CBS peaks in bleak season

December 23, 2008 Led by resurgent Monday comedies and veteran procedural "NCIS" as well as this fall's breakout hit, "The Mentalist," the network has posted year-to-year gains for the past six weeks. With the broadcast networks airing mostly reruns from Thursday-Sunday last week, five CBS series -- comedies "The Big Bang Theory," "How I Met Your Mother" and "Worst Week" and dramas "NCIS" and "Mentalist" -- registered series highs in viewers, adults 18-49 or both. CBS, which averaged 11.2 million viewers and a 2.7 rating/8 share in adults 18-49 for the week, had nine of the 10 most-watched programs, including the top two, "NCIS" (20 million viewers) and "Mentalist" (19.3 million).

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