CBS Fall: Cautiously Aggressive

CBS finds its fall schedule pretty evenly divided between shows staying in their current slots and shows being shuffled around. Three out of the five new series being introduced are directly in the network’s wheelhouse of crime dramas, leading to the question that gets asked every season: How much longer can CBS milk the popularity of a genre that should have peaked a few years ago?

Half of the Monday night schedule remains intact, with How I Met Your Mother, Rules of Engagement, and Two and a Half Men (with a richly rewarded Charlie Sheen now garnering $2mil per episode) from 8-9:30pm. Mike & Molly, a new comedy from Two and a Half Men creator Chuck Lorre about a teacher and a cop who meet cute at an Overeaters Anonymous meeting, gets the net’s most coveted comedy lead-in. The remake of Hawaii Five-0 caps things off at 10pm. Alex O’Loughlin, having already tanked in Moonlight and Three Rivers, gives it another go here. If this one doesn’t work, perhaps CBS will admit that their love affair with the actor has been unrequited by America.

Tuesdays are a carbon copy of this year: NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, and The Good Wife. Given that this lineup finished well ahead of the competition last fall and held up reliably when American Idol entered the picture in the first quarter, keeping things status quo is a wise decision.

Survivor moves to a new night for the first time since its second edition way back in 2001. The Wednesday 8pm slot remains relatively weak in terms of competition so expect Survivor to still be able to finish first in the hour. Criminal Minds follows, then at 10pm, Jim Belushi and Jerry O’Connell are The Defenders, Las Vegas attorneys who pull out all the stops for their clients. It’s being billed as a “comedic drama,” and could be an odd fit with the gruesome Criminal Minds (not to mention that the last thing any of needs after eight years of According to Jim is another Jim Belushi show).

The Big Bang Theory moves to Thursdays at 8pm, where it will be paired with the new comedy $#*! My Dad Says. Theory has really taken off this year and will almost definitely win the time period, probably siphoning more viewers away from NBC’s comedies in the process. $#*! My Dad Says, based on a Twitter feed and starring William Shatner, should settle in nicely as well. Since CBS hasn't aired sitcoms on the night in what could be decades, leaving the rest of the night unchanged is smart, with CSI: Crime Scene Investigation leading into The Mentalist.

Medium gets bumped up an hour to kick off Fridays, followed by CSI: NY on a new night, and new police drama Blue Bloods starring Tom Selleck, whose Jesse Stone movie franchise pulls in strong total viewer counts but is decidedly older-skewing. Look for much the same with this new show, though I expect CBS will still have no trouble winning the night overall once again.

Saturdays continue with two hours of Crimetime Saturday repeats and 48 Hours Mystery, while Sundays will consist of 60 Minutes, The Amazing Race, the return of Undercover Boss, and a new time slot for CSI: Miami, a lineup that should be poised for a strong second-place finish in the fall (behind NBC’s football game).

When it comes to cancellations, CBS really cleaned house, letting go of Cold Case, Numb3rs, The New Adventures of Old Christine (which could find a new home at ABC), Gary Unmarried, Accidentally on Purpose, and Ghost Whisperer (also an ABC possibility). CBS is definitely a network that knows where its strengths lie, but you have to wonder how long it will be before the crime drama corner they’ve painted themselves into becomes a trap from which they won't be able to escape.