For all the talk about how Steve Carell’s farewell episode of “The Office” underperformed for NBC, the Peacock was hardly the only network to struggle against warm weather (or, alternatively, damage stemming from the tornado outbreak), longer days, the NFL Draft and the NBA Playoffs.
CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory” continued its downward trend with a season low 3.2 adults 18-49 rating and 10.48 million viewers. With a demo down to the ballpark it used to deliver in the 8PM hour on Mondays, long before it received the “Two and a Half Men” lead-in and became a flagship for CBS, “Big Bang” has clearly fallen from grace this season.
Given that, reports that a ninth season of “Men” on CBS would almost definitely not include Charlie Sheen continue to be astounding. The inhibitors seem to be Chuck Lorre and WBTV rather than CBS, but the idea that the network would consider risking damage to its true top comedy, given ratings declines for shows like “Big Bang” and “How I Met Your Mother,” seems wild.
“Rules of Engagement” followed with a soft 2.3 and 7.77 million.
Things were even worse for “CSI” at 9PM; it fell to a series-low 2.3 demo with 10.53 million viewers. “The Mentalist” was weakened at 10PM, delivering a 2.6 and 13.28 million.