Already renewed for next season, CBS’ reliable veteran “Two and a Half Men” does not need to stress over mild fluctuations in the weekly ratings report.
But when the series promotes an episode around involvement from a high-profile guest star, it certainly hopes to see a notable spike in audience interest.
It did not receive that spike for Thursday’s episode, which featured a guest turn from Mila Kunis.
Possessing a legitimate high-profile in Hollywood, Kunis represented a particularly notable guest given her connection to “Men” star Ashton Kutcher. The two actors, who starred together on FOX’s long-running comedy “That ’70s Show,” confirmed their engagement.
Unfortunately, the lure of her involvement was lost on television viewers. Though it enjoyed a small gain in total viewers, Thursday’s episode actually endured a decline in its adults 18-49 rating.
Down a tenth from last week’s 2.5, this week’s “Men” settled for a 2.4.
While weakened lead-in support from “The Millers” did not help matters (the “Men” lead-in was down from a 2.8 to a 2.5 this week), it would not have been enough to neuter a blockbuster Mila Kunis-related spike. There is simply no reason to believe Kunis represented a noteworthy draw.
Viewership grew from 9.23 million last week to 9.55 million this week.
CBS’ other Thursday programming included “The Big Bang Theory” (4.7, 16.29 million), “The Millers” (2.5, 10.07 million), “The Crazy Ones” (1.7, 6.87 million) and “Elementary” (1.6, 7.90 million).