ABC: "Dancing with the Stars"

CBS: "How I Met Your Mother," "Partners"

The CW: "90210"

FOX: "Bones"

NBC: "The Voice"

 

ABC: "Dancing with the Stars"

CBS: "2 Broke Girls," "Mike & Molly"

The CW: "Gossip Girl"

FOX: "The Mob Doctor"

NBC: "The Voice"

 

ABC: "Castle"

CBS: "Hawaii Five-0"

NBC: "Revolution"

 

 

What's Changed: After the relatively stable Sunday schedule, there are changes all over the place on Monday, with the end of FOX's "House" and the departure of CBS' "Two and a Half Men" probably ranking as the most significant changes to the landscape. NBC's decision to do a quick turnaround on a third season of "The Voice" will give the network a new look from last fall, with "Revolution" hoping for better retention in the 10 p.m. hour than "Smash" delivered. The CW has one of its most "anticipated" (The CW has different standards for anticipation) dramas of the season coming into the 9 p.m. hour when "The Carrie Diaries" premieres in January.

 

How the Ratings Race Is Impacted: There are many big questions for the night. The biggest is how "The Voice," following a spring of strong-but-declining ratings will hold up with enhanced saturation and without a Super Bowl-sized premiere to launch things. The singing competition wasn't a great lead-in for the seemingly compatible "Smash," so it's unclear how much of a boost it'll be able to give a potentially cult-y 10 p.m. drama. If "The Voice" doesn't fall off a cliff -- and it certainly could if the fall season kills the goose that laid NBC's only golden eggs -- NBC should still be positioned to win the night in the 18-49 demographic, because CBS' Monday is almost certain to take a small drop with "2 Broke Girls" moving to 9 p.m. to replace "Two and a Half Men." If "How I Met Your Mother" maintains its momentum -- ratings-wise, not creative -- from last season, "Partners" could be a solid broadly comic bridge at 8:30 preventing the declines from being too great for CBS. The absence of "House" won't be felt as much as it would have been two or three years ago and FOX would be eager to merely replace its so-so numbers, since "Mob Doctor" isn't going to be asked to live up to even "Terra Nova" standards, thought it's reasonable to expect "Bones" to rise from its spring numbers having established itself in the 8 p.m. hour. ABC's still going to win the night overall and it's possible that an "All-Stars" season will give "Dancing with the Stars" a tiny shot-in-the-arm, while The CW will still be a total non-factor in the fall with a lot of pressure on "The Carrie Diaries" to be a 9 p.m. self-starter at midseason.

 

My Predicted DVR: This is actually one of the nights with the biggest shake-ups in my DVR rotation. I'll continue watching "How I Met Your Mother" as penance for some past misdeed. "Partners" will get a few episodes, since I watched a full season of "2 Broke Girls" last year and it would be unfair not to give it the benefit of the doubt. "Bones," a show I've usually watched OnDemand, will shift into my regular DVR slot for the first time in years. I'll finish things up on "Gossip Girl," because it has an end date and I'm too committed not to. A lot depends on "The Mob Doctor," which would allow me to ditch "2 Broke Girls," but only if it's good enough to stick with. In the 10 p.m. hour, I'll still watch "Castle" and "Revolutions" will get an extended audition.