The season finales of "The Office" and "Bones" provided rare bright spots in the ratings as a handful of other season enders showed marked declines over last season's swan songs on Thursday, according to preliminary numbers.
"The Office," on NBC at 9, has experienced its ratings lulls since series star Steve Carell departed several weeks ago, but its one-hour, star-packed season finale saw a 12 percent boost over last season's finale, drawing a 3.8 rating/10 share in the adults 18-49 demographic with 7 million total viewers.
The two-part "Parks and Recreation" season finale the following hour didn't fare nearly as well. The 10 p.m. episode took 2.4/6 in the demo — flat with last week's performance — and 4.2 million total viewers, while the 10:30 installment drew a 2.0/5 in the demo, down 9 percent from last season's finale (which aired at 8:30), and 3.7 million total viewers.
The network's primetime roster was filled out with repeats of "The Office" at 8 and 8:30, which drew a 1.1//4 and 1.15 in the demo, respectively.
Over at Fox, the "American Idol" results show kicked off the evening at 8 with the evening's highest ratings — no surprise there — with a 6.2/19 in the demo (down 5 percent from last Thursday) and 21.1 million total viewers. The season finale of "Bones" the following hour enjoyed a 14 percent jump over last year's season sign-off, grabbing a 3.2/8 in the demo and 10 million total viewers.
CBS' roster was filled with finales, all down from last year's showings. "The Big Bang Theory" at 8 took a 3.5/12 (down 34 percent from last season) and 11.1 million total viewers. "Rules of Engagement" the following hour received a 2.5/7 in the demo (down 22 percent vs. last season's finale), while "The Mentalist" at 10 drew a 2.7/7, a 16 percent dip compared to last year, and 13.7 million total viewers.
ABC's evening started with "Wipeout" at 8, which performed flat with last week, taking a 1.7/5 in the demo and 5.5 million total viewers. The "Grey's Anatomy" finale the following hour dropped 37 percent from last year's finale showing, posting a 3.4/9 in the demo and 9.5 million total viewers. The "Private Practice" finale at 10 was also down versus last year, 22 percent specifically, with a 2.5/7 in the demo and 7.4 million total viewers.
