Don't look now, but after initially premiering to ratings figures that were significantly below those of the six-episode first edition of the series, NBC's nine-episode Average Joe 2: Hawaii is now drawing numbers that are greater than all but the last two episodes of the original series.
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The performance also placed Joe 2 within 0.5 of a rating point of CSI: Miami in the Adults 18-49 lead for the hour -- easily the closest finish yet for Joe 2 versus a first-run CSI.
Similarly, the Monday, February 9 sixth episode of the series drew 12.4 million overall viewers and a 6.2 /15 in Adults 18-49 -- figures that tied it with this week's seventh episode for the series' highest Adults 18-49 ratings to date.
Both sets of numbers reflect the program's strong build from Average Joe 2's disappointing premiere which drew only 9.6 million viewers and a 4.9/12 rating/share in the Adults 18-49 demographic.
While direct ratings momentum comparisons of the current nine-episode edition with the previous six-episode addition are impossible given the two program's differing lengths, Joe 2's above figures compare quite well with the ratings of the two episodes leading up to the last two episodes of the original Joe series. Last season's third episode of the six-episode series drew only 10.0 million overall viewers and a 5.3/13 in Adults 18-49 while its 90-minute fourth episode drew 10.0 million viewers and a 5.0/12 in Adults 18-49 -- numbers that the sixth and seventh episode of the current edition beat substantially.
Average Joe 2's new pattern of running ahead of its original series will face a big challenge when next week's penultimate episode airs, as last season's next-to-last episode spiked to draw 14.1 million overall viewers and a 7.2/18 rating/share in the Adults 18-49 demographic -- numbers significantly highly than those of any Joe 2 episode so far.
