TV ratings: ‘The Millers’ opens strong; ‘Scandal’ surges

It looks like “The Millers’” dysfunction is working just fine for CBS so far.

Coming off a big lead-in from the hit “The Big Bang Theory,” “The Millers” kicked off with 13.2 million viewers and a rating of 3.3 in the key 18-49 age demographic, according to early numbers from Nielsen.

The show, which stars Will Arnett, was down about 6% from last year’s premiere of “Two and a Half Men” in the same time period. The comedy follows Arnett’s character, Nathan, who finally tells his parents about his divorce. His dad then leaves his mom, who then moves in with Nathan.

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“The Crazy Ones,” CBS’ new comedy with Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar, dropped off from last week’s big premiere. That, however, might say more about the effectiveness of “The Big Bang Theory” lead-in than the show itself.

“The Crazy Ones” drew 11.76 million viewers Thursday night, and a 18-49 rating of 2.9. The demo rating was down 26% from last week’s premiere, which followed an episode of “The Big Bang Theory.”

As for the nerd comedy itself, it was the highest-rated show of the night, with 17.8 million viewers and a 18-49 rating of 5.0, down 9% from last week’s seventh-season premiere. Overall, CBS won in viewership and the demo.

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ABC’s “Scandal” returned with big numbers for its third-season premiere, increasing its demo rating 71% to a 3.6, compared with last year’s opener. “Scandal” drew 10.5 million viewers, the series’ biggest audience ever.

Leading into “Scandal,” “Grey’s Anatomy” garnered a 3.0 rating, down 12% from its week-ago premiere.

On NBC, “Sean Saves the World” didn’t look so strong, with an audience of 4.9 million and a demo rating of 1.6. That’s a 24% drop from last year’s premiere of “The Office” in the same time slot. That said, it built significantly on its lead-in, the low-rated opener of “Welcome to the Family.”

“The Michael J. Fox Show” fell 14% from last week’s premiere, while “Parenthood” got a 6% lift. Note that NBC programs were preempted by an NFL game in Cleveland, so numbers will likely be adjusted downward later in the day.

Fox’s musical Thursday started with “The X Factor,” which held steady from last week in the 18-49 demo, with a 2.0 rating, and climbed 9% in total viewership to 7 million. “Glee” fell 20% from last week’s season premiere, to a 1.6.

On CW, “The Vampire Diaries” opened with 2.55 million viewers, followed by “The Originals,” which brought in 2.15 million.

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Twitter: @rfaughnder

ryan.faughnder@latimes.com