“We Are” Done: CBS Remakes Monday Night

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The 1.8 rating WE ARE MEN had this week was higher than any of NBC’s sitcoms last Thursday.  But it was down a huge 1.2 from its HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER lead-in, and that just wasn’t acceptable.  Today CBS bit the bullet and canceled Men after 2 episodes, and as expected, MIKE & MOLLY is returning to the Monday line-up on November 4 (reruns will hold the fort until then).  The slight surprise is that M&M is taking the 9PM slot, with 2 BROKE GIRLS sliding down to 8:30PM.  This makes a certain amount of sense, because Broke first became a hit at 8:30, and it hasn’t proven up to the task of anchoring an hour–plus Mike & Molly, like the 9:30PM MOM, is a Chuck Lorre production, so the sensibilities of the two shows will mesh well, perhaps helping Mom.  Still, it’s an imperfect fix, because if M&M had looked strong enough to air at 9PM last season, CBS wouldn’t have left it on the bench this fall.  (In May, when Broke Girls was its lead-in with 2.7, M&M was at 2.3.)  It also does nothing to address CBS’s bigger problem of what to do with Mondays next year, when HIMYM will be gone.    Finally, it puts more pressure on THE MILLERS, which may take a big hit in the critical post-BIG BANG THEORY slot tomorrow.  Still, a network does what it can.

Left in place for now is HOSTAGES, which is doing very badly at 10PM, but which CBS hopes will pick up some steam if Mom improves.  Also, the network has little else to put in that slot, other than an admitting-defeat move of HAWAII 5-0 back there.