‘Joey’ comes up short without his TV gang

Published 9:00 pm Saturday, September 11, 2004

NEW YORK – Based on its series premiere, Joey Tribbiani is missing a few viewers along with his “Friends.”

An estimated 18.6 million people watched the first episode of “Joey” Thursday, the spinoff of “Friends” that NBC was counting on to keep its Thursday night lineup strong, according to Nielsen Media Research.

That’s lower than any original episode of Matt LeBlanc’s old series drew last season, including the 24.5 million people who saw the season debut.

NBC notes that “Joey” gathered the largest audience among the advertiser-friendly 18-to-49-year-old age group of any other entertainment show since May. It was also the best-rated 8 p.m. comedy premiere for NBC in 14 years.