"Grey's Anatomy" Still on Super High

Tue., Mar. 14, 2006 4:20 PM PST by Joal Ryan

Grey's Anatomy commenced its Super Bowl Sunday episode with a steamy shower, and hasn't cooled down since.

Prior to the game night bathroom scene, ABC's McDreamy medical drama was averaging 17.9 million devotees a week, per Nielsen Media Research. Post-Super Bowl, viewership has risen 36 percent, with the show now dragging in 24.3 million viewers each week.

The bottom line: Since Seattle Grace's George dreamed himself into some serious suds, Grey's Anatomy has supplanted ABC compatriot Desperate Housewives as Sunday's most watched show.

Last weekend was the latest example of the show's emergence. Grey's Anatomy scored with 22.5 million, easily topping fare such as the sixth-season premiere of The Sopranos on HBO (9.5 million), and just edging its Housewives lead-in (22.2 million).

In all, in the wake of the Super Bowl on Feb. 5, Grey's Anatomy has topped Housewives all three times the two shows have aired new episodes on the same night.

The women of Wisteria Lane, however, need not become more hysterical than usual. Despite gripes about its storylines and snipes about a sophomore slump, Housewives is averaging 23.1 million this season, only a tick below the 23.4 million it averaged last season. (Grey's Anatomy was down a tick, too, prior to the Super Bowl shower.) Among scripted shows in the 2005-06 TV year, only CBS' CSI (25.3 million) is a bigger hit than Housewives. (Overall, Grey's Anatomy is averaging 20.1 million.)

Just in case, though, it might behoove Mike the plumber to start doing some work in Susan's shower stall.

Other ratings tidbits for the TV week ended Sunday:

The Sopranos' opener was its least watched premiere since the second season debut all the way back in 1900, sorry, 2000. Overall, The Sopranos was down 21 percent from its season five premiere, and 29 percent from the high-water mark that was the fourth-season premiere. The body count is mounting at Fox's 24, and so are the ratings--in general. Last week's episode, featuring the demise of Edgar (Louis Lombardi), was a Top 20 keeper (18th place, 14 million). Monday's episode, featuring the demises (plural) of Tony (Carlos Bernard) and Lynn (Sean Astin), was watched by an estimated 13.6 million, Variety reported. The slight ratings decline from this week to last probably can't be blamed on the New York Times and Los Angeles Times, but the newspapers arguably didn't help build the suspense Monday by publishing stories hours in advance of 24's airtime that featured references to the deaths of both Tony and Lynn. (The articles were intended for their respective papers' Tuesday print editions.) Victimized by spoilers or no, 24 was up 11 percent in viewers for the season through last week, Fox said. Series cocreator David Mamet is presumably pretty [expletive] happy with his new military-action drama, The Unit (10th place, 18.5 million), which, per CBS, notched the best debut of any new scripted show this season. CBS' Survivor: Panama--Exile Island (15th place, 15.2 million) continues to waste away like a castaway subsisting on rice and muddy water. ABC's Miracle Workers, a sort of Extreme Makeover for people with medical, not housing, issues, got off to an okay start in the network's new Monday lineup--45th place, 8.6 million. ABC's much promoted Sons & Daughters beat NBC's Scrubs in head-to-head comedy competition on Tuesday, but lost nearly 1 million viewers from its first back-to-back episode (46th place, 8.4 million) to its second (50th place, 7.5 million). Not that President Allen is counting or anything, but her exiled Commander in Chief administration averaged 6 million more viewers in the 9-10 p.m., Tuesday slot for ABC than Sons & Daughters. Fox's American Idol is so all-powerful that its Thursday results show (fourth place, 26.6 million) even breathed life into The O.C. (54th place, 7.4 million). The soap, airing amid the afterglow of Idol's Top 12 coronation, was up 28 percent over its season-to-date average. The free ride is over for Fox's Free Ride (77th place, 5.7 million), now left to fend for itself on Idol-free Sundays. Tyra Banks' ritual dressing down of her new America's Next Top Model recruits attracted 5.3 million (83rd place), its biggest--and final--season premiere for the doomed UPN. (The show is expected to be recruited for the upstart CW.) Perhaps NBC should have kept Joey (98th place, 4.1 million) locked in the basement. That way, the sitcom would have been spared the indignity of running fifth in its new Tuesday home behind shows on Fox, CBS, ABC and Univision, home of the Spanish-language telenovela, Contra Viento Y Marea (95th place, 4.7 million). Among cable shows not named The Sopranos: Battlestar Galactica scored a third-season renewal from Sci Fi even before 2.1 million caught its 90-minute second-season finale; HBO's much-married Big Love debuted before a modest 4.6 million; and the second-season finale of Project Runway (3.4 million) found itself hailed as the most watched show in the history of the Bravo. From the Seinfeld "curse" department: Julia Louis-Dreyfus' latest sitcom vehicle, The New Adventures of Old Christine, got off to a solid start Monday night for CBS. The first episode at 8:30 p.m. was watched by 12.4 million; the second episode at 9:30 p.m., by 15.1 million. Lucky for Louis-Dreyfus, 9:30 p.m. will be the show's usual time slot.

Overall, American Idol ruled the week, with all three of its installments landing in the top five. Accordingly, Fox ruled in total viewers, averaging 13.5 million, and 18-to-49 year-old viewers.

CBS (12.6 million viewers) took second in both categories. ABC (9.1 million), which scored big on Sunday, but not so much anywhere else, ran third. NBC (8.3 million) finished fourth.

Here's a look at the 10 most watched prime-time shows for the week ended Sunday, according to Nielsen Media Research:

1. American Idol (Wednesday), Fox, 30.4 million viewers
2. American Idol (Tuesday), Fox, 28.6 million viewers
3. CSI, CBS, 27.2 million viewers
4. American Idol (Thursday), Fox, 26.6 million viewers
5. Grey's Anatomy, ABC, 22.5 million viewers
6. Desperate Housewives, ABC, 22.2 million viewers
7. House, Fox, 20.6 million viewers
8. Without a Trace, CBS, 20.3 million viewers
9. CSI: Miami, CBS, 18.6 million viewers
10. The Unit, CBS, 18.5 million viewers