With little explanation, this week’s airing of CBS’ “How I Met Your Mother” dropped to a devastating season low this Monday.
Down 20% in the demo and among total viewers, “Mother” posted a mere 2.8 adults 18-49 rating with 6.8 million viewers. The number was so low that lead-out “Rules of Engagement,” which is perpetually the weakest-rated comedy in CBS’ lineup, actually built out of the show in total viewers, posting a 2.8 with 7.4 million viewers.
And though the ratings drop applied to 9PM heavy-hitters “Two and a Half Men” (13.7 million viewers, 4.7) and “The Big Bang Theory” (13.4 million viewers, 5.1), none’s performance was nearly as devastating as that of “Mother.”
While many might be inclined to correctly point out the fact that last night’s episode of the CBS comedy was the worst episode in the show’s five year history, that would not explain why interest, going in, was so low. The show most recently posted a 3.5 in the demo and has flirted with 4.0 throughout the season.
“CSI: Miami” averaged a 3.0 with 10.8 million viewers, a low for the series.
Elsewhere, “Dancing with the Stars” averaged a 4.9 rating with 20.6 million viewers, making for a strong performance but one that was significantly weaker than the show’s last stint against original CBS comedy airings. ABC’s “Castle” led out with a 3.0 and 12.7 million viewers.
FOX’s Hugh Laurie-directed edition of “House” scored a 4.0 with 10.8 million viewers, while “24” delivered another shocking episode to the tune of 8.3 million viewers and a mere 2.5.
The season finale of “Life UneXpected” was good for a 0.9 with 1.8 million viewers (and a 1.5 in The CW’s key women 18-34 category). “Gossip Girl” posted a 1.0 with 1.9 million viewers and a 2.1 in the young female demo.
