CBS dramas, Fox's 'Girl' shine Tuesday

CBS, with a boost from newbie "Unforgettable," impressed on the opening Tuesday of the season, but the standout performer of the night was Fox's new comedy "New Girl" - the net's top new fall comedy bow in 10 years.Preliminary Nielsen estimates show "New Girl" averaging a potent 4.7 rating/12 share in adults 18-49 and 10.1 million viewers overall in the 9 o'clock half-hour hour -the night's top show in 18-49 and a big improvement over "Raising Hope" in the timeslot a year ago (3.1/8 in 18-49, 7.3 million viewers overall). Fox hasn't done better with a fall comedy premiere since "Bernie Mac" in November 2001.The performance was even more impressive considering that its lead-in, "Glee" (3.8/11 in 18-49, 8.9 million viewers overall), was down about 30% from its big start of last year. Also for Fox, "Raising Hope" (3.1/8 in 18-49, 6.9 million viewers overall), now airing at 9:30 p.m., matched its series premiere score of last year (when it followed "Glee" at 9 p.m.), but lost a good chunk of its "New Girl" lead-in. "Glee" was surpassed among adults 18-49 at 8 o'clock by CBS vet "NCIS" (4.2/12 in 18-49, 19.5 million viewers overall), the night's No. 1 show in 25-54 (5.8/15) and total viewers. "NCIS" was up vs. its debut performance of last fall, as was 9 o'clock drama "NCIS: Los Angeles" (3.6/9 in 18-49, 16.7 million viewers overall). And at 10, new CBS crime drama "Unforgettable" (2.9/8 in 18-49, 14.0 million viewers overall) led its hour in key demos and was down only slightly in 18-49 from a second "NCIS: Los Angeles" on premiere Tuesday a year ago (and up a bit in total viewers); the Poppy Montgomery series also started stronger than "The Good Wife," which bowed in the second week of last season to a 2.5 demo score.ABC was paced by "Dancing With the Stars" (2.8/7 in 18-49m 14.5 million viewers overall), though it was down about 35% from last year, and NBC by "The Biggest Loser" (2.3/6 in 18-49, 6.1 million viewers overall), which was down by about 20%.In the 10 o'clock hour opposite the debut of "Unforgettable," NBC's "Parenthood" held up well (2.1/6 in 18-49, 5.3 million viewers overall), down just a tick from last week's early premiere against softer competition but off by about 15% vs. its second episode of last year. And for ABC in the hour, "Body of Proof" (2.3/6 in 18-49, 9.7 million viewers overall) was on par with last year's debut of "Detroit 1-8-7" in the time period, with the Dana Delany crime series topping the ratings for its last four original episodes in the spring.CW's "Ringer" (0.9/2 in 18-49, 2.0 million viewers overall) took a hit in its second week but held up best in the net's core demos of adults 18-34 and women 18-34, where it retained more than 80% of its premiere scores.Preliminary 18-49 averages for the night: Fox, 3.9/10; CBS, 3.6/9; ABC, 2.4/6; NBC, 2.2/6; Univision, 1.8/5; CW, 0.8/2.In total viewers: CBS, 16.7 million; ABC, 11.6 million; Fox, 8.7 million; NBC, 5.8 million; Univision, 3.9 million; CW, 1.8 million. Contact Rick Kissell at rick.kissell@variety.com

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