UPFRONTS 2019: What CBS Should Do

Continuing my schedule suggestions, today is CBS!

CBS is losing the heart of its lineup - The Big Bang Theory - after 12 seasons. This show has dominated ratings for years and its absence will definitely be felt, especially because CBS likes to repeat it all over the schedule. They also are still struggling to find a new tentpole drama and while they renewed most of their freshman class, some of them (Magnum P.I. and God Friended Me) struggled mightily at times. They did have a modest success story in The Neighborhood on Monday nights, but it's not the game-changer CBS needs.

Past CBS suggestions: 2018   2017   2016   2015   2014   2013   2012   2011

MONDAYS
8:00 The Neighborhood
8:30 OUR HOUSE
9:00 ALIVE
10:00 Bull
CBS has had some success with The Neighborhood, but the rest of the night is a mess. I think they need to fix the 8:30pm and 9pm slots first and then worry about Bull's slot next season. I think the comedy Our House might be a good tonal fit with The Neighborhood and the Ryan Phillippe Frankenstein drama might be an interesting 9pm slot that's very different from Magnum P.I. or The Code so it's worth trying in a slot that wasn't horrible to genre drama The Passage on FOX this year.

TUESDAYS
8:00 NCIS
9:00 FBI
10:00 NCIS: New Orleans
I know a lot are speculating that the FBI spinoff will follow the mothership in the fall, but I would pull the NBC Chicago PD treatment and spin it off halfway through the second year of the main show. So I would keep Tuesdays as is for the fall and hope FBI can get a little stronger in year two.

WEDNESDAYS
8:00 Survivor
9:00 EVIL
10:00 Criminal Minds
Wednesday at 9pm has been a problem slot, but I still don't think it's a bad place to launch a new drama. Evil, which sounds a little different from a lot of CBS entries, would be an intriguing entry here in my opinion. I would bookend it with the always reliable Survivor and the final and shortened season of Criminal Minds, which can give way to something new in January.

THURSDAYS
8:00 Young Sheldon
8:30 CAROL'S SECOND ACT
9:00 Mom
9:30 BOB HEARTS ABISHOLA
10:00 S.W.A.T.
The absence of The Big Bang Theory is going to be felt big time on Thursday night. I'm not convinced it will work, but Young Sheldon has to be given the shot as the heir apparent. I would follow it with the Patricia Heaton comedy Carol's Second Act and 8:30pm and the new Chuck Lorre comedy Bob Hearts Abishola at 9:30pm after Mom. I think S.W.A.T. has done okay at 10pm and Thursday 10pm would be a tough slot to launch a newbie anyway.

FRIDAYS
8:00 Hawaii Five-0
9:00 Magnum P.I.
10:00 Blue Bloods
Well, CBS renewed Magnum P.I. so it has to go somewhere. It doesn't deserve Sunday at 8pm as some have speculated so I think Fridays makes the most sense. If it can't work there, it's not going to work anywhere and following fellow Hawaii-set reboot Hawaii Five-0 makes a decent amount of sense.

SATURDAYS
8:00 Encores
10:00 48 Hours
As always.

SUNDAYS
7:00 60 Minutes
8:00 THE REPUBLIC OF SARAH
9:00 God Friended Me
10:00 NCIS: Los Angeles
Sundays are interesting. God Friended Me had a couple really strong showings when it had a football or other strong lead-in, but it also had some real stinkers on other weeks. I don't think it's done enough to get the 8pm slot back, so I would put it back an hour and have it follow another interesting sounding drama, The Republic of Sarah. I think it's time for NCIS: Los Angeles to get the short stick of the 10pm Sunday slot. The veteran drama probably only has a year or two left anyway.

MIDSEASON: FBI: MOST WANTED, FROM RICHES, SURVEILLANCE, TOMMY, Big Brother Celebrity Edition, Life in Pieces, MacGyver, Man with a Plan, SEAL Team
CBS puts more on the midseason deck than they used to and they will definitely need something for Criminal Minds plus other shows that don't work. Big Brother: Celebrity Edition can do another winter run while the returning comedies and dramas can be late spring or summer shows if things go well. It's less obvious than some networks with less limited run shows where newbies could go because it kind of depends on how the fall shows do.

CANCELLED/ENDED: The Big Bang Theory, The Code, Fam, Happy Together, Madam Secretary, Million Dollar Mile, Murphy Brown, Ransom, The Red Line, The World's Best