Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice Tag-Team Is Slammin'

Crossover episodes rule Thursday ratings; Grey's finishes as night's No. 1 show in viewers and 18- to 49-year-olds

By Joal Ryan Feb 06, 2009 7:32 PMTags
Eric Dane, Kate Walsh, Grant Show, Audra McDonald, Grey's AnatomyABC/RON TOM

Thursday TV's Big Gimmick…That Worked! The crossover episodes of Grey's Anatomy (15.2 million, per Nielsen estimates) and Private Practice (13 million) put a charge into both shows, and especially Private Practice. With CSI offering up a rerun, Grey's was easily the night's No. 1 show in total viewers and 18- to 49-year-olds.

Thanks, Super Bowl! Even opposite the first half-hour of Grey's, the Super Sunday-exposed The Office (8.4 million) was up over its season average in viewers, and boasted the night's third-highest demo rating.

Also Hot: Bones (10.8 million) was an ecstatic Fox's most-watched scripted Thursday show in "many years" (i.e., since a Living Single in 1996). Hell's Kitchen (7.7 million) was even bigger than Bones in the demo.

Also-Rans: Ugly Betty (7.3 million), ER (7.3 million), 30 Rock (6.3 million), My Name Is Earl (6.2 million), Kath & Kim (4.7 million), Smallville (3.9 million) and Supernatural (3.3 million).