'Cougar Town' Rating Slips Again In Second Week Back

There shouldn't be panic surrounding "Cougar Town" and its recent ratings, but Tuesday night wasn't a good sign.

The popular ABC comedy is in its second week back from hiatus, but many might've missed the memo. The Courtney Cox-led comedy drew 4.5 million viewers Tuesday evening, but hit a series-low rating by falling 6 percent to a 1.5 mark among adults age 18-49. The rating stayed near the basement despite lead-in "Last Man Standing" performing strongly 7.5 million viewers and a 2.2 rating. New midseason drama "The River" meanwhile held steady but low at 9 PM ET/PT with 4.8 million viewers and a 1.7 rating.

The CBS dramas topped 10 million viewers and handed the network the night's clear-cut win. The "NCIS" rating might've slipped 3 percent, but that was still 19.5 million viewers and a 3.8 rating. Meanwhile, "NCIS: Los Angeles" slipped 9 percent to a 2.9 and 15.9 million viewers. Though "Unforgettable" was watched by 10.6 million and garnered a 1.9 mark, that still presented a 19-percent slip and a series low.

Thank Heaven for strong lead-ins.

Over on FOX, "Glee" saw a 4-percent rise to a 2.9 rating and 7.4 million viewers, but still got nowhere near nipping at the CBS lineup's heels. "New Girl" declined a little to a 3.0 rating and 6.2 million sets of eyes, while "Raising Hope" also dipped some to a 2.2 and 4.8 million viewers.

Two NBC shows saw decent gains last night. "The Biggest Loser" saw a 10-percent bump up to a 2.3 rating and 6.6 million viewers. Meanwhile, "Parenthood" rose 6 percent to 4.8 million viewers and a 2.2 rating.

Rounding out the night at the bottom, it's not the best of times for Sarah Michelle Gellar and "Ringer." The freshman drama pulled a fairly low (even by CW standards) 1.4 million viewers and a 0.5 rating.

A 0.5? Wow. This is starting to smell of a show not long for this Earth. It's fast becoming the lowest rung on the last-place network's totem pole.