CBS Announces 2006-07 Primetime Schedule
From:Mercury News
Date:May. 17, 2006
By Charlie McCollum
If you liked what you saw on CBS this past season, you're going to like what you'll see when the network launches its ``new'' schedule come September.
The network announced Wednesday that it has renewed a whopping 17 current series for next season with an 18th -- ``King of Queens'' returning for its ninth and final year in January. That is believed to be a record in TV world for keeping a program lineup intact.
As a result, CBS will add just four new shows and the biggest news coming out of its schedule announcement was a revamped Sunday lineup featuring its Thursday hit, ``Without A Trace,'' and the Emmy-winning ``The Amazing Race'' moving to that night.
To create space for the ``Trace'' and ``Race,'' it ended its 20-year-old ``CBS Sunday Night Movie'' franchise, eliminating the last remaining weekly vehicle for original TV films and miniseries on network television. With ABC and NBC already all but out of the made-for-TV movie game, the end of ``CBS Sunday Night Movie'' means the networks have now officially ceded that programming genre to such cable channels as HBO, TNT, Sci Fi and Hallmark.
A quick breakdown of what CBS will have for the fall, by day:
Sunday
In an effort to battle the ABC lineup anchored by ``Desperate Housewives'' and NBC's new ``Sunday Night Football,'' CBS brings in ``Race'' at 8 p.m. following the long-running and still-popular ``60 Minutes.'' The reality show stumbled this past season creatively and in the ratings but still has a loyal audience.
``Cold Case,'' which may be the most-watched and best-made show on TV that gets almost no publicity, moves to 9 p.m., pairing with ``Trace'' which has been averaging 18.7 million viewers per week this season.
Monday
CBS executives must have been breathing a sigh of relief when ABC decided to move Sunday ratings juggernaut ``Grey's Anatomy'' to Thursday, rather than Monday as originally expected. The network's Monday comedy lineup has had a downturn in viewership since the end of ``Everybody Loves Raymond'' and might have taken a real hit from ``Grey's.''
Come the fall, ``How I Met Your Mother'' will move to the 8 p.m. slot while ``Two And A Half Men'' and ``The New Adventures of Old Christine'' will remain at 9 and 9:30. (``CSI: Miami'' will continue to hold down the 10 p.m. hour.)
The one newcomer -- ``The Class'' from David Crane of ``Friends'' -- was considered such a sure thing that CBS outbid NBC and ABC for it and guaranteed it a slot based solely on one script. Starring Jason Ritter (``Joan of Arcadia'') and Lizzy Caplan (``Related''), the comedy focuses on a group of 20-somethings who reunite after being best friends way back in the third grade.
Tuesday
Having done well in the ratings this past season even against ``American Idol,'' the network's two military dramas -- ``NCIS'' and ``The Unit'' -- will stay together starting at 8 p.m.
At 10 p.m., CBS adds ``Smith,'' a serialized drama from John Wells (``The West Wing,'' ``ER'') with an A-list cast headed by Ray Liotta (``Goodfellas''), Virginia Madsen (``Sideways''), Simon Baker (``The Guardian''), Jonny Lee Miller (``Transpotting'') and Amy Smart (``Felicity''). Liotta plays a sophisticated thief trying to pull off a few last lucrative jobs before retiring with his wife (Madsen).
Wednesday
Having bombed out with one sci fi drama, ``Threshold,'' last year, CBS tries to get it right this time with the new ``Jericho,'' a show about the residents of a small Kansas town who are the only survivors of a nuclear holocaust. Created by Jon Turteltaub (``National Treasure''), the series stars Skeet Ulrich (``Scream''), veteran TV actor Gerald McRaney and Ashley Scott (one of the short-lived ``Birds of Prey'').
``Jericho'' slides into the lineup ahead of ``Criminal Minds'' -- one of last season's surprise hits -- at 9 p.m. and ``CSI: NY'' at 10.
Thursday
CBS is finally going to get some competition on Thursdays as ABC brings in ``Grey's Anatomy'' and NBC debuts its most-talked-about new show, ``Studio 60 On the Sunset Strip.''
The theory on the part of the other networks is that while ``Survivor'' (at 8 p.m.) and ``CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' (at 9) are still big hits -- in the case of ``CSI,'' a very big hit -- they are starting to show signs of age with eroding viewership. Well, it's only a theory and CBS certainly begs to differ.
Replacing ``Trace'' at 10 p.m. is what CBS executives think is their strongest new show: ``Shark,'' a legal drama starring Oscar nominee James Woods and Jeri Ryan (``Boston Public,'' ``The O.C.'') and produced by Brian Grazer (``A Beautiful Mind'') among others. Spike Lee directed the pilot for this show about a ruthless defense attorney (Woods) who has an epiphany and joins the prosecutor's office.
Friday and Saturday
The lineup of ``Ghost Whisperer,'' ``Close to Home'' and ``Numbers'' returns for a second season after scoring decent viewership on Fridays last year.
As for Saturday, it's the same old, same old with repeats of ``CSI'' and ``Without A Trace'' and ``48 Hours Mystery'' at 10 p.m. as the only original programming.
