NEW YORK (CBSNewYork)-- Could viewers be running out of steam when it comes to the Republican presidential debates? If the ratings are any indication, it could be the case.

CNN reported that 11.9 million Americans tuned into this week's surprisingly calm and contained Republican debate on the network. That's a dramatic drop from the 16.9 million Americans who tuned into last week's GOP debate.

The CBS comedy "The Big Bang Theory" had a comfortable pool of 14.5 million viewers on Thursday, ratings showed.

According to Nielsen figures, Thursday's debate drew the second-smallest audience for a Republican debate since the 2016 debates began.

From the beginning, Thursday's debate was calmer and more policy-oriented than the one held in Detroit last week, where penis size was raised as a point of discussion at one point.