TV ratings: NBC wins demo with Maya Rudolph, ‘Voice’; ‘DWTS’ scores

Maya Rudolph’s variety special for NBC was a worthy performer in the ratings, coming after the three-way finalist faceoff on “The Voice.”

The former “Saturday Night Live” star’s “The Maya Rudolph Show” averaged 7.23 million viewers Monday night, according to early numbers from Nielsen, and it won the 10 p.m. time slot among key 18- to 49-year-olds, scoring a rating of 2.2 in the advertiser-coveted demographic.

Billed as a revival of the variety format, the special featured fellow “SNL” vets Fred Armisen and Andy Samberg, “Frozen” actress Kristen Bell and R&B singer Janelle Monae.

Certainly Rudolph benefited from the lead-in from “The Voice,” which aired its so-called performance finale Monday night and was the highest rated network show among young adults. “The Voice” earned a 3.1 in the demo (in which a ratings point equals about 1.3 million viewers), up slightly from a week ago.

On average, NBC was Monday’s highest rated network in 18-49 (with a 2.8), but ABC had the most viewers overall with 11 million vs. NBC’s 10.1 million.

The final performance round on “Dancing With the Stars” lifted ABC’s average by delivering 15 million viewers and a 2.5 in 18-49. That’s up 9% from a week ago in the demo.

Meanwhile, “The Bachelorette” made a steady return. The hour-and-a-half-long season premiere of “The Bachelorette” introduced itself to about 7 million viewers and a 1.9 in 18-49. That’s about flat in 18-49 compared with last year’s premiere (its lowest to date), but it was up 17% in total viewers.

On CBS, the canceled “Friends With Better Lives” ended its run with a flat 1.6, while “Mike & Molly” called it a season at a 1.9, down 21% from a year ago.

Fox had a mildly diminished episode of “Bones” (1.6 in 18-49), while the super-spy reboot “24: Live Another Day” fell 15% week-to-week to a 1.7.