“How I Met Your Mother” Ratings Hit Low, “Mike & Molly” Tumbles

Charlie Sheen’s leverage with CBS likely surged in the wake of ratings data for the network’s Monday comedy lineup.

Absent “Two and a Half Men” originals, the once-dominant lineup continues to falter. “How I Met Your Mother” sank to a series low, while a soft “Mike & Molly” performance at 9PM proved that the network was better off airing “Men” repeats in that flagship spot than the freshman comedy.

To “Mother”‘s credit, the last time it posted a viewership performance this low–just 6.80 million viewers–was a near-equivalent episode on April 12, 2010; coming back from hiatus against “Dancing with the Stars” just doesn’t click. But without “Men” enhancing the network’s momentum, its 2.7 adults 18-49 rating looks comparatively worse this season.

It is also worth noting that “Mother” had been weaker prior to its most recent hiatus than it was in March of 2010, indicating less interest in the show now than at the comparative point last year, regardless of the near equivalency of this Monday’s rating with the April 12 number.

“Mad Love” predictably underperformed with a 1.9 and 5.45 million viewers, but the real letdown was the troubling performance for “Mike & Molly.” Receiving an opportunity to open the 9PM hour in the usual “Men” slot, the freshman comedy garnered a series low 2.5 rating with 7.92 million. For the past few weeks, “Mike & Molly” had been performing notably better at 9:30PM, airing out of “Men” re-runs (which were drawing better than the 2.0 Monday’s episode posted at 9PM).

Like the comedies, 10PM drama “Hawaii 5-0” was down to a low 2.4 rating with 9.13 million.