UPDATE: Click here for more on how "Melrose" did.
It could be a long season for the networks.
Tuesday’s series premiere of "Melrose Place" attracted 2.3 million viewers, substantially less than the nearly 5 million who watched the premiere of "90210" last year and below expectations. That’s according to preliminary fast national data from Nielsen.
Among adults 18-34, "Melrose" notched a 1.5/5, compared to the 3.1/9 last year’s "90210" bow averaged. Among women 18-34, "Melrose" earned a 2.5/7, off from the 4.3/12 achieved by "90210" last year.
In fairness, "90210" was a two-hour premiere, while "Melrose" was just an hour. And the numbers for "90210" were inflated by nostalgia, as fans of the Aaron Spelling series tuned in to see the return of Shannen Doherty.
The "Melrose" premiere didn’t feature the same sort of car crash curiousity factor, since the major star of "Melrose"– Heather Locklear– was nowhere to be seen Tuesday. Her agents might be getting a call this morning.
It could be that you can only play the 90s nostalgia card so many times with viewers. Not that in its second week, "90210" dropped to 3.3 million viewers, and by the time the show aired its first season finale, it was down to 2.1 million viewers.
If "Melrose" can avoid the big dropoff that plagued "90210," then CW execs will be happy.
Meanwhile, the second season premiere of "90210" at 8 p.m. attracted 2.6 million viewers and earned a 2.6/8 with women 18-34. Both numbers are up from the "90210" finale in May.
