A special preview of the new CBS drama "Golden Boy" got the series off to a soft start, but an episode of the top-rated "NCIS" still gave the network a ratings win on Tuesday night, according to preliminary numbers.
"Golden Boy" -- which chronicles the rise of New York City's youngest police commissioner -- drew a 1.8 rating in the key 18-49 demographic and had 10.5 million total viewers at 10 p.m. Compared to last week's airing of "Vegas," "Golden Boy" was up 20 percent in the demo, and also improved over last week's total viewership. (The "Golden Boy" premiere was, however, down 28 percent in the demo from September's series premiere of "Vegas.") "Golden Boy" will premiere in its normal Friday at 9 p.m. timeslot March 8.
"NCIS" at 8 was the night's top-rated and most-watched program of the night with a 3.4/10 and 20.5 million total viewers. "NCIS: LA" the following hour drew a 2.9/8, up slightly from last week, and had 16.8 million total viewers. All told, CBS averaged a 2.7/8 in the demo and 15.9 million total viewers, taking top honors in both categories.
ABC tied Fox for second place in ratings with a 1.7/5 and took second place outright in total viewers with 5.8 million. The season premiere of "Celebrity Wife Swap" at 8 inched up from last January's series premiere, hitting a series high of 2.4/7 and taking 7 million total viewers. The time-period premiere of "The Taste" the following hour dropped 13 percent from last week, when the show aired at 8, drawing a 1.4/4 with 4.1 million total viewers. "Body of Proof" at 10 matched last week's series low with a 1.2/3 and had 6.3 million total viewers.
Fox, in fourth place in total viewers with 3.6 million, aired "Raising Hope" at 8, which was even with last week for a 1.5/5 and had 3.6 million total viewers. A second episode at 8:30 had a 1.4/4 and 3.2 million total viewers, while "New Girl" at 9 inched up to a 2.3/6 and took 4.3 million total viewers. "The Mindy Project" at 9:30 drew a 1.6/4 with 3.2 million total viewers.
Univision came in fourth in ratings and third in total viewers with a 1.5/4 and 3.8 million.
NBC took fifth in ratings and total viewers with a 1.1/3 and 3.4 million. "Betty White's Off Their Rockers" at 8 tied last week's series low for a 1.3/4 and had 4.5 million total viewers, while a second episode at 8:30 also had a 1.3/4 with 4.4 million total viewers. "Go On" at 9 posted a 1.1/3 -- even with last week, and tying a series low -- and drew 3.1 million total viewers. "The New Normal" at 9:30 grew 11 percent for a 1.0/3 and took 2.6 million total viewers. "Smash" at 10 was flat with last week, tying a series low of 0.9/3 and taking 3 million total viewers.