Thursday, May 3, 2012

UPFRONTS 2012: What CBS Should Do

All this week is what I think the networks should do. Here is CBS and next week will be my predictions on what they WILL do. For those interested, here is what I think NBC should do, FOX should do, and ABC should do. Also, check out what I said CBS should do last year.

CBS has the least changes to make and they have already renewed a ton of their shows. Still, I think there are some necessary moves. Here we go!

MONDAY
8:00 How I Met Your Mother
8:30 Mike & Molly
9:00 Two and a Half Men
9:30 2 Broke Girls
10:00 Hawaii Five-0
Everyone seems to think CBS will and should expand to four hours of comedy on their schedule. I understand the boom in comedy but I just don't agree. When I look at CBS sitcoms, I see one bonafide smash in its prime (The Big Bang Theory), longtime hits nearing the end of their run (How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men), a new hit that is strong but not quite ready to be an anchor (2 Broke Girls), a show that will always be decent but probably not an anchor (Mike & Molly) and some filler (Rules of Engagement, Rob). That doesn't seem like enough to have strong anchor shows on both Mondays and Thursdays that will be around awhile. Instead, I would keep all the Monday shows the same with only Mike & Molly and 2 Broke Girls switching so that Girls can become an anchor in 2013-2014. It's tempting to launch a new sitcom on this hit night and part of me thinks they should but their sitcoms don't look all that great and this night works so well. I would keep Hawaii Five-0 at 10pm.


TUESDAY
8:00 NCIS
9:00 UNTITLED RALPH LAMB
10:00 NCIS: Los Angeles
On Tuesday, NCIS should of course lead off but I would finally send NCIS: Los Angeles to 10pm and use the cushy slot in-between to launch the most promising new drama which sounds by all accounts like it is the Untitled Ralph Lamb period drama with an all star cast led by Dennis Quaid. This is one of the best slots CBS can give and its time to let NCIS: Los Angeles fly on its own. That's the whole point of franchise shows, right?

WEDNESDAY
8:00 Survivor
9:00 Criminal Minds
10:00 CSI
I would leave Wednesday exactly as is. Three aging shows that are still doing quite well. Survivor and CSI have joined this night in the last two seasons and that has helped CBS by getting them out of more high profile slots and upgrading their new slot. No need to change anything here yet.

THURSDAY
8:00 The Big Bang Theory
8:30 SUPER FUN NIGHT
9:00 Person of Interest
10:00 ELEMENTARY
As I said already, I would not do comedies at 9pm though I don't doubt that The Big Bang Theory would do ridiculously good demos at 9pm. I just think in the big picture it doesn't make sense. I would leave Big Bang at 8pm and launch Super Fun Night after. Despite mixed buzz so far, it seems like a perfect fit. Person of Interest has really grown in the 9pm slot and probably would continue to next season. At 10pm I would launch the promising Sherlock Holmes drama Elementary. It's another good CBS slot that could be successful for them.

FRIDAY
8:00 CSI: Miami
9:00 UNTITLED BERLANTI-WOOTTON
10:00 Blue Bloods
Friday was a tricky one. I would start with CSI: Miami. It deserves to get renewed more than CSI: NY and even though 8pm is early for a CSI show, I would stay away from launching another new drama at 8pm where many have failed this year. At 9pm, I would launch the Untitled Berlanti-Wootton project that sounds interesting to me and could be a good fit here. If it pops, it could help Blue Bloods at 10.

SATURDAY
8:00 Rules of Engagement
8:30 Rob
9:00 CSI: NY
10:00 48 Hours Mystery
This is a should do schedule so I'm scheduling shows here mostly because I'm curious to see what originals would do for CBS on Saturday. I really don't think they'd do all that bad. I'm sure there are financial reasons not to but give it a chance! If it doesn't work, cancel them because they'd be cancelled anyway most likely.

SUNDAY
7:00 60 Minutes
8:00 The Amazing Race
9:00 The Mentalist
10:00 The Good Wife
The Mentalist needs to be on the move but I wouldn't put it on Fridays like some suggested. Instead, I think it would be a good fit for Sunday nights and it seems more like a 9pm show. I would slide The Good Wife back an hour. It has the acclaim to be renewed but shouldn't be at 9pm where its low demos hurt the night. Plus here it can take the brunt of the NFL overrun. I think this is a better fit for the show than Friday nights as well.

MIDSEASON: Undercover Boss, WIDOW DETECTIVE, UNTITLED MARTIN LAWRENCE, UNTITLED NICK STOLLER
CBS just doesn't have room to pick up a lot of shows. I would keep Undercover Boss for midseason which will help keep it fresh. The new drama can fill in where needed while I would pick up two comedies and give at least one of them a trial run in a prime slot after one of their hits. That's a better way than a new comedy block in my opinion especially with bland sounding comedy pilots.

CANCELLED: A Gifted Man, How to Be a Gentleman, NYC 22, Unforgettable
Nothing surprising or undeserving here and the actual list will probably include a couple more.

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