CliqueClackCBS benches and reshuffles shows to make room for football
With ‘Thursday Night Football’ taking over CBS’ Thursday schedule and a large number of last season’s shows returning this season, the network has had to shake things up a bit for the fall.
CBS has announced its fall schedule, and with the network having the most returning new shows from the previous season, they really didn’t have too much to change. Until the network acquired Thursday Night Football and spin-offs from the popular CSI and NCIS franchises. In fact, a good portion of their returning programs are benched until football ends its run.
With the Thursday schedule disrupted and the new additions taking old favorites’ time slots, The Mentalist, Mike & Molly, Undercover Boss, and newcomers Battle Creek and The Odd Couple won’t be seen until 2015. Other shows like The Amazing Race and The Big Bang Theory are moving to make room for the new additions. CBS’ biggest change is the end of its 2-hour Monday comedy block, something that’s been in place since 1986! The 9 PM hour now belongs to new thriller Scorpion while the troubled 10 PM spot hopefully gets a boost from NCIS: Los Angeles.
Monday will now lead off with The Big Bang Theory, which will return to its Thursday slot after football (and then 2 Broke Girls will return to Monday), with Mom moving to 8:30. CBS did not pick up HIMYM spin-off How I Met Your Dad. Tuesday starts off with NCIS which leads into the third hour of NCIS shows on the network, this one taking place in New Orleans. Wednesday adds Kevin Williamson’s psychological thriller Stalker starring Dylan McDermott and Maggie Q. Thursday’s new addition is the comedy The McCarthys, about an Irish Catholic, sports-crazed family and the gay son who just doesn’t want to spend that much time with them. Friday welcomes The Amazing Race to the 8 PM timeslot, which should make fans of the show very happy. Why? Because the show will now always start on time! No more football and golf delays (makes setting a DVR so much easier).
Saturday sticks with the Crimetime/48 Hours block, and Sunday sees Madame Secretary, with Tea Leoni, Tim Daly and Bebe Neuwirth, take over the 8 PM slot, and CSI moves to the 10 PM slot until the spin-off CSI: Cyber takes over later in the season. And in case you’re wondering, CBS has confirmed that this will be the final season of Two and a Half Men. The one positive outcome of football disrupting the fall schedule is that the network will have enough original programming to cut down on or eliminate reruns throughout the season. CBS seems to be in a good position heading into fall with a roster of hit shows, newcomers that follow the CBS crime drama formula (so should be successful) and has more powerhouses waiting in the wings. Here’s what the fall schedule looks like:
Monday
8 p.m. — The Big Bang Theory/2 Broke Girls
8:30 p.m. — Mom
9 p.m. — Scorpion
10 p.m. — NCIS: Los Angeles
Tuesday
8 p.m. — NCIS
9 p.m. — NCIS: New Orleans
10 p.m. — Person of Interest
Wednesday
8 p.m. — Survivor
9 p.m. — Criminal Minds
10 p.m. — Stalker
Thursday
8 p.m. – Thursday Night Football
Thursday (after NFL)
8 p.m. — The Big Bang Theory
8:30 p.m. –The Millers
9 p.m. — Two and a Half Men
9:30 p.m. — The McCarthys
10 p.m. — Elementary
Friday
8 p.m. — The Amazing Race
9 p.m. — Hawaii Five-O
10 p.m. — Blue Bloods
Saturday
8 p.m. — Crimetime Saturday/48 Hours
Sunday
7 p.m. — 60 Minutes
8 p.m. — Madame Secretary
9 p.m. — The Good Wife
10 p.m. — CSI/CSI Cyber
