Ratings: ‘Stalker’ Gets Solid Start as CBS Tops Night

ABC’s “Modern Family” is night’s top-rated show

Michael Yarish/Warner Bros.

CBS’s new crime drama “Stalker” got a solid ratings start with its premiere Wednesday, helping to push the network to an overall win for the night, while ABC’s “Modern Family” was the top-rated show of the night, according to preliminary numbers.

“Stalker,” starring Dylan McDermott and Maggie Q as a pair of Los Angeles detectives who track stalking cases, premiered at 10 p.m. to a 2.0 rating/6 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic, even with last fall’s premiere of “CSI” on Sept. 25. The new drama attracted 9 million total viewers.

Also read: CBS’s ‘Stalker’ Blasted by Parents Television Council for ‘Torture Porn’ Scene

The “Stalker” premiere helped push CBS to the top spot in the demo and total viewers for the night, with the network averaging a 2.4/8 and 10 million. Of course, it had some help. “Survivor” at 8 p.m. drew a 2.4/8 — down 11 percent from last week — and 9.5 million total viewers, while the season premiere of “Criminal Minds” the following hour posted a 2.7/8, a minor dip from last fall’s premiere, and was the night’s most-watched show with 11.5 million total viewers.

ABC drew second place in ratings with a 2.2/7 and came in third in total viewers with 7 million. “The Middle” at 8 dropped 14 percent from last week to a 1.9/7 with 7 million total viewers, while “The Goldbergs” at 8:30 ticked down to a 2.2/7 and had 6.7 million total viewers.

Also read: ‘Stalker’ Review: CBS Drama Does Not Hate Women, It Loves Torture

At 9, “Modern Family” dropped off 10 percent from last week but was nonetheless the top-rated show for the night, posting a 3.5/11 with 10 million total viewers. The freshman comedy “Black-ish” at 9:30, however, dropped off sharply from its series premiere last week, falling 24 percent to a 2.5/7 with 8 million total viewers. “Nashville” at 10 posted a 1.5/5 with 5.2 million total viewers.

NBC was third in ratings and second in total viewers with a 1.6/5 and 7.8 million.  The freshman series “Mysteries of Laura” posted a 1.4/5 and had 8.9 million total viewers, while “Law & Order: SVU” the following hour fell off 18 percent from last week for a 1.8/5 and took 7.8 million total viewers. “Chicago PD” at 10 also dropped from last week, falling 16 percent to a 1.6/5 with 6.7 million total viewers.

Also read: Donald Trump Says ABC’s ‘Black-ish’ Is Racist

Fox came in fourth in ratings and total viewers with a 1.2/4 and 3.6 million. “Hell’s Kitchen” at 8 inched up to a 1.4/5 with 3.8 million total viewers, while the freshman series “Red Band Society” held steady versus last week with a 1.1/3 and 3.3 million total viewers.

Univision was fifth place for the night with a 1.1/4 and 2.9 million total viewers, while Telemundo rounded things out in sixth place with a 0.5/2 and 1.3 million total viewers.

The CW aired repeats throughout Wednesday night.

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