TV Ratings: Thursday premieres for 'Southland,' 'Harper's Island' and 'Parks & Recreation'

Ben McKenzie of 'Southland'

Credit: Justin Lubin/NBC

Fast National ratings April 9, 2009.

Thursday night was a busy night for premieres, with the launches of "Parks & Recreation," "Harper's Island" and "Southland." All three shows found reasons to be happy, but none of the three appears to be an out-of-the-box smash.

CBS and NBC split the night in the 18-49 demographic, each doing a 3.3 rating. FOX was a solid third in the key demo with a 2.9 rating, well ahead of the 1.3 rating for ABC and The CW's 1.3 rating.

Overall, though, CBS averaged an estimated 12.7 million viewers to go with a 7.8 rating/13 share. FOX was second with a 5.1/9, nipping the 5.0/9 for NBC. ABC's 3.4/6 and The CW's 1.3/2 trailed.

CBS swept the night overall, starting at 8 p.m. with the 6.7/12 for "Survivor: Tocantins," a low figure for the tiring reality franchise. FOX's "Bones" was second with a 5.6/10. NBC took third with "The Office" (4.5/8) and the premiere of "Parks & Recreation" (4.2/7). Note that while "The Office" beat "Survivor" in the 18-49 demo, the reality show topped "Parks & Recreation" in its closing half-hour. ABC's "In the Motherhood" and "Samantha Who" averaged a 3.2/6 between them, beating a "Smallville" repeat on The CW.

"CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" did a 9.9/16 in the 9 p.m. hour for CBS. NBC's "The Office" and "30 Rock" and FOX's "Hell's Kitchen" tied for second with a 4.5/7. ABC's repeat of "Grey's Anatomy" was fourth, beating the 13./2 for a "Smallville" repeat on The CW.

The premiere of CBS' "Harper's Island" won the 10 p.m. hour with a 6.7/12, topping the premiere of NBC's "Southland," which had a 6.2/11. Since ABC's "Private Practice" rerun was irrelevant, let's talk a bit more about the "Harper's Island" and "Southland" premieres. NBC can be pleased that the new police drama won the hour in the 18-49 demographic with a 3.2 rating and that it improved in its second half-hour. "Harper's Island" fell at the half-hour and failed to equal the numbers "Eleventh Hour" had been drawing in the same slot, though "CSI" was also on the low side as its lead-in.

All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.

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Daniel Fienberg
Executive Editor

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A long-time member of the TCA Board and a longer-time blogger of "American Idol," Dan Fienberg writes about TV, except for when he writes about movies or sometimes writes about the Red Sox. But never music. He would sound stupid talking about music.