“Modern Family,” “Criminal Minds” Top Ratings, “Hank” Starts Soft, “Glee” Improves

Minus the “Dancing with the Stars” lead-in, ABC’s new comedies “Modern Family” and “Cougar Town” both dropped in the ratings. They nonetheless held up better than some expected, with “Family” winning the night in adults 18-49 based on preliminary data.

“Modern Family” aired for 9.9 million viewers with a 3.7 rating in adults 18-49; “Cougar Town” followed with 9.1 million and a 3.6. “Eastwick,” which followed at ten, fell more notably from last week, dipping to a 2.4 rating with 6.6 million viewers.

Though they beat CBS’s 8PM comedy block, debuting ABC series “Hank” (8.5 million, 2.2) and “The Middle” (8.6 million, 2.5) got off to less positive starts than their 9PM counterparts. CBS’ “The New Adventures of Old Christine” and “Gary Unmarried” did 7.2 million with a 2.0 and 7.1 million with a 2.3 in the hour.

On the dramatic front, the big winner was “Criminal Minds,” which was the most watched show with 13.6 million viewers (and a 3.6 in 18-49). “CSI: New York” (12.9 million, 3.2) ended CBS’ night.

FOX’s “Glee,” meanwhile, reversed its downward trend with 7.3 million viewers and a 3.2. If there were a week to anticipate a bounce back for the hourlong FOX comedy, it would be this one–last week’s episode was the best reviewed segment to date, this week’s show had the heavily hyped “Somebody to Love” performance and lead-in “So You Think You Can Dance” improved to 6.7 million viewers with a 2.7 in the demo.

NBC’s “Mercy” held up fairly well but is still a relatively soft performer–7.3 million with a 2.1 demo rating. “Law & Order: SVU” (7.9 million, 2.5) and “The Jay Leno Show” (6 million, 1.9) closed out the night.

The CW, meanwhile, kept its pace with “America’s Next Top Model” (3.3 million, 1.5). Though the number was terrible numerically, a re-airing of “Melrose Place” (1.1 million, 0.5) essentially matched canceled “The Beautiful Life” in the 9PM slot.