On paper, it would be hard to call “Hawaii Five-0″‘s premiere performance on CBS anything but stellar. With a 3.8 adults 18-49 rating and 13.8 million viewers, the remake easily won the 10PM hour and built on its “Mike & Molly” lead-in among total viewers.
Yet for a show that was supposed to revitalize the 10PM hour from a deteriorating “CSI: Miami,” the performance came in below expectations. The new series did not offer any significant improvement over “CSI” in the timeslot, and it actually lost viewers from half hour one to half hour two.
Still, the CBS drama was the night’s most-viewed new series, and no one at The Eye is going to be complaining about the new show’s performance.
Elsewhere, NBC’s anticipated new drama “The Event” premiered to a strong 3.7 rating and 11.2 million viewers. With virtually no lead-in support from “Chuck” (2.1 rating, 6.1 million viewers) and growth within the hour, the show reaped the benefits of a rather aggressive promotional campaign. The focus now is on how the series will parlay its initial sampling into long-term status as a hit.
Lead-out “Chase,” another new series, scored a 2.5 rating with 7.9 million viewers.
Trying to revitalize the 10pm CSI:Miami slot with Hawaii 5-0 is like replacing McDonald’s for Burger King in town. You attract the same amount of hamburger eaters or even less according to last nights numbers.