CBS's 'The Big Bang Theory' inched up to a series high on Thursday night, pushing the network to an easy overall win for the evening, while NBC's new presidential comedy "1600 Penn" got off to a so-so start. Meanwhile, the Critics' Choice Movie Awards posted its strongest showing since 2006, according to preliminary numbers.
CBS took first place in the advertiser-friendly 18-49 demographic with a 3.8 rating/10 share and in total viewers with 14.7 million. Much of that can be attributed to "The Big Bang Theory" at 8 p.m., which ticked up 3 percent from last week to hit a series high of 6.3/19 and also hit a series high in total viewers with 19.8 million. (This, after the series hit an all-time high in total viewers last week.)
The rest of the network's offerings showed minor declines, after facing repeats last week. "Two and a Half Men" at 8:30 posted a 4.2/12 with 14.3 million total viewers, while "Person of Interest" at 9 took a 3.3/9 with 15.6 million total viewers. "Elementary" the following hour had a 2.4/7 and had 11.3 million total viewers.
ABC came in second in ratings and total viewers with a 2.4/7 and 7.8 million. "Last Resort," which did not earn a renewal from the network, was up 20 percent from its last original airing a month ago with a 1.2/3 and had 5.8 million total viewers, while "Grey's Anatomy" the following hour inched up to a 3.1/8 and drew 9.2 million total viewers. "Scandal" at 10 returned after a month off with a 17 percent increase, posting a 2.8/8 and taking 8.4 million total viewers.
Univision came in third in ratings and total viewers with a 1.7/5 and 4 million.
NBC took fourth place in ratings and total viewers with a 1.5/4 and 3.9 million. "30 Rock" at 8 returned after five weeks with a 27 percent boost, taking a 1.4/4 and drawing 3.8 million total viewers. Following a repeat special of "1600 Penn," which aired a series preview three weeks ago, "The Office" at 9 returned after five weeks with a 2.2/6 and had 4.5 million total viewers.
The time-period premiere of "1600 Penn" at 9:30 received a 1.6/4 -- down 27 percent from its series preview, but only slightly off from the average of its timeslot predecessor, "Parks and Recreation" -- and took 3.9 million total viewers, while "Rock Center With Brian Williams" at 10 jumped 38 percent for a 1.1/3 and drew 3.8 million total viewers.
Fox, which came in fifth in ratings and total viewers with a 0.9/3 and 2.7 million, aired the Howie Mandel reality series "Mobbed" at 8, which grew 9 percent from last week with a 1.2/3 and took 3.3 million total viewers, followed by a "Glee" repeat.
The CW ran the Critics' Choice Movie Awards throughout the night, which grabbed its best numbers since 2006 in ratings and total viewers with a 0.6/2 and 1.9 million.