Yesterday's Thanksgiving-themed episode of The Middle finished a strong second in the ratings, challenging The X Factor in total viewers and Survivor: Philippines in the adults 18-49 demographic. Last night's episode saw the return of Marsha Mason and Jerry Van Dyke as Frankie's parents, Pat & Tag.

"Thanksgiving IV", which featured former Marines William Franco Vasquez and Nick Jones Jr. in honor of Veterans Day,  was watched by 8.79 million people, down slightly from last week's audience of 9.04 million. The Middle finished second in totla viewers, behind CBS's Survivor and ahead of Fox's The X Factor. In the adults 18-49 demographic, The Middle tied Survivor with a 2.6/8 rating, just a few notches below The X Factor's winning 2.9/8 rating.

This was the second week running that The Middle tied Survivor with adults 18-49. The show also tied the audience share with The X Factor. The Middle ranked first in the half-hour in the Men 18-49 and Teens 12-17 demos.