TV Ratings : CBS Beaches Some of the Laughs at ABC and NBC

The five top-rated shows on TV last week were ABC and NBC sitcoms, but CBS won the week overall, thanks in part to a couple of summer dramas set on the beaches of Waikiki and Malibu.

ABC’s “Grace Under Fire,” the first-year series starring Brett Butler as a divorced mother of three, was the No. 1 show, according to the figures released Tuesday by the A.C. Nielsen Co. It was seen in about 14.1 million homes.

CBS’ highest-rated program was the Sunday movie, “Jane’s House,” which ranked seventhamong the week’s 97 prime-time network programs. But the best news for the network was on Thursday, where the premieres of “One West Waikiki” and “Hotel Malibu” gave CBS its best rating for a Thursday in summer since Aug. 13, 1992.

The dramas didn’t beat NBC’s “Seinfeld,” “Frasier” and “Dateline NBC,” but they ran a strong second. “One West Waikiki,” with Cheryl Ladd, ranked 14th overall, while “Hotel Malibu,” with Joanna Cassidy, was 21st.

Southland Ratings

Here are A.C. Nielsen’s Top 10 prime-time programs in the Los Angeles area during the same week.

Program Station Rating 1. Home Improvement KABC 17.2 2. Roseanne KABC 15.8 3. 60 Minutes KCBS 13.9 4. Seinfeld KNBC 13.6 5. Grace Under Fire KABC 13.3 6. Married ... With Children KTTV 13.1 7. “Jane’s House” KCBS 12.9 8. Ellen KABC 12.7 9. 20/20 KABC 12.4 Murder, She Wrote KCBS 12.4

Weekly Averages

CBS: 9.7

ABC: 8.8

NBC: 7.9

FOXK 5.5

Season to Date

CBS: 12.5

ABC: 11.6

NBC: 10.4

FOX: 6.9