Unless a post-gayhab Isaiah Washington pops off again (hey, you never know), it seems that it is back to business on "Grey's Anatomy." My guess is that we might see his role minimized ever-so-slightly from here on end but I base that on nothing but a hunch. At any rate, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the medical drama-soap opera had its highest demo rating since its September premiere carried ABC to a primetime win Thursday even as the premiere of "Survivor" came out ahead of ABC's "Ugly Betty" and NBC's sitcoms at 8 p.m. The demo win means most viewers between the ages of 18-49, the group advertisers most covet since, I guess, people 50 and over don't spend money? They've never seen my mother at the mall!
"Grey's Anatomy" averaged 24.9 million viewers and a 10.7 rating/25 share in adults 18-49; it was its highest rating in the demo since its premiere in September. That came in ahead of "CSI" (22.3 million, 6.8/16) at 9 p.m.
"Survivor" won at 8 p.m. with 15.9 million viewers and a 5.8/15; it was the lowest premiere ever for a "Survivor" and down 17% from last year's "Survivor: Panama" and down 11% from "Survivor: Island" in the fall. "Ugly Betty" (14.3 million, 4.7/12) wasn't any slouch either, riding high after its Golden Globes and SAG wins. It remained even with its demo performance last week, which was the highest rating since it premiered in September.