NETWORKS ABC scores second debut hit with 'Desperate Housewives'

The premiere of 'Lost' also attracted a large audience to ABC.
NEW YORK (AP) -- For a network desperate for hits, "Desperate Housewives" provided quite the tonic for ABC.
The drama about suburban angst drew a stunning 21.3 million viewers for its premiere Sunday night, according to Nielsen Media Research. It follows the success of another new ABC drama, "Lost," which has also intrigued viewers during the first two weeks of the TV season.
They're encouraging early signs for a network that slumped to fourth place behind CBS, NBC and Fox last year and has been one of parent Walt Disney Co.'s biggest problem spots.
"Desperate Housewives" drew more viewers for a season premiere than any ABC series since "Spin City" eight years ago, Nielsen said. It was the best debut of any nonspinoff series since "Inside Schwartz" on NBC in 2001.
"It's good for broadcast TV that people are coming out in droves to things that are different and things that they're excited about," said Stephen McPherson, ABC entertainment president.
Popular new drama
Two weeks ago, ABC had 18.7 million viewers for "Lost," its drama about tropical island castaways that are a carnivore's potential snack. "Lost" had 17 million viewers for its second showing, considered a strong audience retention rate for a new series.
Both shows drew good reviews and were the subject of aggressive marketing campaigns.
Two other potential bright spots for ABC: "Wife Swap" is holding up well against strong competition and "Boston Legal," the drama created out of the ashes of "The Practice," had 13.8 million viewers Sunday.
"I think this is going to be a turnaround season for them," said Steve Sternberg, a television analyst for ad buyers Magna Global.
Not everything ABC touches turns to gold, though. Fewer than 5 million people bothered to watch millionaire Mark Cuban give away money on "The Benefactor." The comedy loosely inspired by Mel Gibson's home life, "The Savages," had just 5.7 million viewers, Nielsen said.
And the network still has to prove it has something strong to replace "Monday Night Football" when the NFL's regular season ends, Sternberg said.