Thursday’s TV Ratings: ‘Big Bang Theory’ Wins the Night

The Big Bang Theory returned Thursday night with a major win, putting up stiff competition for NBC‘s Thursday Night Football.

The CBS flagship comedy rebounded from last week’s series low, drawing in 14.3 million viewers and a 2.8 rating. Not only was it up 12 percent in the demo, but it was also the top-rated and most-watched scripted show Thursday night. Elsewhere on the network, Young Sheldon (12.5 mil/2.2), Mom (8.8 mil/1.4), and Life in Pieces (6.5 mil/1.1) were all steady. S.W.A.T. was down slightly in the demo with a 0.9, but managed to nab 6.2 million viewers.

Thursday Night Football, which saw the Atlanta Falcons beat the New Orleans Saints, hooked 10.5 million viewers and a 10.2 rating, making it the winter of the night.

On Fox, Gotham (2.6 mil/0.8) and The Orville (3.5 mil/0.9) were both even.

ABC got festive for the night with encore presentations of Shrek the Halls (4.5 mil/1.0) and Toy Story That Time Forgot (3.6 mil/0.9). The third season of The Great American Baking Show (3.8 mil/0.8) returned to less than stellar measurements, down in each compared to last season’s premiere.

The CW’s Supernatural (1.7 mil/0.5) took a slight hit, but it was Arrow (1.3 mil/0.4) that took the biggest hit, down significantly from last week’s “Crisis on Earth-X” crossover event.