The hype surrounding NBC's re-imagined series,
Bionic Woman, has done well for the show, as its premiere beat tough competition in the forms of
Private Practice,
Criminal Minds, Kitchen Nightmares and
Gossip Girl.
Bionic Woman earned a 5.5 rating among adults 18-49, beating the premiere of the new ABC medical drama, which earned a 5.1. So far,
Bionic Woman is the highest-rated new series to debut this fall, and the highest-rated Wednesday-night series premiere for the Peacock since
The West Wing debuted in 1999. Additionally, the NBC series won the 9-10pm timeslot despite having a weaker lead-in than
Private Practice.
Criminal Minds experienced a 22 percent drop from last year, earning only a 3.5 rating.
Kitchen Nightmares went down 22 percent in its second week with a 2.4, while
Gossip Girl fell 25 percent with a 1.2.
Bionic Woman served as a strong lead-in for the cop drama,
Life, which earned an impressive 4.1 rating. The figure was enough to capture Life the top spot for the hour, beating the season premieres of CBS'
CSI: NY and the debut of ABC's
Dirty Sexy Money.
ABC won the hour prior to
Bionic Woman, with the results show for
Dancing with the Stars earning a 4.0 rating. The reality competition topped CBS'
Kid Nation, NBC's
Deal or No Deal, FOX's half-hour comedies,
Back to You and ‘
Til Death, and The CW's
America's Next Top Model.
Overall, ABC was the big winner Wednesday night, though it edged out NBC by only a tenth of a point. The top two networks were, in order, followed by
CBS, FOX and
The CW. Moreover, ABC's
Private Practice topped
Bionic Woman in terms of overall audience.
Bionic Woman is a reimagining of the 1970s series starring Lindsay Wagner. The new Jamie Sommers is played by
Michelle Ryan, most known for her role on the British soap opera,
EastEnders. The cast also includes
Molly Price (
Third Watch),
Will Yun Lee,
Katee Sackhoff (
Battlestar Galactica),
Isaiah Washington (
Grey's Anatomy),
Lucy Hale (
How I Met Your Mother, The O.C.),
Chris Bowers (
Rescue Me),
Miguel Ferrer (
Crossing Jordan) and
Mark Sheppard.
Bionic Woman airs Wednesdays at 9pm on NBC.
-Lisa Claustro, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: TV Week
(Image Courtesy of NBC)