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RENEWAL ALERT: NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, Criminal Minds, CSI, Person of Interest, 2 Broke Girls, Mike & Molly, Two and a Half Men, The Amazing Race, 48 Hours, 60 Minutes, The Millers, Mom, The Good Wife, Blue Bloods, Hawaii Five-0, Elementary, Undercover Boss

For the third year in a row, CBS renewed pretty much all their shows in one March swoop. 18 series were renewed by the Eye network, joining the already renewed Survivor and The Big Bang Theory. A few were left in the cold (more on that below).

The "no brainer" renewals included NCIS (12th season), NCIS: Los Angeles (6th season), Criminal Minds (10th season), CSI (15th season), Person of Interest (4th season), 2 Broke Girls (4th season), Mike & Molly (5th season), Two and a Half Men (12th season), The Amazing Race (25th/26th edition), 48 Hours (28th season), and 60 Minutes (47th (!) season). All of these shows were sure to come back even as some like The Amazing Race and Criminal Minds are slipping and others like 2 Broke Girls are still question marks in terms of their ability to hold their own. Two and a Half is rumored to possibly be for a 13 episode final season, but that's not confirmed.

Two freshman were on the list: The Millers and Mom. The Millers is TV's top new sitcom this year but a lot of that may have to do with the mammoth lead-in of The Big Bang Theory. Its retention has hovered around 50% and that cancelled shows like Rob, $#*! My Dad Says, and even eventually Rules of Engagement. But The Millers will get another year, though I doubt it will continue to air after Big Bang as that will most likely go to a new show. Mom had less of a lead-in on Monday nights but it has been remarkably steady even as the lineup has shuffled around when 2 Broke Girls didn't work in the anchor slot. It has pretty much gotten a 1.9-2.4 demo all season and comes from Chuck Lorre so that was a feather in its cap too.

Several shows were less sure things but nothing was a surprise: The Good Wife (6th season), Blue Bloods (5th season), Hawaii Five-0 (5th season), Elementary (3rd season), and Undercover Boss (6th season). Even with middling ratings, The Good Wife has been having a creative renaissance this year. Hawaii Five-0 made a very successful move to Fridays and that has helped Blue Bloods. Elementary benefited by holding its own against Scandal as well as the two new CBS drama (Hostages and Intelligence bombing). Undercover Boss is a reliable plug-in show when something goes wrong.

Left off the list was The Mentalist, The Crazy Ones, Hostages, and Intelligence along with the departing How I Met Your Mother and cancelled We Are Men. Hostages and Intelligence are dead while it doesn't look good for The Crazy Ones after a strong start. The Mentalist would be the toughest cancellation but CBS often has to end a reliable veteran drama and that may be it this year. Still to premiere for CBS is Friends with Better Lives and Bad Teacher.

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