NBC’s critically acclaimed Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, helmed by superstar producer Aaron Sorkin (The West WingI), is floundering in the ratings. In its first three weeks it has lost 4.5 million viewers, one-third of its premiere-night audience.

ABC’s Ugly Betty was the only new show to break into the Nielsen top 10, benefitting from a strong lead-in by Grey’s Anatomy, now the number 2 show in the ratings. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation has retaken the number 1 slot after Grey’s Anatomy received the highest audience during premiere week.

Other new shows in the top 25 are CBS’s Shark (15, and it managed to beat out NBC’s longtime hit ER, which came in at 20), NBC’s Heroes (22), and ABC’s Brothers and Sisters (24). What all three shows have in common are strong lead-in programs with somewhat similar audience appeal.

Studio 60 is having a rough time against CSI: Miami, the fifth-ranked program in the most recent ratings. That probably reflects both strength in the CSI program and a weak appeal from Sorkin’s creation.

The CW thriller Runaway, which I thought very good, got off to a horrible start, finishing in 124th place, and the network’s Sunday comedy block crashed terribly, finishing in 112th to 121st place. NBC’s Sunday Night Football, ranked 6, is absolutely killing the competition.

Here are the top 10 programs for the week according to Nielsen:

1. CSI, CBS, 23.8 million viewers
2. Grey’s Anatomy, ABC, 23.5 million viewers
3. Desperate Housewives, ABC, 21.4 million viewers
4. Dancing with the Stars (Tuesday), ABC, 17.9 million viewers
5. CSI: Miami, CBS, 17.8 million viewers
6. Sunday Night Football, NBC, 16.9 million viewers
7. Survivor: Cook Islands, CBS, 16.8 million viewers
8. Criminal Minds, CBS, 16.5 million viewers
9. Ugly Betty, CBS, 16.3 million viewers
10. CSI: NY, CBS, 16.2 million viewers