From Mercury News
Date:May. 17, 2006
By Charlie McCollum
If you liked what you saw on CBS this past season, you're going to like what you'll see when the network launches its ``new'' schedule come September.
The network announced Wednesday that it has renewed a whopping 17 current series for next season with an 18th -- ``King of Queens'' returning for its ninth and final year in January. That is believed to be a record in TV world for keeping a program lineup intact.
As a result, CBS will add just four new shows and the biggest news coming out of its schedule announcement was a revamped Sunday lineup featuring its Thursday hit, ``Without A Trace,'' and the Emmy-winning ``The Amazing Race'' moving to that night.
To create space for the ``Trace'' and ``Race,'' it ended its 20-year-old ``CBS Sunday Night Movie'' franchise, eliminating the last remaining weekly vehicle for original TV films and miniseries on network television. With ABC and NBC already all but out of the made-for-TV movie game, the end of ``CBS Sunday Night Movie'' means the networks have now officially ceded that programming genre to such cable channels as HBO, TNT, Sci Fi and Hallmark.
A quick breakdown of what CBS will have for the fall, by day:
Sunday
In an effort to battle the ABC lineup anchored by ``Desperate Housewives'' and NBC's new ``Sunday Night Football,'' CBS brings in ``Race'' at 8 p.m. following the long-running and still-popular ``60 Minutes.'' The reality show stumbled this past season creatively and in the ratings but still has a loyal audience.
``Cold Case,'' which may be the most-watched and best-made show on TV that gets almost no publicity, moves to 9 p.m., pairing with ``Trace'' which has been averaging 18.7 million viewers per week this season.
Monday
CBS executives must have been breathing a sigh of relief when ABC decided to move Sunday ratings juggernaut ``Grey's Anatomy'' to Thursday, rather than Monday as originally expected. The network's Monday comedy lineup has had a downturn in viewership since the end of ``Everybody Loves Raymond'' and might have taken a real hit from ``Grey's.''
Come the fall, ``How I Met Your Mother'' will move to the 8 p.m. slot while ``Two And A Half Men'' and ``The New Adventures of Old Christine'' will remain at 9 and 9:30. (``CSI: Miami'' will continue to hold down the 10 p.m. hour.)
The one newcomer -- ``The Class'' from David Crane of ``Friends'' -- was considered such a sure thing that CBS outbid NBC and ABC for it and guaranteed it a slot based solely on one script. Starring Jason Ritter (``Joan of Arcadia'') and Lizzy Caplan (``Related''), the comedy focuses on a group of 20-somethings who reunite after being best friends way back in the third grade.
Tuesday
Having done well in the ratings this past season even against ``American Idol,'' the network's two military dramas -- ``NCIS'' and ``The Unit'' -- will stay together starting at 8 p.m.
At 10 p.m., CBS adds ``Smith,'' a serialized drama from John Wells (``The West Wing,'' ``ER'') with an A-list cast headed by Ray Liotta (``Goodfellas''), Virginia Madsen (``Sideways''), Simon Baker (``The Guardian''), Jonny Lee Miller (``Transpotting'') and Amy Smart (``Felicity''). Liotta plays a sophisticated thief trying to pull off a few last lucrative jobs before retiring with his wife (Madsen).
Wednesday
Having bombed out with one sci fi drama, ``Threshold,'' last year, CBS tries to get it right this time with the new ``Jericho,'' a show about the residents of a small Kansas town who are the only survivors of a nuclear holocaust. Created by Jon Turteltaub (``National Treasure''), the series stars Skeet Ulrich (``Scream''), veteran TV actor Gerald McRaney and Ashley Scott (one of the short-lived ``Birds of Prey'').
``Jericho'' slides into the lineup ahead of ``Criminal Minds'' -- one of last season's surprise hits -- at 9 p.m. and ``CSI: NY'' at 10.
Thursday
CBS is finally going to get some competition on Thursdays as ABC brings in ``Grey's Anatomy'' and NBC debuts its most-talked-about new show, ``Studio 60 On the Sunset Strip.''
The theory on the part of the other networks is that while ``Survivor'' (at 8 p.m.) and ``CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' (at 9) are still big hits -- in the case of ``CSI,'' a very big hit -- they are starting to show signs of age with eroding viewership. Well, it's only a theory and CBS certainly begs to differ.
Replacing ``Trace'' at 10 p.m. is what CBS executives think is their strongest new show: ``Shark,'' a legal drama starring Oscar nominee James Woods and Jeri Ryan (``Boston Public,'' ``The O.C.'') and produced by Brian Grazer (``A Beautiful Mind'') among others. Spike Lee directed the pilot for this show about a ruthless defense attorney (Woods) who has an epiphany and joins the prosecutor's office.
Friday and Saturday
The lineup of ``Ghost Whisperer,'' ``Close to Home'' and ``Numbers'' returns for a second season after scoring decent viewership on Fridays last year.
As for Saturday, it's the same old, same old with repeats of ``CSI'' and ``Without A Trace'' and ``48 Hours Mystery'' at 10 p.m. as the only original programming.
From Mercury News
posted by nikita | 8:27 PM
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