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"Pushing Daisies" has joined a long list of returning genre shows clocking in at far more disappointing numbers than expected after its premiere was beaten out by none other than "Knight Rider" on NBC.

The ABC series earned a 4.1 rating/7 share Wednesday, being easily bested by "Knight Rider's" 4.6/7, revealed Fast National ratings from Nielsen Media Research. It was ABC's worst-performing show for the night, thanks to a 34 percent audience boost from its lead-out, "Private Practice," and a 4.8/8 from "Dirty Sexy Money."

That is the smallest audience that has ever tuned in for an episode of "Pushing Daisies," nearly 13 percent less than its worst rating last season. It's also down 35 percent from its first season average of 6.3/10, which made it the genre's third-highest ranking show last year behind "Lost" and "Heroes." Right now, however, "Pushing Daisies" looks to be coming out of the week in the fourth spot ahead of "Chuck" on NBC and "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" on Fox, as well as "Smallville" and "Supernatural" on The CW.

"Knight Rider," despite getting some negative reaction from the critics, actually gained in audience for its second week, where most other shows lose. Its numbers were up 2 percent over last week, and was second only to the season finale of "America's Got Talent" on the network since "Lipstick Jungle" clocked in at the 10 p.m. hour with a 3.9/7.

Normally, that would be considered good news for the show, but it's still finishing more than 16 percent below the average rating of "Bionic Woman" in the same timeslot last year.

For the night, CBS took the win in both overall audience and in the key demographic of adults 18 to 49, Zap2it reports, on the shoulders of its procedural crime dramas. NBC earned second with a 5.4/9, while ABC was third with a 4.8/8.

In the 18-to-49 demos, NBC didn't fare well finishing third with a 2.5, behind ABC that was just a bit more at 2.6.

Fast Nationals usually provide a snapshot of what Americans are watching by pulling numbers from the top urban markets that includes both live viewing and same-day timeshifted viewing. A rating point generally represents more than 1.1 million households while the share indicates the percentage of televisions turned on that was tuned to the specific program. These numbers typically shift when final ratings are issued.

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