• by Wayne Friedman , September 21, 2007

The new season is just around the corner--but three networks decided to get the jump this week with key premieres. CBS, Fox, and CW all have some good stories to tell for Wednesday night.

The CBS show "Kid Nation" got off to a solid but not great start, averaging a Nielsen preliminary 3.0 rating among 18-49 viewers in its 8 p.m. time slot. The show grew in the second half hour from the first--always a good sign.

Fox's broad-skewing comedy "Back To You," featuring Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton, did a bit better than "Kid Nation," earning a nice--but not stellar--3.1 rating at 8 p.m. That tied Fox's best for the evening with "Kitchen Nightmares," a new show with the caustic celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay. It also pulled a 3.1 in 18-49 viewers.

The CW's season premiere of "America's Next Top Model" did its usual bit in winning its target 18-34 viewers with a healthy 2.8 rating. CW's new show "Gossip Girl" couldn't quite keep pace, only reaching a 2.2 number.

Still, "Girl" retained more of the adults 18-34 (79%) and women 18-34 (79%) than any other show that followed "Model." In addition, "Girls," among the more narrow targets of women 18-34 and teenage girls, outdrew other program debuts and year-ago time-period shows--"Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Gilmore Girls" and "One Tree Hill."

For the night, it was all Fox, leading viewers with a 3.0 rating/9 share among 18-49 viewers. NBC was next at 2.8/8; CBS was third, at 2.6/7.

CW jumped to fourth with a 2.1/6 over an idle ABC--still mostly in summer-repeat mode, which earned a 2.0/6. Univision brought up the rear at 1.7/5.