2013 Fall Television Schedule Announcement (CBS)

CBS announced its 2013 - 2014 primetime schedule today! You can check out the full announcement below:

CBS unveiled today its new 2013-2014 schedule, featuring eight new series - five comedies and three dramas - to build on the strength of America's top-rated network. Five of the new series will premiere in the fall and three at mid-season.

CBS will finish the current season as the top-rated network in viewers for the 10th time in 11 seasons, #1 in the adults 25-54 demographic and #1 in adults 18-49 for the first time since the 1991-1992 season.

For next fall, the Network is increasing its comedy lineup with four new comedies, expanding its comedy block on Thursdays from 8:00-10:00 PM and creating an encore hour for comedy broadcasts on Saturdays.

The new comedies are THE CRAZY ONES, a single-camera comedy from executive producer David E. Kelley starring Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar; THE MILLERS, a multi-generational family comedy from executive producer Greg Garcia starring Will Arnett, Margo Martindale, Beau Bridges and JB Smoove; MOM, an edgy family comedy from executive producer Chuck Lorre starring Anna Faris and Allison Janney; and WE ARE MEN, an ensemble single-camera comedy starring Tony Shalhoub, Kal Penn, Chris Smith and Jerry O'Connell.

Two new dramas have been scheduled for Mondays at 10:00 PM. HOSTAGES, the serialized suspense thriller from executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer starring Toni Collette and Dylan McDermott, premieres in the fall, building to a season finale in January. Soon after, INTELLIGENCE, a high-octane action drama starring Josh Holloway, Marg Helgenberger and Meghan Ory, moves into the time period for the remainder of the season.

The freshman series will be joined by 20 returning shows including NCIS, the season's most watched show; THE BIG BANG THEORY, the season's #1 comedy in viewers and demos; 60 MINUTES, the season's #1 news magazine; and ELEMENTARY, the season's #1 new drama.

The other returning series include: HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, 2 BROKE GIRLS, NCIS: LOS ANGELES, PERSON OF INTEREST, SURVIVOR, CRIMINAL MINDS, CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION, TWO AND A HALF MEN, UNDERCOVER BOSS, HAWAII FIVE-0, BLUE BLOODS, 48 HOURS, THE AMAZING RACE, THE GOOD WIFE and THE MENTALIST.

In addition, the proven hit returning comedy MIKE & MOLLY, starring Academy Award nominee Melissa McCarthy and Billy Gardell; the new steamy legal drama RECKLESS; and the new romantic comedy FRIENDS WITH BETTER LIVES are set for mid-season.

CBS TELEVISION NETWORK
2013-2014 PRIME TIME SCHEDULE
(N=New, NT=New Time, all times ET/PT)

MONDAY
8:00-8:30 PM HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
8:30-9:00 PM WE ARE MEN (N)
9:00-9:30 PM 2 BROKE GIRLS
9:30-10:00 PM MOM (N)
10:00-11:00 PM HOSTAGES (N) / INTELLIGENCE (Mid-Season) (N)

TUESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM NCIS
9:00-10:00 PM NCIS: LOS ANGELES
10:00-11:00 PM PERSON OF INTEREST (NT)

WEDNESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM SURVIVOR
9:00-10:00 PM CRIMINAL MINDS
10:00-11:00 PM CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION

THURSDAY
8:00-8:30 PM THE BIG BANG THEORY
8:30-9:00 PM THE MILLERS (N)
9:00-9:30 PM THE CRAZY ONES (N)
9:30-10:00 PM TWO AND A HALF MEN (NT)
10:00-11:00 PM ELEMENTARY

FRIDAY
8:00-9:00 PM UNDERCOVER BOSS
9:00-10:00 PM HAWAII FIVE-0 (NT)
10:00-11:00 PM BLUE BLOODS

SATURDAY
8:00-8:30 PM COMEDYTIME SATURDAY (N)
8:30-9:00 PM COMEDYTIME SATURDAY (N)
9:00-10:00 PM CRIMETIME SATURDAY
10:00-11:00 PM 48 HOURS

SUNDAY
7:00-8:00 PM 60 MINUTES
8:00-9:00 PM THE AMAZING RACE
9:00-10:00 PM THE GOOD WIFE
10:00-11:00 PM THE MENTALIST

Fall TV Report: Freshman shows

I am WAY behind on a lot of my blogging. There's several things I could post, but I'll begin with a discussion of the few new shows that have caught my eye.

