From today's PI:

CBS in 2007-08:
Five New Fall Series; Changes on Six Nights of the Week

CBS, the most-watched network, has designed a 2007-08 prime time schedule emphasizing strength, consistency and new potential opportunities. The Eye net will introduce five new fall series (dramas Cane, Moonlight and Viva Laughlin; sitcom The Big Bang Theory; and the non-scripted Kid Nation), with changes impacting six nights of the week. Only perennial wasteland Saturday will remain unchanged, with two hours of drama series repeats (packaged as Crimetime Saturday) and 48 Hours Mystery.

Two returning CBS series will relocate to new time periods. Without a Trace will move back to its original Thursday 10 p.m. slot for season No. 6, while Shark will head to Sunday at 10 p.m. (out of Cold Case) for season two. The network has also announced four midseason series, including 1976-based drama Swingtown, a new game show called Power of 10 hosted by Drew Carey, and new seasons of The Amazing Race and The New Adventures of Old Christine. Not returning are dramas Close to Home and Jericho.

Here is CBS’ fall 2007 primetime schedule with new shows bolded in caps, followed by the new program descriptions:

Monday
8:00 p.m. How I Met Your Mother
8:30 p.m. THE BIG BANG THEORY
9:00 p.m. Two and a Half Men
9:30 p.m. Rules of Engagement
10:00 p.m. CSI: Miami

Tuesday
8:00 p.m. NCIS
9:00 p.m. The Unit
10:00 p.m. CANE

Wednesday
8:00 p.m. KID NATION
9:00 p.m. Criminal Minds
10:00 p.m. CSI: NY

Thursday
8:00 p.m. Survivor: China
9:00 p.m. CSI
10:00 p.m. Without a Trace (new day)

Friday
8:00 p.m. Ghost Whisperer
9:00 p.m. MOONLIGHT
10:00 p.m. Numb3rs

Saturday
8:00 p.m. Crimetime Saturday (drama encores)
9:00 p.m. Crimetime Saturday (drama encores)
10:00 p.m. 48 Hours Mystery

Sunday
7:00 p.m. 60 Minutes
8:00 p.m. VIVA LAUGHLIN
9:00 p.m. Cold Case
10:00 p.m. Shark (new day)

New Program Descriptions

Dramas

CANE
Former L.A. Law/NYPD Blue star Jimmy Smits returns to the regularly scheduled series grind as the immigrant heir to a family fortune, who must battle to keep his place in the rum and sugar trading business in South Florida. The ensemble cast includes Nestor Carbonell, Sam Carmen, Hector Elizondo, Lina Esco, Eddie Matos, Rita Moreno, Alona Tal, Michael Trevino and Polly Walker.

MOONLIGHT
In this new twist on the traditional vampire type of story telling, an “undead” private investigator named Mick (Alex O’Loughlin) uses his acute vampire senses to help the living instead of feeding on them. With only a handful of undead confidantes for company, Mick fills his days by trying to protect the living. Moonlight is created by movie producer Joel Silver (The Matrix).

VIVA LAUGHLIN
In this musical mystery/drama based on the BBC series Viva Blackpool, a man who opens a casino in the desert oasis of Laughlin, Nevada quickly realizes that life as a casino owner is no easy feat. The cast includes Madchen Amick, PJ Byrne, Carter Jenkins, Lloyd Owen and Eric Winter. Hugh Jackman is an executive producer.

SWINGTOWN (midseason)
After a new family moves into an affluent Chicago suburb it soon discovers that all is not quiet in suburbia with open marriages, wife swapping, couple swapping and wild parties. Shanna Collins, Jack Davenport, John Hopkins, Molly Parker, Eric Winter and D.B. Woodside star.

---------------

Comedy

THE BIG BANG THEORY
Two brainy best friends (Jim Parsons and Roseanne star Jonny Galecki) and the remaining members of their “geek” squad” try to fit into the social world at the coaching of their sexy new neighbor (Kaley Cuoco of 8 Simple Rules fame). Chuck Lorre (Two and a Half Men) is the creator.

--------------------

Non-Scripted

KID NATION
Forty over-achieving kids between the ages of 8 and 15 will have 40 days to build a new world without any parental supervision in a deserted town in Bonanza City, New Mexico. They will cook their own meals, run their own homes and businesses, and create a real government while coping with the everyday pressures of being a child.

POWER OF 10 (midseason)
In this high-stakes new game show, contestants are challenged to guess the behaviors, opinions and lifestyle choices of the American public for a chance to win $10 million. Drew Carey is the host.

What a horrible scheduling job by CBS....

Viva Laughlin on Sundays? No way it survives. It would not have survived in any timeslot, but putting it here is a death wish. That show will be delayed at least half the time by NFL overruns. Moving Shark to Sundays will definitely hurt it too. I see Sundays as being a big problem for CBS next year.

CANE on Tuesdays at 10PM? How many new shows will CBS debut in this timeslot before they learn? Why not just put Without a Trace in this timeslot? This would almost assure them of beating NBC.

We will have to see what happens with KID NATION and MOONLIGHT. Those 2 I see as having a decent chance of doing well, especially based on competition in their time periods.

But I see being weaker on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays next year. The Thursday shows are aging quickly too.

Also, I do not understand why a network like CBS could not have kept Close to Home and put it on Saturdays at 9:00. I have never watched the show, but based on its viewer numbers why not try? The older people watching it on Fridays would be there on Saturday. I do not understand....

i agree

quote:

I see Sundays as being a big problem for CBS next year.

Does this mark the death knell for the other comedy pilots that CBS was mulling over? e.g. 1321 Clover and I'm in Hell?

I can't wait to see all of you naysayers eat crow next fall.....

quote:

Originally posted by vlis:
i agree

quote:

I see Sundays as being a big problem for CBS next year.

