No one expected Tim Allen’s new ABC sitcom, “Last Man Standing,” to retain its opening night audience of 13 million viewers.
It didn’t.
Still, “Last Man Standing” averaged a respectable 10.2 million viewers in its second outing Tuesday night, and did that against heavy competition (“NCIS” on CBS, “The X Factor” on Fox). It finished third in adults 18-49 from 8 to 8:30 p.m. behind “NCIS” and “The X Factor.”
New sitcoms, on average, traditionally shed around 20 percent of their opening-night audience in Week 2, so “Last Man Standing” (which co-stars Nancy Travis) was right on track.
If Tim Allen was a welcome addition to the ABC lineup, then Ashton Kutcher’s run on “Two and a Half Men” hasn’t done much to move the needle on the show’s numbers, so far — save for the huge “Men” season premiere, which raked in nearly 29 million viewers who were curious to see how Kutcher fared as Charlie Sheen’s replacement on the CBS sitcom.
Since then, “Men’s” numbers have fallen each week, dropping to a still-solid 15.1 million viewers this past Monday night.
Kutcher, meanwhile, made askmen.com’s list of the “Top 49 Most Influential Men of 2011” (why only 49, I have no idea). The list asked readers to vote on “what it means to be a man of influence in 2011.”
Kutcher clocked in at 23rd on the list — as far as TV stars, that’s behind his “Men” predecessor Sheen (Number 16). Other TV personalities on the list were “True Blood” star Alexander Skarsgard (Number 17), Louis C.K. (Number 31) and Larry David (Number 44).
Late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was Number One.
Last, but not least:
* “Broadway Backstage: Fall Preview” airs Saturday on Ch. 7 (7:30 p.m.). It’s hosted by Ch. 7’s Michelle Charlesworth and actress Patti LuPone . . . Season One of Nick’s “Victorious” (Victoria Justice) is out on DVD Nov. 1.
Contact The Starr Report: mstarr@nypost.com
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