'Mentalist' tries to outsmart Friday ratings

So how did CBS’ The Mentalist fare in a special Friday airing?

Pretty good, I guess. Mentalist (11.8 million viewers, 2.0 adult demo rating) won the 9 p.m., as you’d expect, and did better than the time slot’s average this season. But you’d think the usual Thursday crime drama would pop a little bigger in the adult demographic and win the night. That honor went to its lead-in, Undercover Boss (10 million, 2.2). Just goes to show Fridays are a tough neighborhood (plus many Mentalist fans probably didn’t realize they were getting a double helping of Simon Baker this week). CBS’ 10 p.m. drama Blue Bloods (11.3 million, 1.8) was up a bit thanks to the lead-in.

Also Friday night: NBC’s Grimm (5.2 million, 1.5) and ABC’s Shark Tank (5.4 million, 1.5) were both down a tenth.