• by Wayne Friedman , October 7, 2010

Fox may have found some Wednesday ratings mojo thanks to an improving "Hell's Kitchen."

In Nielsen preliminary results, the network has tied CBS for the lead among 18-49 viewers with a 3.1 rating/9 share. A week ago, Fox had a 2.9 average rating. Two hours of "Kitchen" put Fox in a good position -- climbing to a 2.9/9 in its 8 p.m. hour, and a 3.3/9 in the 9 p.m. hour. This was up from a 2.8 rating and a 3.1 rating, respectively.

CBS inched down a bit from the previous week, when it was the outright Wednesday winner with a 3.2/9. But it was solid overall. "Survivor: Nicaragua" added one-tenth of a rating point to a 3.6/11 from a week ago. "Criminal Minds" earned a 3.6/9 at 9 p.m., the same as a week ago.

The night's best show is still ABC's "Modern Family" during this young TV season -- with a 4.5/12, the same numbers as a week ago. "Cougar Town" grew two-tenths of a rating point to a 3.1/8 from a week ago.

The battle of the new 10 p.m. dramas again went to NBC's "Law & Order: LA." But CBS' "The Defenders" is getting closer. Although the CBS show lost a bit week-to-week and stands at a 2.2/6 (down from a 2.5 rating), "L&O" is at a 2.4/7. The NBC show was down from a 3.1 rating the week before.

NBC did not have a good night. Its "Law & Order: SVU" show at 9 p.m. dropped two-tenths to a 2.5/7, and its rookie "UnderCovers" slipped another one-tenth of a rating point to a 1.5/5 at 8 p.m.

After CBS and Fox in the overall Wednesday night race for 18-49 viewers, ABC was next at a 2.5/7 (up one-tenth from the week before); followed by NBC at a 2.2/6 (down three-tenths); Univision at a 1.6/5 (down three-tenths), and CW with a 1.1/3 (the same).