FULL SEASON ALERT: Mike & Molly, Hawaii Five-0, The Defenders, $#*! My Dad Says, Blue Bloods

In one swoop, CBS has picked up all 5 of its freshmen series for the season. All of them have had varying degrees of success and have outperformed all of ABC's, CBS's, and NBC's shows. With this announcement, all new shows have been picked up for the full season or cancelled except Undercovers and School Pride (NBC), Running Wilde (FOX), and all of ABC's new shows except the cancelled My Generation.

Mike & Molly has had a solid start to the season although it is not pulling the numbers after Two and a Half Men that The Big Bang Theory was pulling in this slot a year ago. Through five episodes, it has averaged 11.4 million viewers and a 3.7 in the demo. CBS will (and should) give this show some time to grow. The Big Bang Theory was not a big hit right out of the gate either. It's a funny show with charming leads.

Hawaii Five-0 has been a disappointment in terms of expectations but has been the highest rated new series this fall and has done exceptionally well in the Live +7 DVR ratings. Through five episodes, it has averaged 12.1 million viewers and a 3.4 in the demo, though the demo ratings have dropped every week so far. It's a success but not a runaway hit by any measure. I've personally found it a bit underwhelming.

The Defenders was the show that was perhaps the most in danger of not getting a full season pickup. It has done well on Wednesday nights but is way below what CSI: NY was pulling in this slot last fall and it loses a lot of lead-in Criminal Minds' audience. Through five episodes, it has averaged 10.4 million viewers and a 2.5 in the demo. Don't be surprised to see this put elsewhere for the Criminal Minds spinoff at midseason. Personally, I haven't been able to get into it.

$#*! My Dad Says didn't get great reviews and initially was dropping pretty fast but it seems to have stabilized on Thursday nights following The Big Bang Theory. Some thought it may tank out of the gate but it hasn't done that and has had solid ratings. Through four episodes, it has averaged 10.8 million viewers and a 3.4 in the demo. I haven't watched any since the first dud of a pilot so hopefully it has gotten better.




And lastly, Blue Bloods has helped CBS on Fridays. It is very old-skewing as expected but the total viewer numbers haven't been seen on Fridays in awhile by any network. It is a big improvement over last year's now-cancelled NUMB3RS and Miami Medical. Through four episodes, it has averaged 11.5 million viewers (though it has dropped every week) and a 1.9 in the demo, which is manageable for Friday nights. I enjoyed the pilot but haven't kept up with it as it's hard to keep up with Friday night shows for me, but I may try to catch up sometime.

With all these full season orders and every returning show pulling good numbers except Medium, you have to wonder where CBS will schedule midseason dramas Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior and Chaos and midseason comedy Mad Love. My guess is Mad Love gets a chance at 8:30 Mondays. Will some shows go on hiatus? Or will they expand to Saturdays? We will see!