Well, that was quick.
Usually we're into October before someone pulls the trigger on the first show to exceed its initial 13-episode order and a get a full season. However, after a Tuesday night that saw Fox's new sitcom New Girl once again win the night in the key demo (pulling a 4.5 to NCIS' 4.2) and lose very few viewers (9.28 million, to last week's 10.08 million), Fox pulled the trigger and ordered not just nine additional episodes of the sitcom but 11, bringing the season one total to 24. (Most shows get a full season of 22 episodes. Every so often, a show will get a 26 episode order. But 24 should be seen as a sign of the network's obvious confidence in the show.) New Girl also proved to be popular enough to keep the night propped up for the network, as Glee slumped again (though mildly), falling to 8.6 million viewers and a 3.7 in the demo, while Raising Hope hangs on to enough of New Girl's lead-in to qualify as a success, pulling in a 2.9 and 6.14 million viewers, but doesn't seem likely to strike off on its own. (You can read quotes from Fox executives about just how much they love that Zooey Deschanel in this press release.)
In other news:
- Parenthood continues to be one of NBC's few bright spots (relatively speaking), as it crept ever closer to Unforgettable in the demo in the 10 p.m. hour. The CBS crime procedural pulled a 2.5 (with 12.43 million viewers, down from last week), while Parenthood pulled a 2.2 with just 5.53 million viewers. For those of you who are fans of the show: NBC has bigger problems and will probably just let Parenthood be for now.
- Ringer stabilized at an 0.9 and 1.98 million viewers, which marks it as another "success" for The CW, which should start handing out full-season orders to this or Secret Circle any day now. (Ringer is most notable for achieving this largely on its own, since it builds on its 90210 lead-in every week. That's a testament to the fact that Sarah Michelle Gellar boasts at least some star power.)
- Only four programs broke the 10 million viewer threshold: NCIS, which won the night in viewers with 19.51 million of them; NCIS: LA, which grabbed 16.26 million viewers; the Dancing With The Stars results show, which boasted 14.39 million viewers; and the aforementioned Unforgettable.