'Ringer' premiere gets solid CW rating

The return of Sarah Michelle Geller to series TV delivered a solid, if unexciting, number for The CW.

The good news: Ringer greatly improved upon its 90210 lead-in and performed far better (up 66 percent) than Life Unexpected‘s debut in the slot last year. But Ringer was originally developed for CBS and has generated plenty of headlines for The CW this summer, and it would have been nice to see the drama’s debut break out of network’s standard ratings zone.

Ringer was seen by 2.7 million viewers and earned a 1.2 rating among adults 18-49. That’s the largest total audience — though not the highest rating — that the network has had in that slot since 90210 premiered there a few years ago (both SMG and 90210 draw an older audience than, say, Vampire Diaries, which is why the total viewers number is relatively high compared to the more important number — the rating). The return of 90210 (1.6 million, 0.8) dipped 11 percent from its premiere last fall.

Like The CW, NBC is getting some premieres off the ground this week in hopes of likewise avoiding next week’s crush of new shows flooding the marketplace. NBC aired the return of Parenthood (6.8 million, 2.3) at 10 p.m. last night. That’s a pretty typical number for the show and won its hour, but it was down 15 percent from last year’s opener. The America’s Got Talent finale (13.2 million, 3.6) served up a strong lead-in. Also on last night: ABC News’ Jacqueline Kennedy special delivered a modest rating (1.5).

So SMG fans, what did you think of Ringer? And if you missed it, CW is giving you two more chances to see the premiere (Friday at 8 p.m. and next Monday at 9 p.m.).