The honeymoon ain't over yet for "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."
CBS' new series based on the little movie that could bowed to big ratings with a special preview episode Monday. Now, though, comes the tough part, as the series shuffles off to Sunday nights.
Coming off a successful promotional push during the Grammys, CBS enjoyed a strong Monday overall despite facing one more hour -- Fox assures us it's the last, at least for a while -- of reality megahit "Joe Millionaire."
According to Nielsen estimates for Monday, "My Big Fat Greek Life" drew a big 7.4/16 in adults 18-49, a 9.1/18 in adults 25-54 and 22.87 million viewers overall -- the largest aud for a CBS comedy premiere since "Cosby" in September 1996. "Greek" built on its lead-in from "Everybody Loves Raymond" (7.2/16 in A18-49, 22.20m) virtually across the board.
Compared with other post-"Raymond" bows, "Greek's" 103% retention in adults 18-49 towers over this season's "Still Standing" (83%), last season's "Ellen Show" (69%) and 2000's "Grapevine" (61%).
Show skewed female, as expected, with its best score coming from women 25-54 (10.5/20).
This bow is all the more impressive since Fox has clearly established a young-adult following on Mondays with "Joe Millionaire." Monday's "Joe" spec, which caught up with the show's star couple, won the 9 o'clock hour in 18-49 (10.2/23) and other key demos.
"Greek Life" now moves to its regular Sunday-at-8 slot. Having "60 Minutes" as a lead-in can be both a blessing and a curse, as it will funnel lots of viewers into the program, although not necessarily the sitcom-seeking crowd.
CBS would probably like to see "Greek" settle into the 3 demo range in its new Sunday slot, where "Becker" has averaged a 2.6 rating this season. "Becker" moves to 8:30 this week.
'Fear' prevails
Elsewhere on the final Monday of the February sweep, NBC's "Fear Factor" prevailed in the night's opening hour (6.5/17 in A18-49, 15.58m) despite reality competish from ABC's "I'm A Celebrity…" (2.6/7), which hit a new low in the demo. And the WB's "Everwood" hit a sweep-high 2.7/7 in adults 18-34, retaining a strong 87% of its "7th Heaven" lead-in.
Overall, Fox won the night in adults 18-49, CBS in adults 25-54 and total viewers. CBS gathered its biggest crowd on a Monday since September.
"Everybody Loves Raymond" drew its largest aud since premiere week (22.00m), "Yes, Dear" its largest since March (15.36m). "CSI: Miami" (19.11m, 6.9/17 in A18-49) easily led the 10 o'clock hour.
Contact Rick Kissell at
rick.kissell@variety.com