Tuesday evening’s TV ratings are in.  Here’s a brief look at the highlights:

  • ABC’s series premiere of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. pulled in a massive 4.7 rating in the 18-49 demo, making it the best drama series premiere on all of TV since 2009’s V.  The pilot drew a strong 11.9 million total viewers, which falls just short of The Blacklist’s 12.6 million on Monday.
  • Opposite S.H.I.E.L.D., Fox’s comedy slate plunged pretty hard, with Brooklyn Nine-Nine plummetting 30% from last week’s 2.6 rating to a 1.8 in the demo and New Girl dropping 28% from last week’s 2.9 rating to a 2.1 rating.
  • On the flipside, ABC’s comedy lineup benefited from S.H.I.E.L.D.’s massive take with new series The Goldbergs hitting a 3.2 rating and 9.1 million viewers.

Hit the jump for the full ratings report for Tuesday, September 24th, including Dads, The Mindy Project, NCIS, Person of Interest, Chicago Fire, and Trophy Wife.

ABC

  • marvel-agents-of-shield-pilot-clark-gregg
    No surprise here, but Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. pulled in a very heavy look-in audience even though the critical response to the pilot was somewhat muted (read Evan's recap here).  The Joss Whedon-helmed episode garnered a 4.7 rating in the 18-49 demo and 11.9 million viewers, which is the best TV drama performance in the demo in four years.  Overall viewership couldn’t match the James Spader-led The Blacklist, but the demo rating is the most important factor in ad revenue.  Now to see how much of that audience the show retains next week.
  • Leading out of S.H.I.E.L.D., the new 80s-set comedy The Goldbergs earned a 3.2 rating and 9.11 million viewers, showing an audience retention rate of 70% in the demo.
  • The series premiere of Trophy Wife also started off pretty solid, with a 2.3 rating in the demo and 6.61 million viewers.
  • The final ABC premiere of the night, Lucky 7, didn’t fare as well, pulling in a mere 1.3 rating and 4.6 million viewers.

FOX

  • the-mindy-project-season-2-episode-2
    Though Fox’s comedy lineup got a jump on premiere week by beginning last week, it suffered heavily when facing off against the big gun dramas of ABC and CBS.  The much-maligned new comedy series Dads dropped to a 1.5 rating and 3.65 million viewers opposite S.H.I.E.L.D., marking a 28% drop from last week’s 2.2 rating.
  • Also down was the promising new comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine, which hit a 1.8 rating and 4 million viewers for a big drop of 30% from last week’s 2.6 rating.
  • New Girl was down as well, garnering a 2.1 rating and 4.1 million viewers and dropping eight tenths from last week’s 2.9 rating.
  • Finally, The Mindy Project notched a 1.5 rating and 3.04 million viewers for a 21% drop from last week’s 1.9 rating.

CBS

  • The season premiere of NCIS scored a 3.4 rating in the demo, which is the show’s lowest-rated premiere in six years and down sharply from last year’s 4.1 premiere rating.  Nevertheless, the episode still pulled in a whopping 19.47 million viewers, winning the night in overall viewership.  Those old folks can’t be bothered with a silly Marvel show.
  • NCIS: Los Angeles hit a 3.0 rating and 16.17 million viewers, which marks the show’s lowest-rated premiere ever and a drop of four tenths from last year’s 3.4 premiere rating.
  • Also down was the slightly younger-skewing Person of Interest, which hit a series low 2.3 rating and 12.29 million viewers.  That’s down from last year’s 2.9 rating for the premiere.

NBC

  • The season premiere of Chicago Fire notched a 2.8 rating and 9.25 million viewers, marking a sharp increase over last year’s 1.9 series premiere rating.

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