Last night the finale of Smallville's ten-season run scored a major upswing in the ratings. The episode secured almost three million viewers, with an even better boost in the demographic score.

Smallville's total viewership was 2.97 million, up an impressive 49% from the last episode and matching the season premiere. The surge was the most the series has seen since October, when the 200th episode Homecoming drew in crowds of 3.2 million to see the return of Kristen Kreuk and Allison Mack.

But even more impressive was Smallville's jump in the prime 18-49 demographic. The show's target viewers jumped 63% for a 1.3 rating in the prime demo, some of the best numbers all season.

It's no surprise that Smallville garnered a big turnout for its farewell show, with ten seasons of backstory and eager Superman fans waiting for the final reveal. Judging by Screen Rant's review and the comments therein, the reaction was overwhelmingly positive.

Despite the positive buzz, the show's ratings have been on the slide for the last few years. The 10th season will average out to less than 2.5 million viewers per episode. That's slightly better than last year (2.4 million) but a far cry from earlier seasons where Smallville scored in the 4 million range.

Lois & Clark

On the lower end of the TV spectrum, CBS continues to dominate Friday nights. CSI: NY ended the night with 10.2 million total viewers, with a small dip in demographic ratings to 1.5 - the lowest this year. CSI:NY is a bubble show, and has yet to be renewed. CBS' new cop drama Blue Bloods gained 13% for 11.4 million viewers and a 1.7 rating.

Flashpoint, another CBS cop show, scored 7.5 million viewers with a 1.3 rating, up significantly in its demographic score. At NBC, football drama Friday Night Lights dropped to 2.8 million total viewers with a paltry .7 rating. Fox aired a new episode of Kitchen Nightmares for a 1.5 rating, then aired a repeat over Fringe's regular slot.

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Source: TV Line