NBC stormed to its second straight weekly ratings victory, taking first place in the key 18-49 demographic - the most important to advertisers.

The network bested ABC, CBS and Fox in the lucrative demo, averaging a 2.76 rating for the week of September 30, compared to CBS' second place rating of 2.14, ABC's 2.13 and Fox's paltry 1.7.

The victory came despite the fact that NBC's three premieres for the week - Ironside, Welcome to the Family and Sean Saves the World - screened to frankly awful numbers, 1.4, 1.2 and 1.6 respectively, according to The Wrap.

Ironside - a remake of the original British series starring Raymond Burr - stars Blair Underwood as a police detective bound to a wheelchair after a shooting.

Network bosses had come under fire for casting Underwood in the role of a paraplegic despite the fact that the actor does not have a physical disability in real life. 

Executive producer Teri Weinberg, explained that the role was cast with a non-disabled actor because the show features flashbacks to Ironside's life before the shooting. 

Watch the Ironside trailer:

In his review of the show, the New York Times' Neil Genzlinger wrote, "Blair Underwood makes the title character an unpleasant combination of macho and brusque. That's how you get people to go looking for something else to watch.... As independent as this new Ironside is, thanks to the plodding writing here, he is being defined by his disability, the exact opposite of what someone in his condition would want."

Overall for the premiere season, NBC leads with a 2.94 in the demo, ahead of CBS with 2.19. However, the latter maintains the overall viewer lead with 10.2 million.

Blair UnderwoodBlair Underwood Stars As 'Ironside'