ABC, NBC premieres triumph

Season premieres for ABC’s “My Wife and Kids” and NBC’s “The West Wing” and “Law & Order” scored solidly with viewers Wednesday, while the evening’s only new show, CBS’ “The Brotherhood of Poland, N.H.” stumbled badly out of the gate.

An hourlong episode of “My Wife and Kids” beat the season premieres of CBS’ “60 Minutes II” and NBC”s “Ed” during the 8 p.m. time period.

The return of “The West Wing” at 9 p.m. attracted more than 17.7 million viewers, outperforming both the new edition of ABC’s “The Bachelor” and the finale of CBS’ “Big Brother 4.”

The 10 p.m. debut of “The Brotherhood of Poland, N.H.,” created by acclaimed producer David E. Kelley, was the lowest-rated regular series of the night among the four major networks, attracting little more than 8 million viewers.

NBC’s “Law & Order” was the top-rated series of the night, with more than 20.5 million viewers.