Chelsea Handler cant boost Whitney ratings

Image Credit: NBC

A guest visit from upcoming NBC sitcom figurehead Chelsea Handler couldnt pull Whitney from its ratings murk.

Handler guest-starred last night on the freshman sitcom, playing a therapist who tries to help stressed-out Whitney. The comedy matched its all-time low in the Nielsens, delivering 4 million viewers and a 1.9 rating among adults 18-49. Handlers new semi-autobiographical NBC series Are You There, Chelsea?, starring Laura Prepon as the fictional version of Handler, launches on Wednesday nights starting Jan. 11. (And to add another level of NBC cross-program playfulness, the Whitney episodes title was Up All Night.)

In case youve missed it, heres NBCs four-minute preview of Are You There, Chelsea?, followed by more Thursday night ratings:

Fox won the night with X Factor (10.2 million, 3.1) and Bones (8.8 million, 2.8), both mostly steady with their last Thursday performances.

ABC had Santa Claus Is Comin to Town (7.2 million, 2.2) and CMA Country Christmas (9 million, 2.1).

Despite CBS airing repeats, NBC was in fourth place: Community (3.9 million, 1.7), Parks and Recreation (3.7 million, 1.8), and The Office (5.7 million, 2.9). With The Mentalist in a repeat, Prime Suspect (4.6 mill! ion, 1.3 ) went up 18 percent.

Read more:Contrarian Corner: Whitney is better than 2 Broke Girls. You heard me.The X Factor recap: It Must Have Been LoveCommunity recap: I Pity the FoosParks and Recreation recap: Defending Your Love LifeThe Office recap: The Woman in Blue