Last season, after a post-spring hiatus episode of “How I Met Your Mother” returned to very low ratings on April 12, it perked up the following week. This season, after dropping to a season low performance last week, “How I Met Your Mother” continued its downtrend.
The latest appearance from John Lithgow meant nothing for “Mother,” which fell to a mere 2.5 adults 18-49 rating with 6.38 million viewers. Renewed for two seasons, “How I Met” fans need not stress too greatly over the performance, although it is telling to see the CBS Monday lineup continue to weaken as the weather turns warm and “Two and a Half Men” remains in re-runs.
“Mad Love” followed with a soft 1.9 and 5.60 million, which actually marked better retention than its prior week performance. Back in the 9PM slot, the “Two and a Half Men” re-run was down from its previous numbers this year, falling to just a 2.0 with 7.34 million viewers. “Mike & Molly” followed with a 2.5 and 9.74 million, emphasizing what appears to be a new weekly ballpark for the series.
ABC also got into the comedy game Monday by way of “Cougar Town,” which received support from the massive “Dancing with the Stars” lead-in. Ultimately, however, the show remained a soft performer, scoring just a 2.3 with 8.49 million viewers; “Dancing” averaged a good, but unspectacular 3.9 demo rating with a healthy 19.61 million from 8-9:30PM; its 9PM performance, however, moved up to a 4.6 with 22.05 million, assuring “Cougar Town” had fair lead-in support.