NBC’s ‘Mysteries of Laura’ is helped by ‘America’s Got Talent’ lead-in

A lead-in from the Season 9 finale of NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” helped “Mysteries of Laura” open strong in what was an overall solid night for the network.

“America’s Got Talent,” a Nick Cannon-hosted reality show that crowned magician Mat Franco as its winner, earned a rating of 2.3 among the key 18-to-49-year-old demographic, according to Nielsen.

The show was down 8% from last year’s season finale, which aired from 9 to 11 p.m. and earned a rating of 2.5. With 11.9 million viewers, the show finished at No. 1 and hit its Wednesday season high.

The network also had a series preview of the new Debra Messing show “Mysteries of Laura.” With a rating of 2.1 among the key demo, the show was third most watched in that category.

It benefited from its “America’s Got Talent” lead-in, drawing in roughly 10.4 million viewers and finishing No. 2 in overall viewership.

The new series, which follows a NYPD homicide detective trying to balance work with home, retained 91% of the viewership from the reality show. Beginning next week, the show will air at its regular 8 p.m. time slot.

This time last year, NBC came out with “The Blacklist,” an FBI drama starring James Spader that received favorable reviews and scored a rating of 3.8 among the key demo when it premiered.

With a rating of 2.2 and roughly 11.4 million viewers, NBC won the night among the key demo and overall.

Meanwhile, Fox’s dramedy “Red Band Society” had a soft premiere, with a rating of 1.3 among the key demo. Women and teens responded well to the premiere, which averaged 4.1 million viewers.

The new show, starring Octavia Spencer, is described by one L.A. Times TV critic as the medical version of “The Breakfast Club.” Based on the 2011 Catalan series “Polseres Vermelles,” or “Red Bracelets,” the show follows teenagers at Los Angeles hospital.

The network projects “Red Band Society” will grow 62% in live-plus-seven-day ratings to a 2.1 among the key demo.

Down 8% from last week, CBS’ “Big Brother” finished second among the key demo with a rating of 2.2. The popular privacy deprivation show averaged 6.6 million viewers.

The finale of Halle Berry’s sci-fi series “Extant” earned a rating of 1.1 among the key demo, up from last week’s series low.

Fox and CBS tied for second among the key demo with a rating of 1.4. CBS averaged 5.6 million viewers and Fox averaged 3.9 million.

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