David Kronke: Looking ahead to next TV season: CBS
Part one in a five-part series
Network upfronts – that glorious week in New York when the broadcast networks introduce their fall schedules, then quickly ply advertisers with enough liquor to coerce them into buying commercial time into shows like “Head Cases� or “Just Legal� (remember them? no? consider yourself lucky) – are coming up in a few weeks (beginning May 15, actually). So over the next few days – before heading to New Orleans for Jazz Fest (which will account for my silence, not getting fired or contracting the bubonic plague) – I’ll take a look at the sundry networks, and their needs as they enter the 2006-07 season.
And believe me: Some of the networks have grave concerns.
I’ll start with CBS, which doesn’t. Generally speaking, when the network executives stand before advertisers to present a new fall lineup, they emphasize one of two themes: “A bold, exciting new schedule� (which means they had a ton of holes to fill and are probably trying to launch too many new shows at one time for many of them to be successful) or “Stability� (meaning their ratings are too solid or they’re too lazy to tinker much with the new schedule).
“Stability� will clearly be CBS’s theme. Many nights require no tinkering at all. Conceivably, though quite unlikely, the network could replace a single hour of programming. But I’m guessing CBS will make at least one big move, in killing off its longstanding Sunday movie.
Let’s go night-by-night, beginning with Monday:
This could very well stay intact as it stands, with “King of Queens,� “How I Met Your Mother,� “Two and a Half Men,� “The New Adventures of Old Christine� and “CSI: Miami� all returning. The order of the sitcoms might be rearranged, or a new one could be brought in, depending on how CBS’s development is faring. The network has two other sitcoms lying around – “Out of Practice,� which no one likes enough to renew, and “Yes, Dear,� which the network has been trying to kill off for, literally, years. CBS might, as it has in the past, renew “Yes, Dear� for midseason, but this is probably the last we have seen of it. The most vulnerable sitcom on Monday is probably “How I Met Your Mom,� but it’d still likely return, albeit with a potential replacement breathing hotly down its back. (CBS has already committed to one new sitcom, entitled "The Class." Everything else sounds kind of same-old, same old, though one title is promising: "The Angriest Man in Suburbia," and Chris Elliot has one brewing that alternately sounds too willfully odd for CBS yet also peculiarly self-satisfied.)
Tuesday: “NCIS� and “The Unit� are locks, leaving only 10 p.m. open for a new series – currently, procedural reruns are airing there. CBS is developing a medical show, “Three Pounds,� that might be able to glom off of Fox’s audience for "House," and switch over once Hugh Laurie is done scowlingly saving his latest patient's life.
Wednesday: Moving “The Amazing Race� to the 8 p.m. timeslot seemed to save both the show and the time period, though a midseason replacement should be waiting in the wings if the series loses any more steam. “Criminal Minds� and “CSI: New York� will return.
Thursday: CBS won’t touch a thing here.
Friday: Lamentably, “Ghost Whisperer� is a success, so it’ll return, as will “Numb3rs� at 10 p.m. At 9 p.m., “Close to Home� is doing OK but not great. CBS has a pilot in development, “Orpheus,� that apparently has a sort of pseudo-spiritual element to it that might play well out of “Ghost Whisperer;� “Orpheus� comes from Tony and Ridley Scott’s production house, so it should have a sensibility that’d lead comfortably into “Numb3rs,� which is also from the brothers Scott.
Saturday: If the networks can’t be bothered to care about Saturday, neither can I.
Sunday: “60 Minutes� and “Cold Case� will return. But the network might just kill off their Sunday movie to make space for two new dramas, or perhaps add a pair of sitcoms at 8 p.m. (which hasn’t worked out so well recently) and move “Cold Case� to 9 or 10. The movie has suffered from abysmal ratings this season, and can be a tough sell: Each week, CBS has to promote a completely new product in that time slot. If new series entered the time period, the network wouldn’t always have to promote them as aggressively as viewers become more familiar with the new schedule. (A lot of CBS's development is, as usual, given to crime and legal shows. One is about a post-apocalyptic world (which should play well now that the U.S. and Iran are in a spitting match over nukes; its title ("Jericho"), let alone its theme, recalls the Showtime series "Jeremiah.")
The important thing is for CBS not to be too complacent. The network should have a full contingent of midseason replacements, lest any established shows unexpectedly falter. Even if they don’t, they’ll have plenty of programming available to keep the number of reruns down, thus delaying burnout on the crime procedurals.
The Sunday night movie has had its day. The last one I watched, "Hades Factor" was okay but lost me in the second half, which was broadcast a week later. They should keep Cold Case where it is.
Monday? CBS could scrap all of those sitcoms and I wouldn't even notice.
Ghost Whisperer? Yuck, please tell me it's not coming back. Does anyone even watch it?