CBS:

After 6 seasons, Patrick Jane finally found and killed Red John, and hence it’s time to possibly bid farewell to The Mentalist, one of my favourite TV shows. Though at this point surprisingly renewed for a 7^th season, which could be a final shortened seasons according to rumours, producer Bruno Heller has previously mentioned that this season finale (airing next week) could have served as a series finale if the show was cancelled. Now that it isn’t, so begins probably one of the last years (or the last year) with Patrick Jane as one of the anchors for the CBS week. Now that Sundays at 10 are bare (if rumours of only 13 episodes of The Mentalist are to be believed, and the prospect of airing the show when The Amazing Race or Undercover Boss finishes), I would suggest placing Elementary there; the Sherlock Holmes American adapted version of the BCC series in 2010, has recently been struggling of late in the Thursday 10pm slot and a change might be refreshing!

Traditionally, CBS boasts the highest viewers overall almost every year, and most of the dramas and comedies I hardly touch. Out of all the networks, CBS schedules are ones that I haven’t really cared for, mostly because it is virtually the same and very predictable, and almost the same shows are renewed every year, and similar shows catering to older folk are in development. Yet, apart from the usual suspects being present here, there are some pretty bold moves and odd series pickups. Multi-camera comedies The Big Bang Theory, Two And A Half Men, 2 Broke Girls and Mike and Molly have all returned, as expected and though I have not watched any of them, as I am not a fan of comedies with laugh tracks (they tell you when to laugh, and sometimes there is laughter when someone walks in the room!), these shows are very popular and I respect the shows for giving others something to enjoy. I am also certain that these shows present real world messages and inspiration as well. Freshman comedies Mom and The Millers, also with laugh tracks, return to the lineup as well. So where would I place all of these 6 shows as well as freshman comedies The McCarthys (a single camera comedy featuring a soccer crazed family and their ups and downs of relationships) and The Odd Couple (a remake, now starring Thomas Lennon and Matthew Perry)? Well right in their usual places from 2013, with a new show slotting into where How I Met Your Mother was last year, and one of the shows saved until midseason. Because of the apparent slow failure of Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar’s The Crazy Ones, I would scale back the comedy block on Thursdays, giving back the 9pm spot to Person Of Interest (below), where it has thrived for two seasons (and only been mediocre on Tuesdays against NBC’s Chicago Fire).

Two out of the six dramas ordered this year are spinoffs from very successful franchises, of which I believe should have ended many, many years ago. CSI, which has had Miami and New York incarnations already shown on TV, now introduces the Cyber arm of the show, while NCIS delves into the city of New Orleans after they have explored Los Angeles. While I can understand why both franchises are on the air, as viewers and the demo each week are consistently stable and high; these shows do not grab my attention. Nevertheless thy have been a part of the CBS schedule for the past 10 or so years, and speaking objectively, these spinoff formats could potentially be a part of CBS’ future for a very long time if there was a considerable cross over audience between these spinoffs and their parent shows.

    

With Undercover Boss, 60 Minutes (left), The Amazing Race (below), Survivor and The Apprentice; the reality show and news representatives, it seems to me that CBS is more varied and diverse compared to channels like FOX, NBC and ABC, that have cooking, singing and dancing shows to anchor their reality show quota respectively.

Almost immediately after The Michael J Fox Show on NBC went into hiatus in January, Michael found a new TV channel home in CBS’s The Good Wife which he had recurred on previously last year, thus sentencing his semi-autobiographical show to TV death. Is the renewal of The Good Wife a consolation prize for Michael, the fans, or both, particularly when it was neck and neck with The Mentalist in ratings? Perhaps online viewing, prestigious award nominations and wins and social media coverage played a part in this unlikely renewal?

 

The foundation of Fridays include the two shows Hawaii 5-0 (left) as well as the Tom Selleck led family/police drama Blue Bloods (right), and possibly this year also Criminal Minds (as that will probably make way for the CSI spinoff on Wednesdays). The final four new shows are the political thriller Madam Secretary, the tech-savvy Scorpion (which reminds me of the technology side of Person of Interest, with a Castle or Mentalist like team), the suspenseful serialised police drama Stalker, from the creator of The Following Kevin Williamson, and the straight to series order of Battle Creek, sounding like a more serious version of Common Law on USA or the 2002 movie Showtime (starring Robert DeNiro and Eddie Murphy); and together with the remaining CBS returning shows, bode for a CBS lineup that boasts more variety than much of the TV schedules previously.

Here below is a CBS schedule that I think could (and maybe should) occur this coming season. Take a look and comment below of anything you agree or disagree with.

Sundays:

7: 60 Minutes

8: The Amazing Race (Fall)

8: The Mentalist (Midseason)

9: The Good Wife

10: Elementary

Mondays (during football):

8: The Big Bang Theory

8:30: 2 Broke Girls

9: Two And A Half Men

9:30: The Millers

10: Battle Creek

Mondays (after football):

8: 2 Broke Girls

8:30: The Odd Couple

9: Two And A Half Men

9:30: Mom

10: Battle Creek (Fall)

10: Stalker (Midseason)

Tuesdays:

8: NCIS

9: NCIS: NO

10: NCIS: LA

Wednesdays:

8: Survivor

9: CSI

10: CSI: Cyber

Thursdays (after football):

8: Big Bang Theory

8:30: The Millers

9: Person Of Interest

10: Scorpion

Fridays:

8: Criminal Minds (Fall and Spring)

8: Undercover Boss (Midseason)

9: Hawaii 5-0

10: Blue Bloods

Midseason/Unscheduled:

Madam Secretary

Mike And Molly

The McCarthys