Finally it is CBS's turn. This post concludes my week of what I think the networks should do. Next week, I will make official predictions of what I think they will do. CBS is typically the most stable network and that is true to an extent but they had a rough year: their Monday lineup is down big year-to-year while they had one of their weaker freshman classes in years with only one likely renewal (Elementary, which has already gotten the official renewal). So I think they need to be aggressive in some areas and that might mean getting away from some traditions for them. Check out my suggestions from 2012 and 2011 as well as a rundown of the CBS pilots.
MONDAY
8:00 How I Met Your Mother
8:30 FRIENDS WITH BETTER LIVES
9:00 NCIS: Los Angeles
10:00 BEVERLY HILLS COP
Yes, this is very bold but I think CBS should do it. I don't feel like they have enough real estate to expand to two hours and Thursdays is where they're having much more success. Yes, this is admitting defeat with the 2 Broke Girls 9pm move, but I think it's worth it. Do I think they'll do this? Not at all. I would keep the final season of How I Met Your Mother at 8pm and pair it with Friends with Better Lives, which sounds like it might have a similar appeal. NCIS: Los Angeles is more than ready to be on its own and I would bring it over here to lead into the promising new pilot Beverly Hills Cop (a remake of the hit 1980s movie). This is bold and I'm not even sure I fully think it would work but they have to do something with Monday. This spring has gotten pretty brutal.
TUESDAY
8:00 NCIS
9:00 HOSTAGES
10:00 Person of Interest
Well NCIS should stay at 8pm and I'm really against the idea of bringing the NCIS spinoff off here and making three hours of NCIS shows. I would definitely air a new drama at 9pm because 10pm hasn't worked for Unforgettable, Vegas, or Golden Boy in the last two years. NCIS: Los Angeles could go to 10pm but if they go to two hours of comedies on Thursdays, Person of Interest needs a new home. I think it could do well at 10pm Tuesday where it would counter program Parenthood and nothing has really broken out. At 9pm, I would air the most promising new drama. To me, that sounds like Hostages which has a really intriguing premise and sounds a little unique for CBS.
WEDNESDAY
8:00 Survivor
9:00 Criminal Minds
10:00 CSI
I don't see any reason to change Wednesdays. It is a very competitive night and they have a very stable lineup here. At one point, I thought Survivor and The Amazing Race should share a time period and each air one cycle, but I'm not sure about that anymore. They've both been pretty consistent this spring so I think they'll be ok.
THURSDAY
8:00 Two and a Half Men
8:30 2 Broke Girls
9:00 The Big Bang Theory
9:30 MOM
10:00 Elementary
I would really put some muscle behind the two hour comedy block. I've struggled with whether or not CBS should move to 2 hours of comedy on Thursdays but I think it's time because The Big Bang Theory is an absolute beast and it can really change the 9pm hour. I would slide Two and a Half Men to 8pm and give 2 Broke Girls a cushion again in hopes it can get a second chance at being an anchor down the road. At 9:30pm, I would air the most promising new comedy. It's not my favorite premise or people but Chuck Lorre's Mom seems like the best fit for this slot. At 10pm, I would keep Elementary even though I was tempted to slide Person of Interest here. But I think Person would relocate better than Elementary and it might be a better fit out of the comedies.
FRIDAY
8:00 The Mentalist
9:00 THE SURGEON GENERAL
10:00 Blue Bloods
New Friday dramas have failed in recent years but I would try it one more time and sandwich it with a relocated The Mentalist and Blue Bloods. The Surgeon General sounds like an older-skewing Friday night drama that might work if it's a quality show. It's a gamble but they always have Undercover Boss on deck again like they had this year when Made in Jersey flopped quickly. It's worth a shot. After all, they launched Blue Bloods successfully a couple years ago.
SATURDAY
8:00 Drama Encores
10:00 48 Hours
A few years ago, I thought CBS should expand to Saturdays but I don't think so anymore. This was a tougher year for them and I think they have other things to focus on.
SUNDAY
7:00 60 Minutes
8:00 The Amazing Race
9:00 Hawaii Five-0
10:00 The Good Wife
I wouldn't air a new drama on Sundays because of the football overruns that really mess things up. Instead, I would bring Hawaii Five-0 over because it's not cutting it on Mondays and I would slide The Good Wife to 10pm where it seems to perform better anyway when overruns happen. This is a safe Sunday lineup but I think it's necessary. I wouldn't bring a big gun to this night. When's the last time they successfully launched a Sunday drama?
MIDSEASON: Mike & Molly, Undercover Boss, BAD TEACHER, CRAZY ONES, UNTITLED TAD QUILL, ANATOMY OF VIOLENCE, THE ORDAINED
Mike & Molly is the true odd show out here and I just couldn't find a place for it. It really deserves to be on the fall schedule but either this or 2 Broke Girls needs to take a break if CBS has three hours of comedies because CBS needs to launch two in the fall next year. So I picked Mike & Molly to fill the Rules of Engagement role but we'll see. Undercover Boss can be a potential Friday destination depending on how the lineup goes. For Bad Teacher and Crazy Ones, I would air them in a block on Wednesdays and Sundays at 8pm for January to bridge the seasons of Survivor and The Amazing Race. I would launch them after football in the playoffs and give them a chance. They have some pedigree with Teacher based on a hit movie and Crazy starring Robin Williams, but they are single-cams that wouldn't really fit in the lineup. As for the other shows, the Tad Quill project has too good a cast to pass up while CBS needs some dramas on deck in case they have another disastrous fall with their newbies like this year.
CANCELLED: CSI: NY, Golden Boy, The Job, Made in Jersey, Partners, Rules of Engagement, Vegas
Nothing too surprising here. It's time to say goodbye to Rules of Engagement after the show just wouldn't die for years.
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