Some overnight observations about the second Monday of the new season:
Two and a Half Men is still kicking ass in two countries. Part Two of the super-hyped Ashton Kutcher opener drew 20.5 million viewers Monday night on CBS and another 2,140,000 over on CTV Two. CTV bounced it to its sister stations to make room for a two hour simulcast of Dancing with the Stars. The Sheen-less sitcom beat Dancing in both countries Monday night, with Dancing waltzing off with 16.2 million on ABC and 1,763,000 on CTV. Dancing was even topped at 10 on CTV by Castle, which drew 1,773,000 overnight, estimated viewers.
The 2.5 Men tally was the biggest audience ever measured on the network formerly known as /A (under the current ratings system).
The other big premiere Monday was Terra Nova, the multi-million dollar sci-fi dino drama from executive producer Steven Spielberg. In the U.S. on Fox, the two hour premiere managed 9.2 million viewers opposite 2.5 Men, etc.
In Canada, on City, it got off to a much stronger start. Terra Nova was seen by an overnight estimated 1,414,000 viewers. That makes it the most-watched drama in the Rogers-owned network’s history. The City numbers spinners also said the premiere did better in Toronto in key demos than the launch of CTV’s Pan Am Sunday, making it the No. 1 new show among A18-49 and A25-54 in Canada’s largest TV market.
Less promising for City are the numbers for the new NBC drama The Playboy Club. Just 478,000 tuned in in Canada for Monday’s second episode and fewer than 4 million in the U.S.
The big 2.5 Men tally helped the season premiere of Mike & Molly find 1,334,000 viewers on CTV Two–the biggest audience for the CBS sitcom ever in Canada.
Despite the CTV One-Two assault, Global saw strong second episode ratings for NCIS (1,635,000) and Hawaii FIVE-0 (1,726,000).
CBC, on the other hand, continues to get pummeled opposite all this imported heat. The Monday Battle of the Blades found 822,000 viewers, while the fourth season premiere of Being Erica managed just 351,000 viewers across Canada.
