After appearing to have settled into a comfort zone last week, both “Mike & Molly” and “Hawaii 5-0” dipped in the ratings for their fourth episodes.
Although “Mike & Molly” did suffer from a weaker “Two and a Half Men” lead-in (13.22 million viewers, 4.3 adults 18-49 rating), its decline outweighed that of the veteran. It fell just over 10% to a 3.5 rating with 10.76 million viewers.
While no one at CBS is going to complain about that number, especially since the show, like most of broadcast, was up against the Jets-Vikings game and the MLB playoffs and personally faced the most competitive half hour of “Dancing with the Stars” (19.98 million viewers, 4.1 for the evening; 21.28 million and 4.6 for the half hour), there was still optimism that the show was going to hold closer to last week’s 3.9 level. This performance does not write-off “Mike & Molly”‘s chances of being a long-term player for the network, but it similarly does not erase questions about whether “Mike & Molly” is truly developing into a bona fide, timeslot-independent hit.
“Hawaii 5-0″‘s weekly ratings decline was only slightly steeper, but its performance continues to compare even more poorly to expectations. Although final adjustments will almost surely swing in favor of the CBS series, at press time, “5-0″‘s 3.1 rating with 10.52 million viewers actually trails the fast national data for ABC’s “Castle” (12.06 million, 3.2).
The expectation with the launch of “Hawaii 5-0” was that the series would revitalize a timeslot that had been aged and weakened by veteran “CSI: Miami.” “Hawaii 5-0” might currently be the timeslot leader, but it, so far, is not getting the job done in terms of building on “CSI”‘s 10PM footing.
Other CBS ratings: “How I Met Your Mother” (8.53 million, 3.4), “Rules of Engagement” (8.00 million, 3.0).