'Fringe' Gets Full Support; 'Do Not Disturb' Is Shown the Door

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"Pushing Daisies" did just that, ratings-wise, in its return to ABC's prime-time lineup. It also set the pace for the two series that followed, causing industry navel-gazers to wonder whether ABC's decision to hold all three series back for 10 months after the writers' strike to relaunch in the fall was such a hot strategy after all.

Wednesday's long-awaited and much-publicized "Daisies" return drew just 6.3 million viewers -- the show's smallest audience ever, and 52 percent fewer viewers than caught its premiere last fall.

The return of "Daisies" in the 8 o'clock time slot cut the lame-ola factor of NBC's new "Knight Rider" in half. Nearly 8 million people opted to watch the second episode of the talking-car remake over "Daisies."

At 9, ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" spinoff, "Private Practice," returned from hiatus and clocked about 8 million viewers -- 44 percent shy of the 14.4 million who'd caught its unveiling last fall and also its smallest audience ever. ABC noted the show did well among 18-to-34-year-old women against the season finale of NBC's "America's Got Talent."

The picture was no prettier at 10 p.m. A retooled "Dirty Sexy Money" logged just 7 million viewers -- about 33 percent lower than last year's premiere.

The "Pushing Daisies" crowd was similar to that of its final audience in December, before it ran out of episodes written prior to the 100-day writers' strike began. That episode attracted about 6.8 million viewers. "Private Practice," on the other hand, came in well short of the its 2007-08 season audience of 10.4 million. "Dirty Sexy Money," on the other hand, improved on its most recent episode audience of about 6.7 million.

ABC put all three drama series on ice after last year's strike cut into their freshman seasons. The shows had not been seen since, in originals or reruns. ABC engaged in a very aggressive marketing campaign over the summer in an effort to relaunch all three shows.