Viewers said goodbye to the staff of Seattle Grace Thursday night — well, at least until the fall — helping "Grey’s Anatomy" capture the evening.
But it wasn’t the only season finale that proved to be a ratings hit. Season-capping episodes for CBS’ "CSI" and "The Mentalist" also performed strongly, nearly overtaking ABC’s sudser in the ratings.
BLUE SKIES FOR ‘GREY’S’: With its shocking, violent two-hour finale, "Grey’s Anatomy" handily won its timeslot. attracting 15 million total viewers and a 5.3/15 in the key 18-49 demographic. That marked the show’s biggest audience in six months, though it was slightly down from last year’s season-ender when the medical drama drew a 6.2 rating /17 share and 17.1 million viewers. The drama’s lead-in, the recently canceled "FlashForward," struggled, scoring only a 1.6/5 and 5.3 million viewers overall and losing its slot to Fox’s "Bones" (2.8/10, 9.2m).
FUN WITH DICK AND JANE: Viewers turned up to watch the Dick and Jane Killer (Bill Irwin) help the "CSI" team in their seasonlong quest to nab serial murderer Dr. Jekyll, propelling the CBS drama to a 3.2/9 and 14.2 million total viewers, for a strong second-place finish to "Grey’s." The eye network’s other show centered on an all-knowing detective, "The Mentalist," was an even bigger ratings draw. It matched "Grey’s" in total viewers and drew a 3.2/9 in 18-49.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, YOUR ALSO-RANS: Season finales of "Parks & Recreation" and "Community" showed modest improvements against stiff competition, but NBC’s comedy-heavy Thursdays continued to struggle against ABC’s dramas and CBS’ police shows. "Parks & Recreation," which won’t be back until 2011, earned a 2.8/10 and 4.5 million viewers overall, giving the show its highest ratings since March 11. "Community" (2.0/7, 4.4m) also performed well, while "30 Rock" (2.8/8, 5.5m) and "The Office" (3.4/10, 6.6m) came up short against "Grey’s" and "CSI." In the key 18 to 49 demographic, the two NBC shows performed noticeably better, however.
"The Office" beat "CSI" head-to-head and "30 Rock" running within 0.6 of a point of the crime show.
