The publicity surrounding celebrity chef Nigella Lawson’s alleged drug use didn’t drive any extra viewers to her ABC show “The Taste” — which returned Thursday night down 19 percent from last year’s premiere.
“The Taste” averaged 4.7 million viewers for its two-hour season premiere compared to the 5.8 million that watched its 2012 debut.
In the advertiser-preferred demo of adults 18-49, the cooking competition show — which also stars Anthony Bourdain, Ludo Lefebvre and Marcus Samuelsson — took an even bigger hit, falling 43 percent to a 1.2 rating.
That demo number was beat by the return of NBC’s little-watched cult comedy “Community,” which drew a 1.3 rating for its season premiere.
From 8-10 p.m., “The Taste” ranked second to CBS’ comedy lineup, which averaged 11.8 million viewers for new episodes of “The Big Bang Theory,” “The Millers,” “The Crazy Ones” and “Two and a Half Men.”
Lawson was forced to testify about her drug habits in the London trial of two former aides accused of stealing from her and ex-husband Charles Saatchi. The two women — who were acquitted — claimed Lawson gave them permission to buy expensive gifts in exchange for keeping mum about her cocaine and marijuana use.