After a much-anticipated season premiere, the numbers came in and “The O.C.” is not making the cut. The first episode garnished just over 3 million viewers, whereas the average number of viewers during the previous season reached almost 10 million people.

Though Fox hoped the death of the main character, Marissa, would not affect ratings and insisted this was the best season yet, viewers do not agree. Part of the problem stems from the late premiere.

“Grey’s Anatomy,” which has developed a cult following with many of the same viewers of “The O.C.,” now goes head to head with the teen soap on Thursday nights. The premiere for “Grey’s Anatomy” debuted over a month before “The O.C.” premiere, meaning the doctor dramedy had that much more time to gain devoted McDreamy fans.

“The O.C.,” came into the game late. Going up against “Grey’s Anatomy” and “CSI,” “The O.C.” did not really stand a chance to win back the viewers. When someone invests five weeks of his or her life into a show, is it really worth it to switch?

Never fear So Cal devotees, Fox has a plan. Last week Fox showed a double feature, moving the regularly scheduled Thursday show to Wednesday, and the following week’s show to Thursday, which is why Thanksgiving happened a week early in TV world.

Fox plans to move “The O.C.” back to Wednesday nights, the night it aired during the first season in 2003-’04. The hope is that going against “Lost” and “Criminal Minds” will not be as fierce a competition because those shows tend to bring in older viewers.

The spot left open on Thursday will probably be filled with cartoon re-runs such as the ever-popular “Family Guy” and “American Dad.”

The ratings hit taken by “The O.C.” seems to be the Fox trend this season. Already, the new comedy “Happy Hour” got the boot, as well as the reality show “The Rich List.” In addition, “’Til Death,” a sitcom staring Brad Garrett (“Everybody Loves Raymond”), has also received lower than hoped for ratings, raising questions about the comedy’s longevity. Clearly, Fox has programming and scheduling kinks to work out.

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