TV ratings: CBS wins the night with ‘Criminal Minds,’ ‘Stalker’

CBS led Wednesday night’s TV rankings with the return of “Criminal Minds” and the premiere of the psychological drama “Stalker.”

“Criminal Minds” was the most watched program of the night with roughly 11.5 million viewers, according to Nielsen. The show earned a rating of 2.7 in the key 18- to 49-year-old demographic.

The debut of “Stalker” earned a solid 2.0 rating in the key demographic. The drama follows Det. Jack Larsen (Dylan McDermott) and Lt. Beth Davis (Maggie Q) as they investigate stalking incidents for the Threat Assessment Unit of the Los Angeles Police Department. The “Criminal Minds” lead-in helped the new drama average 9 million viewers.

“Survivor” was the third most watched program of the night with 9.4 million viewers. The show was down 11% from last week with a rating of 2.4 in the key demographic.

Overall, the network earned a rating of 2.4 in the key demographic and averaged 10 million viewers.

But ABC’s “Modern Family” nabbed the No. 1 spot in the key demographic with a rating of 3.5. The five-time Emmy Award-winning show was the second most watched program of the night with about 10 million viewers.

Also on ABC, the sitcom “black-ish” fell 24% from last week’s series debut. It earned a rating of 2.5 in the key demographic, making it the third most watched in the desired category.

The series, which follows three generations of a black, upper-middle-class Los Angeles family, averaged 7.9 million viewers.

ABC, which also aired episodes of “The Middle,” “The Goldbergs” and “Nashville,” was second to CBS with a rating of 2.2 in the key demographic. It was third overall with about 7 million viewers.

Though NBC’s “Mysteries of Laura,” “Law & Order: SVU” and “Chicago P.D.” saw slight decreases in ratings, the network averaged about 7.8 million viewers and a rating of 1.6 in the key demographic.

“The Mysteries of Laura” retained 93% of last week’s regular-slot debut. It averaged 8.9 million viewers and a rating of 1.4 in the key demographic.

“Law & Order: SVU” posted a rating of 1.8 in the key demographic and averaged 7.8 million viewers.

“Chicago P.D.” earned a rating of 1.6 in the key demographic and averaged 6.7 million viewers.

Fox’s “Red Band Society” stayed even with last week with a rating of 1.1. in the key demographic. Also on the network, “Hell’s Kitchen” earned a rating of 1.4 in the key demo, up 8% from last week.

For more news on the entertainment industry, follow me @saba_h