NBC's ANIMAL PRACTICE Preview Earns Solid Ratings

NBC's Sunday 10:58-11:20 p.m. ET preview of ANIMAL PRACTICE following coverage of the London Olympics Closing Ceremony, generated solid sampling for the new series, averaging a 4.1 rating in adults 18-49 and 12.8 million viewers overall, according to "fast official" ratings from Nielsen Media Research.

While the special telecast gave the broad Olympic audience an opportunity to sample the new NBC comedy, last night's preview of "Animal Practice" aired without commercials and will not be measured in official national Nielsen reports and will not be included in averages for the night, week or season.

Versus Olympics results in the 10:30 half hour, "Animal Practice" retained 49 percent of that lead-in rating in 18-49 (4.1 vs. 8.4), in line with the 54 percent of last Wednesday's similar "Go On" preview. In total viewers, "Animal Practice" retained 47 percent of the Olympic average in the 10:30 half-hour (12.8 million vs. 27.4 million), versus 52 percent for "Go On."

"Animal Practice" is a new comedy centering on Dr. George Coleman (Justin Kirk, "Weeds" "Angels in America"), a top veterinarian with an impressive list of famous animal patients at the Crane Animal Hospital – a bustling New York City veterinary practice where it often seems as if the patients are running the place. Despite his unorthodox style, George has an undeniable gift with animals of all kinds – except the human kind. Much to his chagrin, George recently learned that his ex-girlfriend, Dorothy Crane (JoAnna Garcia Swisher, "Better with You"), has inherited the family business and is now George’s boss. Whip-smart and ambitious, Dorothy shakes up the hospital as she brings order to the chaos and butts heads with George’s animal-friendly administration.

Tyler Labine ("Reaper," "Sons of Tucson") plays Dr. Doug Jackson, a vet who's great with animals, but hapless in matters of the heart; Bobby Lee ("Harold & Kumar") stars as Dr. Yamamoto; Kym Whitley ("We Bought A Zoo") stars as Juanita; and newcomer Betsy Sodaro ("The Nick Show Kroll") stars as Nurse Angela. Dr. Rizzo, the resident capuchin monkey at Crane Animal Hospital and George's closest companion, is played by Crystal ("The Hangover II," NBC’s "Community").

Executive producers are Scot Armstrong ("The Hangover Part II," "Old School") and Ravi Nandan ("Best Friends Forever") of American Work Inc. along with Emmy Award winners Joe & Anthony Russo ("Community," "Arrested Development"), as well as Gail Lerner ("Happy Endings"). "Animal Practice" was written by Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka ("The Sitter"), who also serve as executive producers.

"Animal Practice" is a production of Universal Television and American Work Inc.