As on the Weekly True Power Rankings, these True2 and A18-49 numbers are averages of the last third of the season's episodes to date, rounded up. The number of episodes in the average is listed under "Counted Eps." Due to Nielsen holiday delays, we don't have everything from last week, so these numbers are all through December 23. But since almost nothing aired in originals last week, that mostly doesn't make a difference.
Other January True Power Rankings: ABC | CBS | NBC | Fox | CW
CBS Comedies | True2 | A18-49 | Counted Eps | Eps | |
Three of Top Four, Five of Top Eight Scripted | |||||
1 | The Big Bang Theory | 5.13 | 5.45 | 4 | 11 |
2 | 2 Broke Girls | 3.41 | 3.63 | 4 | 12 |
3 | Two and a Half Men | 3.34 | 4.05 | 4 | 11 |
4 | Mike and Molly | 2.93 | 3.23 | 4 | 10 |
5 | How I Met Your Mother | 2.91 | 3.25 | 4 | 11 |
With How I Met Your Mother renewed, the next stop in CBS' winter of negotiation is getting Two and a Half Men back. If that happens, we can start having the "Will CBS add a comedy hour?" discussion again. I'm sure you can't wait...
CBS Comedies | True2 | A18-49 | Counted Eps | Eps | |
The Dunzo | |||||
6 | Partners | 1.47 | 1.95 | 2 | 6 |
CBS Dramas | True2 | A18-49 | Counted Eps | Eps | |
The Elite | |||||
1 | NCIS | 3.05 | 3.18 | 4 | 10 |
2 | Criminal Minds | 2.85 | 2.93 | 4 | 11 |
3 | Person of Interest | 2.68 | 2.95 | 4 | 10 |
Person of Interest is another of the sophomore shows like Suburgatory and Revenge that got really favorable scheduling and hasn't quite lived up to what seemed like the potential. And that's created a negative narrative in some circles: "They put Two and a Half Men at 8:30 and yet PoI is struggling to pull Criminal Minds numbers!"
And as with Suburgatory, I don't really disagree. Still, it looks like this show has the most potential to be a long-term elite player of any drama CBS has developed in the last half decade or more. They've proven extremely capable of developing a drama for the second tier on an almost yearly basis, but they haven't had a truly elite drama come along since Minds.
CBS Dramas | True2 | A18-49 | Counted Eps | Eps | |
The Second Tier | |||||
4 | Hawaii Five-0 | 2.44 | 2.38 | 4 | 11 |
5 | NCIS: Los Angeles | 2.41 | 2.83 | 4 | 10 |
6 | Elementary | 2.21 | 2.23 | 4 | 10 |
7 | CSI | 2.20 | 2.43 | 4 | 10 |
Perhaps the comeback story of the last couple months has been Hawaii Five-0, which began disastrously but has quietly worked its way from upper-1's to the nearly mid-2's level at which it currently resides. Would've been real interesting to see what CBS would've done with this show if it'd stayed at those horrific early levels, but it doesn't look like we'll get a chance to see. It will last long enough for a proper-sized syndication package, and it will deserve to last that long.
CBS Dramas | True2 | A18-49 | Counted Eps | Eps | |
The Bubble | |||||
8 | Blue Bloods | 1.67 | 1.47 | 3 | 9 |
9 | The Mentalist | 1.62 | 1.68 | 4 | 10 |
10 | Vegas | 1.53 | 1.63 | 4 | 10 |
11 | CSI: NY | 1.52 | 1.45 | 4 | 10 |
12 | The Good Wife | 1.41 | 1.70 | 4 | 10 |
Since the last analysis-filled edition of these, an incredibly wide gulf has opened up between the second tier and the bubble, leaving little doubt about what's totally safe and what's marginal. Like last year, when I was advising comedy expansion, I'd be pretty liberal with the cancellations here. Blue Bloods is close enough to syndication that I'm pretty sure it's sticking around. Beyond that, I'm not sure I'd keep anything, but I have a feeling at least one of The Mentalist and The Good Wife will find a reprieve.
CBS Dramas | True2 | A18-49 | Counted Eps | Eps | |
The Dunzo | |||||
13 | Made in Jersey | 0.48 | 0.30 | 2 | 6 |
Does the head-to-head loss for Made in Jersey against The Mob Doctor affirm that MiJ was the biggest flop of the season? Well, TMD did have a much bigger lead-in from Cops, so from a ratings standpoint that result was close to a wash. But considering how much weaker Jersey was than all the other shows on its network, I'll give it the nod.
CBS Unscripted | True2 | A18-49 | Counted Eps | Eps | |
1 | Survivor Fall | 2.72 | 2.78 | 5 | 14 |
2 | The Amazing Race Fall | 2.04 | 2.55 | 4 | 11 |
3 | 60 Minutes | 1.86 | 2.93 | 4 | 12 |
4 | Undercover Boss | 1.78 | 1.70 | 2 | 5 |
5 | 48 Hours | 1.29 | 1.03 | 4 | 10 |