While “Lost” took an inevitable tumble from its season premiere figure last week, the ABC drama continued its successful final season Tuesday, posting ratings that were second only to “American Idol” for the evening.
With a 5.0 rating with 11 million viewers, “Lost” won its time period over CBS’ strong-performing “NCIS: Los Angeles” (17.8 million viewers, 4.1) and boosted lead-out “the forgotten” to a 2.0 with 5.96 million viewers.
Also on CBS, “NCIS” held up well against the strong Hollywood episode of “American Idol,” averaging 19.7 million viewers and a 4.2. At 10PM, “The Good Wife” surged back to form after last week’s decline, netting a 3.1 rating and 14.7 million.
Despite the strong performance for FOX’s “American Idol” (27.7 million, 10.1), “Past Life” struggled to make a mark, averaging just a 3.1 with 9 million viewers. Considering the magnitude in which recent freshmen procedurals have dropped once the “Idol” lead-in was removed, that lukewarm debut is not a good sign.
NBC’s lineup included the reliable “Biggest Loser” (9 million, 3.5) and the final “The Jay Leno Show” (5.9 million, 1.8).