'Grey's' pulse is weaker, but still beats all

By James Hibberd

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Led by the return of "Grey's Anatomy," ABC's full drama lineup resumed its Thursday run and ruled the opening night of the May sweep despite some distressing viewership drops for the network and its competitors.

"Grey's" (16 million viewers, 6.3 rating/15 share among adults 18-49) and its "Ugly Betty" lead-in (8.5 million, 2.5/8), both had their lowest first-run rating ever. "Grey's" nonetheless was the highest-rated scripted telecast since an episode of "House" aired in February.

Moved to 10 p.m., "Lost" (12.4 million, 5.5/14) benefited from its best lead-in this season and remained on par with previous performances despite airing at a later hour.

If ABC had some wince-inducing drops, the network had plenty of company. CBS' "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (16.7 million, 4.6/11) and NBC's "My Name Is Earl" (6.1 million, 2.3/7), "The Office" (7.6 million, 3.9/10) and "ER" (7.3 million, 2.9/8) all hit season -- if not series -- lows amid the increased competition.

CBS came in second for the evening, with "Survivor" winning at 8 p.m. (13 million, 4.2/13). At 10 p.m., "Without a Trace" (13.5 million, 3.3/9) was below average.

NBC was third, with "Scrubs" shifted to 8:30 p.m. (5.3 million, 2.4/7). Losing its "Office" lead-in, "Scrubs" dropped 27% from its 9:30 p.m. average. In the former "Scrubs" slot, "30 Rock" (5.5 million, 2.8/7) had the upside of a stronger lead-in but faced greater competition, resulting in an on-par draw with its previous average.

In fourth, Fox had back-to-back episodes of "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" (averaging 8.6 million, 2.3/6). The CW aired back-to-back episodes of "Smallville" (averaging 2.9 million, 1.2/3).

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter