(Updates with time-zone adjusted numbers for Fox.)
"Two and a Half Men" was easily the top-rated show Monday despite losing — predictably — much of the audience that tuned in last week for Ashton Kutcher's debut. Fox's heavily hyped "Terra Nova," meanwhile, opened to solid but unspectacular ratings, finishing as the seventh-highest rated show of the night, according to preliminary numbers.
Terra Nova's 3.1/7 in the 18-49 demo and 9.2 million total viewers were certainly respectable. But the show's numbers are underwhelming considering the hype and effort invested in the series. Its costly pilot was originally set to air in May, but was delayed for more special effects, and Steven Spielberg's name among the 13 credited executive producers helped set high expectations.
Also read: Fall TV Forecast: Fox's 'Terra Nova,' 'X Factor' Can't Live Up to Hype
Among the shows that debuted to higher ratings this fall were the Fox comedy "The New Girl," NBC's low-key "Up All Night." "Terra Nova" had the same ratings as CBS's vigilante procedural "Person of Interest" and ABC's flight attendant drama "Pan Am."
"Men" helped CBS easily win the night overall, turning in a 7.2/17 in the demo and 20 million total viewers. It shed a third of its season premiere ratings, in part because many viewers checked in last week just to see how Kutcher would be introduced and Charlie Sheen's character written off. But it still performed far better than original episodes of the show averaged last season.
It anchored a big night for CBS, which held the top five spots among the night's highest-rated shows — though "Hawaii 5-0" tied "Dancing With the Stars" for fifth.
At 8, "How I Met Your Mother" scored a 4.4/12 and 10.6 million total viewers. "2 Broke Girls," which benefitted last week from a lead-in from "Two and a Half Men," slipped 37 percent but still scored a strong 4.5/11 and 11.6 million total viewers — building on its lead-in. Following "Men," "Mike and Molly" at 9:30 hit an all time high with a 4.9/11 and 14 million total viewers. "Hawaii 5-0" at 10 had a 3.3/8 and 11 million total viewers.
ABC's "Dancing" from 8-10 also had a 3.3/8, and 16 million total viewers. (It was the second-most-watched show overall after "Men," but only tied for fifth in the ratings because so many viewers were outside the demo.) Castle at 10 had a 2.9/7 and 11.9 million total viewers.
NBC's "The Sing-Off" from 8-10 had a 1.7/4 and 4.4 million total viewers. It was down 11 percent, and hit its series low. "The Playboy Club" at 10 had a 1.3/3 — down 19 percent from its already soft premiere — and 3.9 million total viewers.
The CW's "Gossip Girl" season premiere at 8 had a .8/2 and 1.4 million total viewers; the premiere of "Hart of Dixie" at 9 also had a .8/2, but had 1.8 million total viewers.