Fox’s Fringe (0.9/3) was rusty in its return from hiatus, down 25% from its winter finale a month ago. It was hindered by a weak lead-in, Kitchen Nightmares (1.0/4), which was inexplicably low for an original, tied with NBC’s Who Do You Think You Are? at 8 PM. Fringe also faced atypical competition, CBS’ NCAA basketball coverage, which is expected to win the night.
Or maybe Fringe fans didn’t get the memo that their show was back or were out helping make Hunger Games a rare March blockbuster. Fringe‘s time slot rival, the CW’s Supernatural (0.6/2) also hit a low, while Nikita (0.5/2) was up a tenth. ABC’s Shark Tank (1.5/5) was down 12%, but both of the network’s newsmagazines were up, leading ABC to a five-week Friday high in 18-49.
