TV Ratings: CBS tops Monday as 'House,' 'Chicago Code' plummet

'Two and a Half Men' and 'Mike & Molly' reign on Monday

By Daniel Fienberg Tuesday, Feb 15, 2011 12:23 PM

Billy Gardell and Reno Wilson of 'Mike & Molly'

Credit: CBS

Fast National ratings for Monday, February 14, 2011.

FOX's "House" took a huge drop on Valentine's Day Monday, which probably contributed to a Week Two drop for "The Chicago Code" and definitely contributed to an easy Monday night win for CBS, including new comedy "Mad Love."

Among adults 18-49, CBS averaged a 3.4 rating for the night, beating the 2.7 ratings for ABC and FOX in the key demographic. NBC was a distant fourth with a 1.6 rating, still far ahead of the 0.7 rating for the struggling CW.

Overall, CBS averaged an estimated 11.21 million viewers to go with a 6.8 rating/11 share. ABC was a solid second with a 5.9/10 and 9.09 million viewers, topping FOX's 8.6 million viewers and a 5.1/8. NBC stayed fourth with a 3.7/6 and 6.01 million viewers, far ahead of the 0.9/1 and 1.345 million viewers for The CW.

8 p.m. - CBS started the night off in first with "How I Met Your Mother" (9.6 million viewers and 3.7 demo rating) and the series premiere of "Mad Love" (8.84 million and a 3.0 demo rating). ABC's "The Bachelor" was a close second with 8.87 million viewers and a 2.7 demo rating. FOX's "House" averaged 9.91 million viewers and a 3.4 demo rating, down more than 2 million viewers and nearly a full demo ratings point from last week. NBC's "Chuck" averaged 5.48 million viewers and a 1.7 demo rating, up slightly over last week in total viewers and in line with the past three weeks in the demo. The CW's "90210" averaged a mighty low 1.38 million viewers and a 0.7 demo rating.

9 p.m. - "Two and a Half Men" (14.525 million viewers and a 4.2 demo rating) and "Mike & Molly" (13.12 million and a 3.8 demo rating) ruled the 9 p.m. hour for CBS, with "Two and a Half Men" slightly down from last week and "Mike & Molly" slightly up. ABC's "The Bachelor" was second with 9.64 million viewers and a 3.0 demo rating. In its second week, "The Chicago Code" averaged 7.29 million viewers and a 2.0 demo, falling roughly into line with "Lie to Me" numbers for the hour. NBC's pre-cancelled "The Cape" continued its slide with 4.07 million viewers and a 1.2 demo rating in fourth. The CW's "Gossip Girl" averaged only 1.31 million viewers and a 0.7 demo rating.

10 p.m. - "Hawaii Five-0" maintained its hold on the 10 p.m. hour for CBS, winning the slot with 10.59 million viewers and a 2.8 demo rating. ABC's "Castle" was second with 8.75 million viewers and a 2.2 demo rating. That left NBC's "Harry's Law" in a close third with 8.49 million viewers and a 1.7 demo rating.

All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.

Daniel Fienberg
Executive Editor

A long-time member of the TCA Board and a longer-time blogger of "American Idol," Dan Fienberg writes about TV, except for when he writes about movies or sometimes writes about the Red Sox. But never music. He would sound stupid talking about music.

Next Article - TV Ratings: 'NCIS,' 'Glee' are down, but CBS, FOX split Tuesday
Previous Article - Charlie Sheen says he's ready to return to 'Two and a Half Men' but CBS isn't

Tausif Khan

Will we get to see a third episode of The Chicago Code?

What are the chances we get to see the entire half season play out?

Chances of a fall renewal?
February 15, 2011 at 2:00PM EST Reply to Comment
- dan Tausif - You'll definitely see a third episode and, most likely, you'll see the first season barring a total collapse. FOX has no other clear alternative for that hour and if "Chicago Code" levels out where it is, those are roughly "Lie to Me" numbers, which *could* be enough for a renewal.
  
  "Chicago Code" was hurt by just how huge a drop "House" took last night...
  
  -Daniel
  February 15, 2011 at 3:12PM EST
- Matt S I was honestly surprised that FOX didn't go to the trouble of ordering a back 9 for Lie To Me earlier this season when they had the chance to. They had THAAT much faith in Shaun Ryan and the fox promotions dept's ability to launch The Chicago Code that they didn't even plan for a back-up as a just in case???
  
  My hunch is we'll see Lie To Me in this timeslot sooner then we will Chicago Code again--Lie To ME is halfway to syndication and plays more or less fine no matter where Fox sticks it (Mondays or Wednesdays and it does more or less fine without a lead-in on either night so it should really be brought back just as an able filler at this point.)
  February 16, 2011 at 6:36PM EST
The problem with Fox is they tend to give up on new shows way too quickly. Those shows tend to have a huge cult following. FireFly, Dollhouse. I hope they stay with Chicago Code. Try moving it to another time slot. But I love the show. It's different because instead of just solving a murder, there are backstories and history. I hope to see the full season.
February 15, 2011 at 2:13PM EST Reply to Comment
- dan Dee - "Dollhouse" (and "Firefly") had overall audiences so small that the devotion of their cult audience ended up being pretty much irrelevant. And "Dollhouse" got two seasons by cable standards, so you can't really say FOX didn't give it a shot.
  
  As for "Chicago Code," FOX has nowhere better to put it. So this is where it is... I'm assuming you'll get that full season, but who knows?
  
  -Daniel
  February 15, 2011 at 3:14PM EST
- webdiva Actually, one should go back a bit further than that. Anyone recall how long it took The X Files to become a sleeper hit and even then how long it took to show decent ratings? Fox doesn't have that kind of intelligent patience anymore, and it shows.
  February 15, 2011 at 8:42PM EST
Sir ingenious

I think the problem with The Chicago Code lies with "characters"; people tune in to watch interesting characters that we don't really see everyday. A good content and plot will only carry a show so far. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy a good plot and content and do emphasize them but characters that are interesting tend to be the gem of any show. Just ask "Dexter". You can see why shows like "fringe" is struggling as this one is. As good as the show is, I need to get invested into the characters before anything else.
February 15, 2011 at 3:02PM EST Reply to Comment
- Ryan Sometimes even that doesn't help though. Breaking Bad has more interesting characters than Dexter and The Chicago Code yet if has nowhere near the amount of viewers.
  February 15, 2011 at 4:46PM EST
webdiva

I find these ratings completely baffling. There is nothing on CBS besides Hawaii 5-0 (which I watch for the beefcake and for Grace Park) that I'd spend time on when I can watch Chuck or House instead at 7, Chicago Code at 8, Castle at 9, then catch up with my PBS faves with On Demand. the sitcoms leave me totally unimpressed. You have to really like sitcoms to suffer through those shows, and I don't and won't. and I'm a post-40 female professional, which means I have more to spend than ditzy 17-21 year old boys, so you'd think they'd pay attention to what I watch. Not bloody likely.
February 15, 2011 at 8:31PM EST Reply to Comment