CBS: Another Easy Victory Next Fall?

With just four new shows on its fall slate, CBS’s schedule announcement is a demonstration of how strong the network is relative to its competitors. The Eye is quick to point out that it is “the only major broadcast network to grow its audience in all key ratings measures this season.” Given that, it’s a bit surprising to see changes being made across five nights of the week.

MONDAY
8:00-8:30 PM HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
8:30-9:00 PM ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE
9:00-9:30 PM TWO AND A HALF MEN
9:30-10:00 PM THE BIG BANG THEORY
10:00-11:00 PM CSI: MIAMI

As per usual, CBS adds one new sitcom to TV’s dominant comedy block. Accidentally on Purpose stars Jenna Elfman as a film critic who has a one-night stand and winds up pregnant. It should fit in nicely, but I’m not sure why the net keeps trying to make How I Met Your Mother work at 8pm. They've put the show here before, only to end up moving it back to a more protected hammock slot, where it's performance inevitably improves. Putting Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory, both produced by Chuck Lorre, together is a logical move. And a potentially stronger lead-in could help stem some of the erosion CSI: Miami has seen this year.

TUESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM NCIS
9:00-10:00 PM NCIS: LOS ANGELES
10:00-11:00 PM THE GOOD WIFE

Too much NCIS on one night? We’ll find out soon enough. It may have made more sense to spread the wealth to another night, but these are the kinds of decisions you have to make when you have an embarrassment of riches. At the very least, couldn’t they have come up with a more clever title for the spinoff, which stars Chris O’Donnell and LL Cool J? On paper, new drama The Good Wife sounds like a less vicious version of FX’s Damages. Julianna Margulies is a woman whose husband lands in jail following a sex/political scandal, forcing Margulies to pursue a law career she had given up on after having a family. Margulies was terrific as a lawyer in the Fox drama Canterbury’s Law, a show that lasted all of six episodes last year. Considering the tough time CBS has had launching new shows in this slot (they may regret getting rid of Without a Trace), The Good Wife certainly has its work cut out for it, though the lack of drama competition on NBC will help.

WEDNESDAY
8:00-8:30 PM THE NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE
8:30-9:00 PM GARY UNMARRIED
9:00-10:00 PM CRIMINAL MINDS
10:00-11:00 PM CSI: NY

One of the nights CBS has left untouched. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Gary Unmarried and Accidentally on Purpose eventually swap slots, but for now it’s nice to see Gary and Christine, which carried virtually identical audiences all season, given another shot to make a dent in the hour. ABC’s got heavy-hitting comedy competition starring Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton, but patience could pay off and give CBS the edge. Criminal Minds and CSI: NY should have no trouble maintaining their time period dominance.

THURSDAY
8:00-9:00 PM SURVIVOR
9:00-10:00 PM CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION
10:00-11:00 PM THE MENTALIST

If it’s possible to be boneheaded and smart at the same time, that’s what I would call CBS’s decision to move The Mentalist after only one season. True, it’s this season’s #1 new show, but why be so hasty to break up the powerful Tuesday combo that is NCIS and The Mentalist? Don’t get me wrong, The Mentalist will be just fine here. In fact, it might even be able to build on its lead-in (CSI has tumbled a bit since William Petersen left, and more viewer defection is likely as the show enters season 10 in the fall). I just think they would have been better off leaving this one alone for a little longer. Keeping Survivor at 8pm is wise, though, as the show, going into its 19th edition, would be extremely vulnerable if shifted to a different night at this point. You might look for Survivor to wrap up for good next May.

FRIDAY
8:00-9:00 PM GHOST WHISPERER
9:00-10:00 PM MEDIUM
10:00-11:00 PM NUMB3RS

The big story here, of course, is the acquisition of Medium from NBC. The show is produced by CBS TV Studios, so it’s a bit of a no-brainer considering it was NBC’s most-watched Monday show this season. Medium will fit like a glove coming out of the returning Ghost Whisperer. And holding Numb3rs at 10pm will keep the net healthy in a tough hour for another year.

SATURDAY
8:00-9:00 PM CRIMETIME SATURDAY
9:00-10:00 PM CRIMETIME SATURDAY
10:00-11:00 PM 48 HOURS MYSTERY

Not much to say about this lineup, the second to stay the same. I had hoped that the net might take a chance and put Flashpoint (which will be back at midseason) at 9pm. Because the show is a Canadian co-production, it would be a relatively minor risk, and could always be moved if it didn't work. But, alas, it was not to be. Instead we get the Lazy Programmers Special: crime drama repeats and a newsmagazine.

SUNDAY
7:00-8:00 PM 60 MINUTES
8:00-9:00 PM THE AMAZING RACE
9:00-10:00 PM THREE RIVERS
10:00-11:00 PM COLD CASE

Moonlight fans rejoice! Alex O’Loughlin is back on CBS, this time in Three Rivers, a medical drama set inside a hospital that specializes in organ transplants. With the younger-skewing The Amazing Race as a lead-in, Three Rivers could help solve one of CBS’s toughest problems: attracting more 18-49 year-olds. Still capable of drawing a decent crowd, Cold Case should prove more consistent than The Unit in the 10pm hour, and stands a good chance at pushing Brothers & Sisters to third place (football on NBC will be first).

There’s no question that CBS is poised to continue as the most-watched network in the fall. With any luck, the slow introduction of new series that don’t center on forensics teams will help keep them in a prime position once their crime dramas start to wear thin. Their general philosophy of not fixing what ain’t broke should continue to pay dividends for the foreseeable future.