9-1-1 Fuels Buzzy Return For ABCs Thursday Night Procedural Slate

EXCLUSIVE: ABC‘s Thursday nights are back in action with the return of its popular procedural slate: 9-1-1, 9-1-1: Nashville and Grey’s Anatomy.

All three series premiered ahead of previous season averages after seven days of viewing, led by the 8.14 million who tuned in for the Season 10 debut of 9-1-1 across ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and digital platforms. The episode was up 88% from its live + same-day audience of 4.33 million and 4% ahead of last season’s 7.82 million average.

In L+SD, 9-1-1 had already piqued plenty of interest for the fiery emergency that 118 faced as a volcano erupted in the middle of Los Angeles, up 49% over last season’s premiere among adults 18 to 49. 9-1-1 was the top drama of the night in competitive multi-platform measurement, per Nielsen.

9-1-1: Nashville earned 6.76 million total viewers after seven days for its Season 2 premiere, up 90% from the 3.55 million who watched live + same-day. The episode was up 9% from the Season 1 finale and 1% from last season’s average.

The episode, in which Station 113 responds to a museum overrun by biblical-scale events, hit a series high among adults 18 to 49 with a 0.33 rating, up 16% over the series debut.

As for Grey’s Anatomy, the stalwart medical drama returned for Season 23 with 5.58 million total viewers, marking a 129% increase over the L+SD audience of 2.44 million.

On Thursday’s episodes, 9-1-1 is still dealing with the aftermath of that volcanic eruption, while on 9-1-1: Nashville, a blinding agent strikes Nashville during a pollen storm, leaving Blythe and others critically ill. There’s a lot going on for Grey’s Anatomy with Blue fighting to reclaim his place at Grey Sloan as Joe is pulled from motherhood back into the OR, and Jules and Winston navigate their strained relationship.