“Big Bang Theory” Ratings Surge, “Grey’s Anatomy” Bounces Back

With baseball out of the picture for the year and a buzzworthy storyline for one of the shows, three of Thursday night’s veteran series made big ratings gains this week.

After dragging right around a 4.0 adults 18-49 rating for several weeks, CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory” rose to a strong 4.6 rating with 13.9 million viewers. Though the lack of baseball (and increasing darkness at 8PM) was likely an important factor in the gain (especially since the additional viewership spurred an improved performance for lead-out “$#*! My Dad Says”), some fans will point to the re-appearance of Kaley Cuoco’s Penny, who had been absent from the past two episodes, as a helpful drawing card. Eliza Dushku’s guest turn similarly did not hurt the show’s appeal with the young, “geeky” male segment.

“Big Bang”‘s improvement also helped matters for “$#*!,” which averaged a strong 3.4 and 10.5 million viewers.

The jump was enough to assure that “BBT” remained the night’s demographic leader despite a rise for “Grey’s Anatomy.”

ABC’s “Grey’s” bounced up to a 4.3 rating with 11.7 million viewers. While a far cry from what the show used to average, the reversal from the recent dip below the 4.0 threshold was welcome.

Thanks to a buzzworthy storyline and a slightly-improved lead-in, “Private Practice” then rose to an impressive 3.9 rating with 10.2 million. The “Grey’s” spin-off trounced usual 10PM winner “The Mentalist,” which gave CBS a 2.9 and 14.3 million viewers.

CBS also aired “CSI” (3.3 rating, 13.9 million viewers).

While CBS’ comedies gained this week, things were not so positive for NBC’s lineup. Back at 8PM and without a Halloween gimmick, “Community” fell right back down to a 1.9 and 4.6 million viewers–if there was a Kaley Cuoco bonus on CBS Thursday, the same certainly cannot be said for “Community” guest star Hilary Duff on NBC. “30 Rock” returned with a mediocre 2.4 and 5.3 million viewers.

Though not at its Halloween level, “The Office” was still up from its lower points this season with a 3.7 and 7.6 million viewers. “Outsourced” was steady but unspectacular at a 2.7 and 5.8 million. “The Apprentice” followed with an abysmal 1.4 and 4.0 million viewers.

FOX’s lineup featured the usual combination of the respectable “Bones” (2.5 rating, 9.1 million viewers) and struggling “Fringe” (1.8, 5.0 million).

The CW aired its flagship “The Vampire Diaries” (1.6 rating, 3.6 million viewers) and “Nikita” (0.9, 2.5 million viewers).