The new ABC sitcom Cavemen, reviewed below, drew a surprisingly large audience for its premiere episode last night, given the very negative advance reviews the show had received. The show averaged an estimated 9 million viewers according to the overnight Nielsen report. E! News reports:

The comedy was the second most watched show in its 8-8:30 p.m. time slot. Even more impressive, it ran first among 18- to 49-year-olds, tying with the first half-hour of CBS’ NCIS.

The most-watched show of the night was Fox’s House, with 17.3 million viewers.

A good show, the CW’s Reaper, and a bad show, CBS’s Cane, both floundered in their second week:

The CW’s Reaper (2.8 million) had a rough second outing, rating lower in the network’s prized 18-34 demographic than a Univision telenovela. CBS’ Cane (9.2 million) followed its so-so debut with an outright bad performance, running last in the 10-11 p.m. hour in total viewers, and running way last in the 18-49 demo.

The most interesting question prompted by the night’s ratings will be how Cavemen does next week, now that people have seen an episode.