UPDATE: In the finals, The Following climbed to a 3.2 Live+same day rating among adults 18-49, edging Elementary for second place among all drama premieres this season.
PREVIOUS: Following a massive marketing campaign, Fox’s dark new drama The Following starring Kevin Bacon drew a 3.1/7 among adults 18-49 and 10.4 million total viewers (Live+Same Day) in its debut last night. It tied CBS’ Elementary as the second-highest-rated drama series premiere this season behind NBC’s Revolution. The Following more than doubled the premiere numbers of its predecessor in the slot, fall drama The Mob Doctor (1.5, 5.1 million), but its demo delivery was shy of the debut of Fox’s midseason drama in the hour last year, Alcatraz (3.3, 10 million). The Following built significantly on its Bones lead-in (2.3/6, 8.5 million), by 35% in 18-49 and 22% in total viewers. Bones also got a lift, climbing 10% from last week in 18-49 and posting a season high in total viewers. Fox had its highest-rated Monday night performance with scripted programming in a year.
Related: Promo Campaign For ‘The Following’ Embraces DVR Viewing
ABC’s The Bachelor (2.5/6) inched up for a second consecutive week, up 4% to a season high. Castle (2.0/5) was also up a tenth (5%) from last week.
CBS’ comedies dipped after their hot winter premieres last week which posted a slew of season highs. How I Met Your Mother (3.7/10, 10.1 million) was down 5% in 18-49. Following a Big Bang Theory rerun (3.2/8, 10.5 million), 2 Broke Girls (3.7/9, 11.5 million) was down 10%. Veteran HIMYM and sophomore 2 Broke Girls tied as the highest-rated programs of the night in 18-49, while 2 Broke Girls was the most watched. Mike & Molly (3.3/8, 10.9 million) was down 6% from last week but CBS’ 9-10 PM comedies still topped the premiere of Fox’s Following. At 10 PM, Hawaii Five-0 (2.2/6) didn’t get a boost from its special airing after the AFC Championship Game on Sunday, down 8% from last week. CBS won the night in 18-49 (3.0/8) and total viewers (10.3 million).
NBC’s The Biggest Loser maintained its ratings weight, tipping the scales at a 2.4/6 for a third consecutive week. But at 10 PM, new drama Deception (1.3/3) continued its freefall, down another 19% from last week after a 20% drop between its premiere and second airing.
On The CW, The Carrie Diaries (0.5/1 in 18-49) dropped a tenth (17%) from its disappointing debut last week. In its return to originals after more than a month, 90210 (0.4/1) was down 33%.
Get more from Deadline.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter