The Thursday TV ratings for March 5th are in, here are some of the highlights:

  • ABC's usually dominant Thursday lineup notched down slightly this week, causing the network to tie with CBS in the key 18-49 demo, though CBS won the night overall with viewers.
  • At 8 p.m., ABC's Grey's Anatomy was up 9 percent to a 2.4 and 8.08 million viewers, while the return of Scandal was down 9 percent to a 3.0 rating and 9.57 million viewers at 9 p.m.
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    The debut of American Crime couldn't hold How to Get Away With Murder's numbers in the 10 p.m. slot, but it did make a generally strong debut with a 2.0 rating and 8.42 million viewers (you can read my review of the series here). American Crime doesn't fit in at all with the overall Shondaland tone of those first two series, though, so whether it continues to hold that audience remains to be seen.
  • On CBS, The Big Bang Theory remains dominant at 8 p.m., even sliding up 4 percent from its last episode to a 4.7 rating and 17.88 million viewers.
  • The Odd Couple at 8:30 p.m. is staying strong thanks to its lead-in, even going up 7 percent from last week to a 3.0 ratings and 12.47 million viewers.
  • At 10 p.m., though, Elementary dropped 13 percent at 10 p.m. to a 1.3 rating and 7.52 million viewers.
  • You know things are rough for NBC when their supposed anchor show, The Blacklist, was bested by a rerun of The Big Bang Theory at 9 p.m. The Blacklist tied its series low yet again, sinking 11 percent to a 1.7 rating and 8 million viewers.
  • However, struggling series The Slap managed to jump 14 percent from last week's rating at 8 p.m., garnering a 0.8 and 3.87 million viewers. It's not great, but it's something. Allegiance, meanwhile, stayed steady with its 0.8 rating and 3.36 million viewers at 10 p.m.
  • On Fox, American Idol dropped 5 percent at 8 p.m. to a 2.1 rating and 9.34 million viewers, while Backstrom at 9 p.m. continued its wild ratings ride by managing to rise 11 percent to a 1 rating and 3.93 million viewers. Again, it's not much, but it's something.