Spotted Ratings, Monday 5/12/14

WHAT MATTERS:

• The second week of 24: Live Another Day (2.0) was down a significant 23% week-to-week. This behavior is more reminiscent of a new show than a typical season of 24, so there was clearly a significant dose of nostalgia at play in last week's number. Fox would probably still be fine if it settles close to this.

• Dancing with the Stars (2.2) bounced much of the way back from its badly off night against 24 last week. And Castle (2.1) brought much more of a finale jump to the 10/9c hour than The Blacklist (2.6), whose finale actually hit the show's lowest post-Voice number yet.

• CBS also fared pretty well, possibly benefiting from 24 coming back to earth; Friends with Better Lives (1.6) was even despite a repeat 2 Broke Girls lead-in (1.3), while Mike and Molly (2.0) rebounded noticeably.

Spotted Ratings, Monday 5/5/14

WHAT MATTERS:

• Does absence make the heart grow fonder? The answer in this case seems to be: maybe a little bit, at most. 24 returned from a four-year TV absence with 8.08 million viewers and a 2.6 demo rating, which (after adjusting for those four years of collective decline) is a bit better than the 2.8/2.9 that was its norm in 2010. But it's definitely no better than the 3.9 that kicked off the last season in January 2010. If the show can hold close to this, it could still end up looking like a pretty big star by modern Fox standards, and maybe even one of the top shows of the summer. But this was definitely not one of those Nielsen-rocking TV events.

• If 24 was good for anything, it was its apparent demolition of some of the competition, as it improved its timeslot by 117% week-to-week. Dancing with the Stars (1.9) took a particularly staggering drop, shedding over a quarter of that amazing season high from a week ago. And the CBS comedies 2 Broke Girls (1.9), Friends with Better Lives (1.6) and Mike and Molly (1.8) were also damaged by double digits in what may have been an important week for FWBL. By those standards, NBC's The Voice (3.0) and The Blacklist (2.7) emerging totally unscathed looks like a win.

• Cable: Louie (0.50/0.51) returned with numbers ahead of most episodes from its previous season in 2012, but down a couple ticks from the Anger Management-inflated premiere in 2012. Bates Motel (0.91) wrapped up a -21% season two with no finale bounce, going -22% year-to-year on finale night.

Spotted Ratings, Monday 4/28/14

WHAT MATTERS:

• Week three of CBS Monday's post-How I Met Your Mother existence saw multi-tick upswings for all three originals, 2 Broke Girls (2.3), Friends with Better Lives (1.9) and Mike and Molly (2.2). For FWBL, though the slot got a bit easier with Bones in repeats, this two-tenth growth makes it look like roughly a Mom-esque performer.  If the decision on this show is actually still up for grabs, that might make its situation more interesting. We'll see if it can sustain it next week (the last point that could conceivably affect an upfront decision).

• Fox had the season finale of The Following (1.5), with the show barely inching off of the 1.4 it's gotten for the last six weeks. This looks a tad more favorable since Bones (0.9) was in repeats, but it's obviously a very far cry from the 2.7 that wrapped up last season.

• A major two-tenth upward adjustment left Dancing with the Stars (2.6) up 18% week-to-week, tying the premiere's rating as a season high, and an astounding 24% ahead of the same night last year. Though the HUT seemed rather high on this night in general (hence so many week-to-week growths), this is a big deal for a show that was already having a really good season.

First Two Weeks, Friends with Better Lives

WEEK ONE
After a disappointing 2.6 demo rating for a preview following the massive How I Met Your Mother finale (which had a 5.5 in the 8:30 half-hour), CBS' Friends with Better Lives held up OK in its first regularly-scheduled episode. It had a 1.8 rating, down 31% from the preview, but given the lead-in went down to a 2.3, it was a drop of just two tenths (or 11%) in True. Still, this was over 20% below the 2.3 from lead-in 2 Broke Girls, and it was the lowest-rated comedy on CBS Monday. It felt like a win compared to the seemingly massive rejection on preview night, but it was still not a great place to be.

