Between the competition from other channels and start time delays due to sports programming overruns, CBS has some real challenges on Sunday nights, particularly in the 10pm timeslot. Both The Mentalist (ended) and CSI (possibly cancelled) struggled this season. How’s newcomer Battle Creek been doing? Will it be renewed for a second season or will it be cancelled instead?

Battle Creek revolves around two mismatched law enforcement officers — Detective Russ Agnew (Dean Winters) and FBI Special Agent Milton Chamberlain (Josh Duhamel) — who have polar opposite views of the world and end up being partners. The rest of the cast includes Janet McTeer, Kal Penn, Aubrey Dollar, and Edward Fordham Jr.

The series got off to a poor start with a 1.0 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 7.92 million viewers. That was a lower demo number than either CSI or Mentalist had hit this season. The viewership was pretty bad for a CBS show too.

In week two, the ratings for Battle Creek fell to a 0.83 in the demo with 6.93 million, a decline of 17% and 13% respectively. The numbers have gotten even worse in subsequent weeks — falling as low as a 0.7 rating and 5.58 million viewers.

Based on the ratings, there doesn’t seem to be any reason for CBS to renew Battle Creek for a second season. The numbers are just too low.

On the positive side, there are four episodes left after tonight’s airing. It looks like the network will let them air with the finale currently set for May 24th.

But, what do you think? Do you like the Battle Creek TV show on CBS? Do you think it should be cancelled or renewed for a second season? Is it a better show than what the ratings seem to indicate?