Elementary - I'm a big mystery fan and there's no greater sleuth than Sherlock. He's very hot right now with the Robert Downey Jr. film franchise and a successful BBC series as well. This latest entry, starring Johnny Lee Miller as Holmes and Lucy Liu as a female Watson has not been the slam dunk that I had hoped for and I think part of the problem is the network its on. CBS has a slew of succesful shows, but they are all very familiar and routine. In the first few episodes, the stories told haven't been anything that couldn't have been used on CSI, or NCIS, or The Mentalist, or... shall I go on? I want more brain-testing mysteries and more idiosyncrasies on display by Holmes. I do have some hope that things can improve as this past week's episode was the first one that felt like Holmes and Watson were an actual team instead of making Liu completely superfluous to the story. True Holmes fans will likely be disappointed, but for everyone looking for another solid crime series, this will do just fine. It's been picked up for a full season so look for this to stick around for a while.

Go On - It's the lone new sitcom that has appealed to me in the least and had any success (moderate though it may be) in the ratings. The premise for the show (Matthew Perry attends weekly group therapy sessions to deal with the death of his wife) is relatively fresh and unique. It's also has an amazingly talented cast of comedic actors including Julie White, Brett Gelman, John Cho, Bill Cobbs, and a few others who you'd likely recognize if you saw them. But for all that this show has going for it, I feel like it really hasn't maximized its potential. Some shows struggle initially until it finally finds its voice. I'm hoping that's the case here. I enjoy seeing these characters, I just don't laugh as much as with some of my other favorite sitcoms. Given the lack of other options, I'll stick with this one for now.

Revolution - I had some serious reservations about this one. I've been burned by one too many Lost clones in recent years and feared I would do the same with this one. Shows like this have great setups and no follow through. Then the audience erodes and the series gets cancelled before the viewers who stuck around can get any answers. Well I'm happy to report that thus far this show has bucked that trend. From a viewer standpoint, it's been a huge hit for NBC and has already received a full season order. From my perspective, the show is far from perfect, but solid enough to have captured my interest. Instead of having everything hinge on one singular mystery, the writers have created a lot of different stories that are each intriguing. I'm also pleased that I don't really hate any of the characters to the degree that I want them killed off each episode. The show has so far also done a decent job of keeping the story moving so that you feel like you learn or accomplish something new each episode. I think the success this show has seen will allow the people behind this show to have the confidence to continue to move forward at an appropriate pace and deliver quality entertainment that can last beyond just one season.

Those are the only new shows that I'm regularly watching. Last Resort is one that I still hope to catch, but I'll have to do so through On Demand because I have too many other things airing at the same time that it does. I watched the premiere of Animal Practice and it is disappointingly awful. Everyone else seemed to agree because NBC has already cancelled it. I've seen parts of The Mindy Project and Ben and Kate, but neither of those seemed to be targeted for me. If you've seen any other new show, feel free to chime in and offer your thoughts.

2012 Fall Television Schedule Announcement (CBS)

This will wrap up the fall TV posts. I won't bother with the CW's lineup since I don't watch anything on that network and hardly anyone else does either. But if you're dying to see what they have in store, you can check it out at this link.

2012 CBS Fall Lineup

CBS has sat atop the ratings throne for several years now and the moves they made for the fall suggest they don't plan on losing that crown anytime soon. They cancelled the few deadweight shows that they had (adios CSI: Miami) and kept most of their hits in their same timeslots. The biggest change was moving Two and Half Men to Thursday nights and pairing it with The Big Bang Theory. Given that Men is getting a bit long in the tooth, it's a shrew decision to not rely it as the Monday anchor and instead have it along side the very popular Bang. That will no doubt further solidify CBS's hold on Thursday night programming. While I gave up on 2 Broke Girls, it's clear the CBS has enough confidence in it to make it the new anchor on Monday nights. Given how successful CBS has been, they really don't have too many new shows coming out. Of the ones that did make the fall lineup, the most intriguing one for me is Elementary - a modern day take on Sherlock Holmes with a female (Lucy Liu) in the Watson role. It'll take some time for me to wrap my head around the gender switch, but otherwise it looks like it could be another solid procedural for CBS.