ABC/KAREN NEAL; ABC/MICHAEL DESMOND; ABC/KAREN NEALCriminal Minds and Modern Family were on top. Cougar Town was Cougar Town, and not Friends, Jennifer Aniston or no. And one freshman show was as lonely as Lone Star.
A ratings rundown of Wednesday's premieres:
• Criminal Minds (14.1 million viewers, per prelim estimates): The only show it didn't beat was iteself (last year's premiere was slightly bigger).
• Modern Family (12.6 million): Overall, it was about even with last fall, but the Emmy win was not for naught. The second-year comedy was Glee-like dominant among the demographically desirable.
• The Defenders (12.1 million): At first glance, a great start. At second glance, CSI: NY had a greater, stronger start for CBS in the 10 p.m. slot last fall.
• Law & Order: SVU (10.1 million): You know how some of the long-running crime shows have been a little off, Nielsen-wise, in the first few nights of the season? Not this one.
• The Middle (8.8 million) and Better With You (8 million): Sure, the comedies got dominated at 8 p.m. by Survivor: Nicaragua (12.5 million), but they didn't get beat down. The Middle even hit a series high.
• Undercovers (8.6 million) and Hell's Kitchen (5.9 million): Don't let the audience counts fool you: The Fox cooking show was demographically competitive at 8 p.m.; the NBC spy show wasn't even Mercy.
• Cougar Town (8.3 million): If you forget that Cougar Town had a totally hot debut last fall (11.4 million), but remember that the Courteney Cox comedy cooled as the season wore on, then you'll see the second-season opener, with a guest appearance by Aniston, was totally fine.
• The Whole Truth (4.9 million): The good news is Maura Tierney is back. The bad news is everything else. This one went boom.
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Keep track of the new season at Watch With Kristin.