NEW YORK - Thanks to a fictional serial killer and Kevin Bacon, there's a sense of relief over at Fox.
The network had a disappointing fall, the new "American Idol" team hasn't stopped the series' slow fade, and its highly anticipated new drama, "The Following," got caught up in the discussion over violence in the media that followed the Connecticut school shooting.
Early returns on "The Following," which stars Bacon chasing a charismatic killer, have been encouraging. The series debuted last week with 10.4 million viewers and among Fox's target audience of 18-to-49-year-old viewers, it was the most-watched drama all week.
The second episode on Monday dropped only slightly, to 10 million viewers, the Nielsen ratings company said. It was up over the debut for young viewers, including a 13 percent increase among people ages 18 to 34, generally a very encouraging sign for a new TV series.
The attention-getting debut of "Carrie Diaries" on the CW network was a disappointment, however. The series is a "prequel" to HBO's old "Sex and the City" series, featuring the Carrie Bradshaw character in high school. Its debut audience of 1.27 million people was fewer than the CW series "Emily Owens, MD," which is not being renewed.
CBS' "60 Minutes," which led with Steve Kroft's dual interview with President Barack Obama and outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, finished in the week's top 10 with 11.6 million viewers. CBS won the week again, even though many of its regular series were in reruns.
For the week, CBS led with an average of 8.9 million viewers in prime time (5.8 rating, 9 share). Fox was second with an average of 7.1 million (4.1, 6) and led among the 18-to-49-year-old viewers it most cares about. ABC had 5.7 million viewers (3.7, 6), NBC had 5.4 million (3.4, 5), the CW had 1.7 million (1.1, 2) and ION Television had 1.2 million (0.8, 1).
Nielsen ratings
Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for Jan. 21-27. Listings include the week's ranking and viewership.
1. "American Idol" (Wednesday), Fox, 16.07 million
2. "American Idol" (Thursday), Fox, 15.65 million
3. "NCIS," CBS, 12.86 million
4. Pro Football: Pro Bowl, NBC, 12.16 million
5. "NCIS: Los Angeles," CBS, 11.93 million
6. "Criminal Minds," CBS, 11.84 million
7. "60 Minutes," CBS, 11.65 million
8. "2 Broke Girls," CBS, 11.56 million
9. "The Big Bang Theory," CBS, 11.49 million
10. "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 11.46 million
11. "Mike & Molly," CBS, 10.89 million
12. "Modern Family," ABC, 10.83
13. "The Big Bang Theory" (Monday, 8:30 p.m.), 10.5 million
14. "The Mentalist," CBS, 10.49 million
15. "The Following," Fox, 10.42 million
16. "How I Met Your Mother," CBS, 10.07 million
17. "Person of Interest," CBS, 10.01 million
18. "Hawaii Five-0," CBS, 9.85 million
19. "The Good Wife," CBS, 9.35 million
20. "Pro Bowl Pre Game," NBC, 9.26 million
- THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
