AFTERNOON UPDATE: The HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER finale climbed an extra 0.1 in final numbers and the FRIENDS WITH BETTER LIVES lost 0.1, but the ugly numbers for the latter were in the quarter hours, where MOTHER had a 6.0 from 8:45PM-9PM, and then fell more than half to 2.8 when BETTER LIVES started (and proceeded to fall to 2.4 by 9:15PM). None of it bodes well for 2 weeks from now, when (after preemption for the NCAA Finals) the CBS sitcom schedule resumes. DANCING WITH THE STARS also went up 0.1.
MONDAY CABLE: As usual, the night was led by USA and VH1. On the former, WWE was at 1.4-1.6 over its 3 hours, up 0.1 from last week, while at VH1, TI & TINY and BLACK INK CREW were both at 1.2, with BASKETBALL WIVES at 1.1 (down 0.1) and THIS IS HOT 97 at 0.8. BATES MOTEL (A&E) stayed at 0.9, steady with last week. SWAMP PEOPLE (History) gained 0.1 to 1.0, but REAL HOUSEWIVES OF BEVERLY HILLS (Bravo) dropped 0.2 to 0.7. ARCHER (FX) remained at 0.6, and DALLAS (TNT) fell 0.1 to 0.4.
CBS is really, really going to miss the gang at How I Met Your Mother.
CBS: Its storyline may have been polarizing, but viewers showed up in droves for the Big Event that was the series finale of HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER. Amazingly, the show had the highest rating of its entire 9-year run with a 5.3, a level for comedies that only The Big Bang Theory manages these days. That gave CBS its hoped-for platform for the launch of FRIENDS WITH BETTER LIVES, which lost half its lead-in from the 8:30PM hour but still had a solid 2.7. MOM was at 2.2, itself up 0.3 from last week, and even INTELLIGENCE (its season, and almost certainly series, finale) was up 0.1 to 1.2.
NBC: The unusual competition on CBS pushed THE VOICE down 0.3 to tie its season low 3.4. However, it was heartening for THE BLACKLIST that despite that decline in its lead-in, it held steady from last week at 2.8. (Blacklist started at 10:01PM, though, so it may tick down in final numbers this afternoon.) Even with the huge HIMYM finale, NBC won the night overall.
ABC: DANCING WITH THE STARS slipped 0.1 to a season low 2.2, followed by 1.1 for a CASTLE rerun.
FOX: BONES and THE FOLLOWING seem to have hit their levels, with the former up 0.1 to 1.5 and the latter holding even at 1.4.
CW: STAR-CROSSED was up 0.1 to 0.4, and THE TOMORROW PEOPLE showed a bit of strength, up 0.2 to 0.5.
ABC will be hoping that the hype for this week’s opening of the new Captain America movie will give AGENTS OF SHIELD a push. At 10PM, having thrown in the towel on Mind Games, it airs a rerun of RESURRECTION. CW is in reruns, but the other networks are new except for a rerun CHICAGO FIRE on NBC. On cable, a pair of fairly minor season finales: COUGAR TOWN on TBS and TWISTED on ABCFamily.
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