TV News: Tim Allen’s ‘Last Man Standing’ Opens With Strong Ratings

CHICAGO – Critics may have been cruel but audiences were curious enough to see what Tim Allen’s “Home Improvement” schtick looks like in 2011, sampling the series premiere of ABC’s “Last Man Standing” to the tune of a solid 3.5 rating in the key 18-49 demo. Last year, “No Ordinary Family” opened in the time slot with a 3.2 rating and it’s worth nothing that the baseball game on FOX ate into every other network, especially with younger viewers, so there’s reason to believe that the numbers would have otherwise been higher.

It seems like the young viewers who watched the mystery/action series on CBS were the most likely to jump to the Tigers/Rangers game as “NCIS” (3.9 rating), “NCIS: Los Angeles” (3.3), and “Unforgettable” (2.3) all hit series lows in the 18-49 demo.

ABC’s “Body of Proof” slipped to 1.9 rating and “Dancing With the Stars” rose a notch to a 3.2 rating. Yes, that means that, in the demo that really matters, “Last Man Standing” was the highest-rated show on ABC for the night and more viewed than “Dancing With the Stars.”

NBC continues to erode in remarkable ways as “The Biggest Loser” hit its series low (2.0) in the 18-49 demo and “Parenthood” was stable, but low, with a 2.1 rating.

Source: TV By the Numbers [16]

[17]	By BRIAN TALLERICO [18] Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com [17]