Comedy tonight, CBS

It has often been said that “Dying is easy. Comedy is hard.”

If you don’t believe that, take a look at tonight’s lineup on CBS.

CBS has long been a haven for comedy, airing such classics as “Mary Tyler Moore,” “All in the Family” and “M*A*S*H.” For nearly 20 years there has been a Monday night comedy block on The Eye.

Finding four solid comedies is always a challenge. But now CBS also must replace a cornerstone of that lineup for almost a decade, the new classic “Everybody Loves Raymond.”

The results so far: promising but mixed.

The evening leads off with “King of Queens,” the most enduring of CBS’ sitcoms. With Kevin James as bumbling deliveryman Doug Heffernan, Leah Remini as his long-suffering wife, Carrie, and Jerry Stiller as her irascible father, the comedy remains a dependable performer good for many laughs each week.

Next, at 8:30 p.m., is the more intriguing of the two new sitcoms in this lineup, “How I Met Your Mother.”

The series, set 25 years in the future, features narrator Ted (played by Josh Radnor) explaining to his two squirming kids about, well, how he met their mother. This is a quirky ensemble comedy about Ted, his best friend, Marshall (Jason Segel, “Freaks and Geeks”), Marshall’s fiancee, Lily (Alyson Hannigan, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”), and ladies’ man Barney (a scene-stealing Neil Patrick Harris). “How I Met Your Mother” slowly tells of Ted’s quest to find Miss Right.

At 9 is the often-hilarious “Two and a Half Men.” Last Monday’s season premiere showed that leads Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones haven’t skipped a beat. However, there wasn’t nearly enough of Taylor Holland as their meddling mother or Conchetta Farrell as their abrasive housekeeper Berta. It’s a talented group that will make this sitcom the star of this comedy block.

Finally, at 9:30, is the second new comedy, and the one most in need of work, “Out of Practice.” It stars Christopher Gorman (“Medical Investigation”) as Ben Chase, an earnest couples counselor whose own marriage is in trouble.

His choice doesn’t earn him any respect in a family full of doctors: his divorced surgeon parents (Stockard Channing and Henry Winkler), his plastic surgeon brother (Ty Burrell) and his ER doc sister (Paula Marshall).

With such a strong cast, “Out of Practice” should be more than it is. Still, it has its funny moments, which is more than CBS’ weak Wednesday comedies “Still Standing” and “Yes Dear” can say.