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While Other Nets Overhaul Their Lineups, CBS Fine-Tunes

May 18, 2011  •  Post A Comment

CBS, which presented its programming to advertisers at today’s upfront, is gently tweaking its lineup for fall, adding only five new shows and moving around a couple of favorites, Brian Steinberg writes in Advertising Age.

The network will make a try at running original programming on Saturday, a night that has been all but abandoned in recent years by the broadcast nets.

Gone from the lineup are CBS’s "Criminal Minds" spinoff, "$#*! My Dad Says" and "The Defenders."

“The network, which typically draws TV’s broadest audiences, said it would move ‘The Good Wife’ from its Tuesday night perch and the venerable ‘CSI’ from its Thursday night roost in favor of brand-new programs that might find growth in those positions,” Steinberg writes. “CBS also said it would run original episodes of ‘Rules of Engagement’ on Saturdays at 8 p.m., an experiment to see how many viewers could be gained with fresh content amid the usual sea of Saturday night reruns.”

The network is adding five programs. “Mondays remain largely the same with a new comedy, ‘2 Broke Girls,’ taking the 8:30 p.m. spot. ‘How I Met Your Mother’ remains the 8 p.m. anchor, with a retooled version of ‘Two and a Half Men’ running at 9 p.m., ‘Mike & Molly’ at 9:30 and ‘Hawaii Five-0’ at 10,” the story says.

Network execs have high hopes for the return of "Two and a Half Men" with Ashton Kutcher in the lead role. The network said show creator Chuck Lorre has a storyline in the works to explain the shift from Charlie Sheen’s character to Kutcher’s.

"NCIS" and "NCIS: Los Angeles" continue on Tuesdays, followed by a new drama, "Unforgettable," at 10 p.m.

Wednesdays will feature "Survivor" at 8 p.m., "Criminal Minds" at 9 p.m. and the original "CSI" at 10 p.m. Writes Steinberg: "’CSI’ has run on Thursdays for years, so a move suggests CBS believes it can generate more buzz and growth on Thursdays with something new. CBS executives praised the performance of all three ‘CSI’ dramas, noting that ratings for other programs that had moved–‘CSI: NY’ now airs on Fridays after originally running on Wednesday and ‘CSI: Miami’ is now on Sundays after debuting on Mondays–had improved with their relocations.”

Thursdays continue to lead off with comedies, with "The Big Bang Theory" staying at 8 p.m. and a new sitcom, "How to Be A Gentleman," at 8:30 p.m. At 9 p.m., CBS will run the new drama "Person of Interest."

"CSI: NY" remains on Fridays at 9 p.m. and "Blue Bloods" will stay at 10 p.m. The new drama "A Gifted Man" will air at 8 p.m.

Saturdays lead off with the new "Rules of Engagement" episodes at 8 p.m., followed by comedy and crime repeats and "48 Hours Mystery" at 10 p.m.

Sundays offer "60 Minutes" at 7 p.m., "The Amazing Race" at 8 p.m., "The Good Wife" in a new slot at 9 p.m. and "CSI: Miami" at 10 p.m.

CBS slated "Undercover Boss" for midseason, with the new cop show "The 2-2" due up in the second half of the year.

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