The (literally) bigger ratings story with New Girl and The Mindy Project, two DVR-friendly shows, will come with live-plus-three and live-plus-seven numbers — but the morning after their premieres, those same-day showings did falter from a year ago.
New Girl, averaging a 1.6 rating among adults 18-49, was down 45 percent from the comparable opener last year. The Mindy Project, always a more modest performer, was down a less-dramatic 30 percent to a 1.3 rating in the key demo. That said, both series had been pulling lower numbers towards the ends of their most recent seasons and rose from their respective finales. Time-shifting will likely prove especially kind to New Girl, kicking off the season with a bit of a creative reboot, and Fox projects the series to rise 75 percent after a week based on past performances.
The lead-in from Utopia likely didn't help, either. The reality show, steady (actually up a tenth of a point) with a 1.0 rating did not provide a very big launch pad for the show. (Last Tuesday's episode of Utopia brought solid gains in DVR as well.)
The night belonged to the season of finale of America's Got Talent, steady with last summer's 2.4 rating with adults 18-49. A special Big Brother (2.3 adults) held even with last week, narrowly beating the second night of Dancing With the Stars (2.1 adults) — off just 13 percent from Monday's opener.
