The Question, Monday 9/29/14: Will Castle Build an Advantage on NCIS: Los Angeles?

CBS schedulers took what would've been the most interesting premiere of Monday #2 off the board when they decided to hold Mom in favor of The Big Bang Theory repeats at 8:30. But we still have the opening duel between veteran procedurals Castle and NCIS: LA at 10/9c. Castle is entering its seventh season in this hour, while NCIS: Los Angeles is finally on the move after five seasons following the NCIS mothership. As long as The Blacklist is here (and maybe even beyond), these two shows will probably be battling for second place, but it could be a close one. And both shows are resolving cliffhangers tonight. Will Castle build an advantage on NCIS: Los Angeles? That's The Question for Monday, September 29, 2014.

Castle and NCIS: Los Angeles Last Season

2.2/1.93/2.1 (Castle premiere/avg/finale) 3.0/2.43/2.5 (NCIS: LA prem/avg/fin, Tuesday 9/8c)

NOTE: THERE IS A SPREAD. IT IS NOT JUST WHICH SHOW WILL WIN. PLEASE KEEP READING.

Before the season, I expected this matchup to be very close. But The Big Bang Theory is still on Monday, so Scorpion should stay relatively strong as an LA lead-in. It may not be much/any weaker than the lead-in LA had on Tuesday last spring. I say this makes NCIS: LA the favorite in the early going, but not by much; it's a new night and a lot more drama competition than LA is used to.

Spread: NCIS: Los Angeles beats Castle by 0.15 points.

TO CLARIFY: Respond with "NCIS: Los Angeles" if you think NCIS: Los Angeles beats Castle by 0.2 points or more. Respond with "Castle" if you think NCIS: Los Angeles beats Castle by 0.1 or if you think Castle beats/ties NCIS: Los Angeles.

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