Nearly 13 million viewers tuned in to find out the answer to “How I Met Your Mother” Monday night, a record audience for the CBS sitcom.
The one-hour series finale grew 42 percent from last week’s penultimate episode, which averaged 9 million viewers. “HIMYM” also earned its best rating ever in the under-50 demo, posting a 5.3 rating Monday — making it the top-rated program of the night.
The final episode, titled “Last Forever,” finally introduced Ted (Josh Radnor) and The Mother (Cristin Milioti) and covered what happened to the other main characters — Robin (Cobie Smulders), Barney (Neil Patrick Harris), Marshall (Jason Segel) and Lily (Alyson Hannigan) — in the following years, including some plot twists that had many fans up in arms.
After “HIMYM,” the premiere of new comedy “Friends With Better Lives” averaged nearly 8 million viewers, up 3 percent from “Mike & Molly’s” audience in the timeslot last week.