I'll Third It.

quote:

Originally posted by vlis:
i agree

quote:

I see Sundays as being a big problem for CBS next year.

So x, you do not see the Sunday night time slot as being a potential issue with this show? I think the show would have tanked in any timeslot, but to try and build a new show in a timeslot that will have it be delayed half of the time is simply stupid. This show has no chance....

quote:

Originally posted by xwiseguyx:
I can't wait to see all of you naysayers eat crow next fall.....

quote:

Originally posted by vlis:
i agree

quote:

I see Sundays as being a big problem for CBS next year.

I think it has a solid production team behind it and some good talent. This is the type of show that should be on Sundays. It will get a sampling in this slot which is the goal for any new series. If the show is as bad as you all claim it will be, then it will tank the following weeks. I just happen to think it will be something fresh and exciting that will maintain the viewers for Week 2.

Or in the case of TV-aholic and AL, eat Caveman.

quote:

Originally posted by xwiseguyx:
I can't wait to see all of you naysayers eat crow next fall.....

quote:

Originally posted by vlis:
i agree

quote:

I see Sundays as being a big problem for CBS next year.

With Fox and CW announcements still pending, CBS has got to have the safest, most conservative schedule going into the fall. The top-ranked net will likely see its advantage over ABC and Fox decline next season. Perhaps CBS should stock up on midseason shows – they may need them.

Among the questionable decisions, why bench Old Christine in favor of the new Big Bang Theory? CBS has had success the past two seasons launching shows in midseason (both Christine and Rules of Engagement), so why not try to make it three in a row.

The soapy Cane could have worked better as a lead-out of the declining CSI, especially since CBS got years of mileage out of soapy Knots Landing in the time period during the 1980s/90s. Returning Without a Trace to Thursdays isn’t doing anything to prepare the next generation of CBS hits. The net would have done well to switch it with Cane on Tuesdays, as some have mentioned. NBC fiddled for years with mediocre sitcoms (Union Square, Boston Common, Jesse, etc.) that were produced in-house instead of creative or (dare I say?) funny. As a result, the net has tumbled to fourth place on a night it once commanded, even in reruns. Is CBS poised for the same fate with long-running hits CSI and Survivor seemingly past their peak?

The big question about Viva Laughlin isn’t why it airs on Sunday, but why it is on the air, period. Does CBS think that this series, despite Hugh Jackman’s involvement, will succeed where classic shows like Cop Rock famously failed? Perhaps allowing the mid-season entry Swingtown to compete against the similar-themed Brothers & Sisters on ABC at 10:00 p.m. would have been better.

The big loser from CBS’s upfront appears to be Jerry Bruckheimer. Not only are his three hit series – the CSI franchise – beginning to decline, but the network cancels his Close to Home and holds off on his Amazing Race. Not only does the network hold back Race but replaces it with Kid Nation, which sounds like a reality reject from Fox. If CBS were smart, and serious about protecting its dominance, it would have Race and Survivor share a Thursday slot and only run one “cycle” each regular season. If Survivor sees declines similar to the ones from the Cook Islands season vs. the Fiji season, the upcoming China cycle will only attract around 10 million viewers. Such a development will be bad for the series, the night, and the network.

Unless CBS comes up with a great schedule next spring, the Tiffany network could see its dominance challenged in 2008-09 by ABC or Fox (depending on its fall plans).

Hopefully when someone actually has viewed the Viva Laughlin pilot, can this silly Cop Rock comparison be put to rest.

quote:

Originally posted by xwiseguyx:
I think it has a solid production team behind it and some good talent. This is the type of show that should be on Sundays. It will get a sampling in this slot which is the goal for any new series. If the show is as bad as you all claim it will be, then it will tank the following weeks. I just happen to think it will be something fresh and exciting that will maintain the viewers for Week 2.

Isn't this the same timeslot "Grease" was in this season, and managed a HUT in the 4s when it settled into its slot? Not quite the same show, but the musical idea was tried here...

quote:

Originally posted by Paul LeBel:

quote:

Originally posted by xwiseguyx:
I think it has a solid production team behind it and some good talent. This is the type of show that should be on Sundays. It will get a sampling in this slot which is the goal for any new series. If the show is as bad as you all claim it will be, then it will tank the following weeks. I just happen to think it will be something fresh and exciting that will maintain the viewers for Week 2.

Isn't this the same timeslot "Grease" was in this season, and managed a HUT in the 4s when it settled into its slot? Not quite the same show, but the musical idea was tried here...

Good Point.

And isn't the guy who ran that HIT, Veronic Mars, going to be on the production team?

Not even close. Have you really read the description of this show? It's got some music in it, but it is not the majority of the concept here. C'mon now Paul. Why make so many comparisons / comments / cast judgements on something you haven't even seen?

quote:

Originally posted by Paul LeBel:
Isn't this the same timeslot "Grease" was in this season, and managed a HUT in the 4s when it settled into its slot? Not quite the same show, but the musical idea was tried here...

quote:

Originally posted by TV-aholic:

quote:

Originally posted by Paul LeBel:

quote:

Originally posted by xwiseguyx:
I think it has a solid production team behind it and some good talent. This is the type of show that should be on Sundays. It will get a sampling in this slot which is the goal for any new series. If the show is as bad as you all claim it will be, then it will tank the following weeks. I just happen to think it will be something fresh and exciting that will maintain the viewers for Week 2.

Isn't this the same timeslot "Grease" was in this season, and managed a HUT in the 4s when it settled into its slot? Not quite the same show, but the musical idea was tried here...

Good Point.

And isn't the guy who ran that HIT, Veronic Mars, going to be on the production team?

NO he is not. They didn't hire him (see main thread as I pointed it out to you there)