{"id":3253,"date":"2009-09-24T12:38:23","date_gmt":"2009-09-24T16:38:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/?p=3253"},"modified":"2009-09-24T23:18:17","modified_gmt":"2009-09-25T03:18:17","slug":"modern-family-cougar-town-score-big-premiere-ratings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/2009\/09\/24\/modern-family-cougar-town-score-big-premiere-ratings\/","title":{"rendered":"“Modern Family,” “Cougar Town” Score Big Premiere Ratings"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a world where “30 Rock,” a three-time Emmy winner for Outstanding Comedy, barely pulls acceptable ratings, it is easy to forget that viewers sometimes do flock to critically-acclaimed comedies.<\/p>\n

“Modern Family” and “Cougar Town” demonstrated that phenomenon. The new ABC comedies debuted to strong ratings Wednesday night, winning the 9PM hour for the network in adults 18-49.<\/p>\n

Going into the premiere, “Family” had ranked as the best-reviewed new sitcom of the season. “Cougar Town” was not so glowingly reviewed but still generated a lot of media buzz ahead of Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

The reviews and buzz paid off; “Modern Family” bowed to 12.7 million viewers, while “Cougar Town” scored 11.4 million. Both garnered a 4.3 adults 18-49 number.<\/p>\n

Though they clearly benefitted from the “Dancing With The Stars” lead-in (14.9 million with a 3.2 rating), very few shows have been able to retain anything significant out of “Dancing,” indicating that there was indeed special curiosity for the new ABC comedies.<\/p>\n

“Eastwick,” which closed out the night for ABC, dipped to 8.5 million with a 3.0 demo rating.<\/p>\n

CBS’ 8PM comedies did not perform as strongly; “The New Adventures of Old Christine” and “Gary Unmarried” debuted with 7.7 million and 7.3 million viewers, respectively. Among adults 18-49, “Christine” posted a 2.3 while “Gary” earned a 2.4. “Criminal Minds” (12.1 million, 4.2) and “CSI: NY” (14.6 million, 4.0) followed.<\/p>\n

The debut of “Mercy” was nothing special with 8.2 million viewers and a 2.3 demographic figure. “Law & Order: SVU” (8.4 million, 2.5) dropped from past performance quite a bit at 9PM, while “The Jay Leno Show” appears to be stabilizing (6.4 million, 2.0).<\/p>\n

FOX’s “So You Think You Can Dance” has yet to make a big impact this fall, but its numbers fortunately (5.6 million, 2.5) did not get demolished by the “Dancing with the Stars” competition. The fourth “Glee” episode dipped a bit against the new competition but remained solid in 18-49 (6.6 million, 3.0).<\/p>\n

“The Beautiful Life” does not appear on track for a lengthy lifespan on The CW. Leading out of “America’s Next Top Model” (2.8 million, 1.3), the most recent airing managed a paltry 1.1 million viewers with a 0.5 demo rating.<\/p>\n

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