ 6:32pm PDTTags: J.J. Abrams, Jim Caviezel, Jonathan Nolan, Michael Emerson, Person of Interest, TCA Press Tour, Television Critics Association

Diane Haithman is contributing to Deadline’s TCA coverage.

At today’s TCA panel for Person of Interest, a new CBS crime thriller series from the producing team of J.J. Abrams, Bryan Burk, Jonathan Nolan, David Semel and Greg Semel, star Taraji P. Henson said she took the role in the series because “you can’t go wrong with J. J. Abrams.” But it seems that you can — 2010’s one-season failure Undercovers for NBC being a case in point. Co-executive producer Nolan answered a question about that this way: “One of the things I love about J.J. is that he’s not precious. He creates material, he likes to work, he likes to put kick-ass TV shows out there. The nature of the TV format is, it’s a big risk, it’s not like a movie … it’s kind of a one-shot gig. TV, as I’m discovering, is a marathon. Personally, I think J.J.’s record in TV and movies is unsurpassed.” Read More »

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