TV ratings: ‘Sean Saves the World’ boosted by special ‘Voice’

“The Voice” came to Sean Hayes’ rescue Thursday night.

The NBC singing contest is down to its final coterie of contestants, with three singers for each team led by Christina Aguilera, Ceelo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton. Proving the show’s clout, a special episode revealing the 12 surviving competitors gave a boost to NBC’s struggling Thursday lineup, according to early numbers from Nielsen.

NBC’s “Season Saves the World” jumped 55% among viewers in the key 18-49 age group from last’s week’s episode, which had a “Saturday Night Live” Halloween special as its lead-in. The show drew a rating of 1.7 in the young-adults demo and 5.58 million viewers.

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“The Michael J. Fox Show” was also up week-to-week, gaining 18% for a 1.3 in the advertiser-coveted demo, and the tearjerker drama “Parenthood” got a 25% lift to a 1.5. Without any faceoffs, “The Voice” special itself scored a predictably low 2.7 in the 18-49 group, in which a ratings point equals about 1.3 million viewers.

CBS won the night in ratings, with its smash comedy “Big Bang Theory” returning after last week’s repeat to a 4.8, down 8% from its last original, which aired two weeks ago. “The Millers,” starring Will Arnett, jumped 29% from the previous week’s episode that lacked the usual support for an original “Big Bang Theory.” Robin Williams’ “Crazy Ones” rose 11% to a 2.1, while “Two and a Half Men” and “Elementary” were both down.

ABC’s “Once Upon a Time in Wonderland” continues to lack the ratings pixie dust, dropping 18% from its last original to a low 0.9. Meanwhile, “Grey’s Anatomy” rose slightly to a 2.7, and Kerry Washington’s beltway drama “Scandal,” which has been hugely successful this season, fell a bit to a 2.7.

Fox’s “X Factor” is trying to recover from a voting goof that marred Wednesday night’s round, and the Thursday night do-over drew a low 1.2 rating. “Glee” returned after a three-week break and -- no surprise -- the episode lost half the young-adult audience it had attracted for its Cory Monteith tribute. However the show was down just a tick from the last non-tribute episode.

CW’s “Vampire Diaries” scored a 1.2 in 18-49, beating “Once” and tying “X Factor.” “Reign” held steady at a 0.6.

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ryan.faughnder@latimes.com