Nellie Andreeva

Most programs were down last night, as overall TV viewership was impacted by the Valentine’s Day holiday. (Adult 18-49 TV usage was off by 6% from last week.) Most affected was Fox, which had gotten a post-Super Bowl boost last Monday. Veteran House (3.4/10, 9.9 million) was down 21% in the demo, while new cop drama The Chicago Code (2.0/5) was down 17% from its premiere last Monday.

The last original episode (for now) of CBS’ Two and a Half Men (4.2/11, 14.5 million) was down 5% from last week and tied as a season low. But the comedy starring Charlie Sheen was far and away the highest-rated program on the night in 18-49 and total viewers. (CBS plans to air Men reruns in the 9 PM slot for the foreseeable future while the show is on hiatus.) Men‘s lead-out, Mike & Molly (3.8/10, 13.1 million) bucked the down trend on the night, up 9% in the demo, and posted its largest audience ever.

News wasn’t as great for CBS’ other new half-hour entry on Monday, Mad Love. In its premiere last night (3.0/8, 8.8 million), the midseason comedy did OK by holding onto 81% of its How I Met Your Mother (3.7/11, down 3%; 9.6 million) demo lead-in. But it didn’t improve CBS’ performance in the 8:30 PM slot, as it was flat with the season premiere of Rules of Engagement in September and down 10% from the veteran sitcom’s recent airings in the time period. At 10 PM, Hawaii Five-0 was flat with last week, tied as its series low.CBS won the night in 18-49 (3.4/10) and total viewers (11.2 million)

NBC’s The Cape (1.2/3, 4.1 million) continues to test NBC brass’ patience, dropping another 8% in 18-49 for a new series low. Despite the drop-off for its lead-in, midseason dramedy Harry’s Law (1.7/5, 8.5 million) held steady with last week and was the only 10 PM show not to go down at the half-hour mark. Also even with last week was dramedy Chuck (1.7/5, 5.5 million), tied for a series low. All of NBC’s Monday series once again finished last in their time slots among the major broadcast competition.

With many women out celebrating Valentine’s Day, ABC’s The Bachelor (2.9/8) was down 9% from last week, while Castle (2.2/7) was down 12%.

Things were even worse for the CW’s dramas catering to young women. 90210 (1.0 in 18-34) was down 33% from last week, Gossip Girl (1.3) dropped 28%.

TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.