Despite a roster that's decidedly less controversial than the last one, the season premiere of "Dancing With the Stars" grabbed big ratings for ABC on Monday night, while the CBS comedy "Mad Love" and ABC's "Castle" saw a marked increase over last week's ratings, according to preliminary numbers.
ABC's two-hour "Dancing" premiere at 8 p.m. drew a 5.1 rating/15 share in the adults 18-49 demographic, easily dominating the time slot.
Overall, the premiere drew 22.3 million total viewers — up by a million from the last season premiere on September 20, 2010.
The "Dancing" numbers were enough to boost "Castle," at 10, significantly from its last original airing on Feb. 28; the show drew a 3.3/9 in the demo, up from 2.8/8, and drew in 12.7 million viewers, as compared to 10.1 million.
"House," at 8 on Fox grabbed a 3.4/10 among adults 18-49, slightly down from the previous week's 3.5/10; it also drew 9.3 million total viewers, compared to last week's 10.3 million. Fox midseason rookie "Chicago Code," at 9, garnered a 1.9/5 in the demo and 6.3 million total viewers.
CBS' "How I Met Your Mother" garnered a 2.9/9 in the adults 18-49 demographic, a season low for the series and down from the last-aired original episode on Feb. 28, which pulled a 3.4/10 in the demo.
Monday night's episode drew 7.9 million total viewers compared to the 28th's 9.3 million.
CBS' "Mad Love" at 8:30 scored a 2.3/7 in the demo, up from last week's 2.1/6, with 6.5 million total viewers.
A repeat of the recently beleaguered "Two and a Half Men" followed at 9, drawing a 2.6/7 in the demo with 9.1 million total viewers. "Mike & Molly," at 9:30, pulled a 3.0/8 in the demo and 9.6 million total viewers, while "Hawaii 5-0" at 10 had a 2.9/8 among adults 18-49, and 9.8 million total viewers.
NBC's Monday night slate ranged from discouraging to mildly reassuring for the network.
"Chuck," at 8, came in with a 1.5/4 among adults 18-49, a drop from last week's 1.6/5, with 4.3 million viewers, and "The Event," at 9, holding steady compared to last week with a 1.2/3 in the demo and 4 million total viewers.
New David E. Kelley drama "Harry's Law," at 10, meanwhile, garnered a 1.6/4 in the demo — down 11 percent from last week's 1.7/ 5 — with 8.2 million viewers.
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