Spotted Ratings, Monday 4/21/14

WHAT MATTERS:

• Week two of CBS' post-How I Met Your Mother Monday existence didn't go quite as well as week one, but 2 Broke Girls (2.1), Friends with Better Lives (1.7) and Mike and Molly (1.9) were down only a tick or two apiece. I'd say they are probably at least meeting the low expectations for this lineup, for whatever that's worth. A repeat The Big Bang Theory (1.8) filled in at 9:30 well below its usual Thursday repeat levels, but about the same as an original Mom.

• NBC had a brutal start to The Voice's live shows (3.0), but The Blacklist (2.8) held admirably again.

• And after a couple good weeks, The Tomorrow People (0.3) was down again, joining the CW's network-wide April meltdown.

Spotted Ratings, Monday 4/14/14

WHAT MATTERS:

• It was obvious coming into the first regular Monday after How I Met Your Mother's departure that CBS would not stack up nearly as well with the other networks. The best the shows could really hope for was to hold their regular numbers in a post-HIMYM world, and they did that quite well. I was most surprised that 2 Broke Girls (2.3) actually matched the episode that aired after the penultimate HIMYM. We'll see next week if Lindsay Lohan's 2BG guest turn actually moved the needle here. (Notably, it was also just a tick below the last time it was an "anchor" all the way back in October.) Friends with Better Lives (1.8) was the lineup's weak link out of the gate, but not by much. And Mike and Molly (2.1) and Mom (1.9) completely held up as well.

• Everybody was original from 8-10pm and repeat at 10:00, with the only other notables being another off night for Bones (1.4) and the CW's The Tomorrow People (0.4) inching back down after last week's growth.

The Question, Monday 4/14/14: Will Friends with Better Lives Have Better Ratings Than Expected?

CBS' highly uncertain Monday life without How I Met Your Mother begins tonight, and that includes the 8:30 timeslot premiere of newbie Friends with Better Lives. The show previewed two weeks ago with a 2.6 rating, but it'll drop huge tonight because of the downgrade in lead-in. It goes from a 5.5 for the second half-hour of the HIMYM finale to... whatever 2 Broke Girls gets in its move to 8/7c. 2 Broke Girls would be happy to stay at a 2.0+ and could well go lower. I felt before the season that FWBL could start in this slot in the high-1 range, but the show did at least 10% worse than expected out of a HIMYM finale that was at least 10% bigger than expected. So I'm adjusting this line down; I see the show going 20% or more below an already soft 2BG tonight. Friends with Better Lives Over/Under: 1.45.

SpotVault - Friends with Better Lives (CBS) - 2013-14 Ratings

Friends with Better Lives

Mondays, 9/8c, CBS

Spotted Ratings, Monday 3/31/14

WHAT MATTERS:

• The one-hour finale of How I Met Your Mother (5.4) posted a massive 54% week-to-week increase, setting a new series high in the demo, in total viewers (12.94 million) and in adults 18-34 (5.8). It's the biggest regularly-scheduled entertainment episode this season for a series not named The Big Bang Theory or The Walking Dead, and after the finals uptick it inched ahead of Breaking Bad's finale from late September. But it's likely to be CBS' last Monday moment of glory this season, as newbie Friends with Better Lives (2.6) adjusted down to lose over half of that lead-in demo rating in its 9/8c preview. This probably does not bode well for its 8:30 launch after 2 Broke Girls in two weeks. But Mom (2.2) at 9:30 and the last episode of Intelligence (1.2) did benefit a bit from this halo.

• CBS' big bounce had surprisingly little impact on the competition; The Voice (3.4) was the only show that seemed to suffer at all, and even it was down less than 10%. The CW's Star-Crossed (0.4) and The Tomorrow People (0.5!) were even on the upswing.

Best Case/Worst Case, Late March/Early April 2014: Surviving Jack, Friends with Better Lives and More!

Best Case/Worst Case is back for a miniature edition, previewing the four broadcast shows premiering from now through mid-April. It'll be back for another short edition in late April.

Since some of these shows have episode orders that could extend beyond the regular season, these averages are only for original airings within the regular season.