CBS’ ‘The Big Bang Theory’ blossoms into a Monday night hit

CBS’ ‘The Big Bang Theory’ becoming a hit

NEW YORK — It’s looking like CBS has a companion hit to go with “Two and a Half Men” on Monday nights.

The audience for summer reruns of the sitcom “The Big Bang Theory” is up 52 percent over last summer. Nielsen Media Research says the show had nearly as many viewers as television’s top-rated comedy, “Two and a Half Men.”

Summertime second runs are often where a show catches on. That happened last year with “NCIS” on CBS, which last week was the most popular drama on television.

To show you how broadcast TV still has the upper hand: an “NCIS” rerun had more than three times the audience last week of the third-season premiere of AMC’s “Mad Men” on cable. And that premiere was the most-watched show in AMC’s history.