Unlike ABC, CBS has managed to actually keep a few shows they introduced next year. They return a total of six series from last year, more than any of the other networks. Does this mean all those shows are great? Not necessarily but at least CBS did not fall victim to the “grass is greener” philosophy other networks seem to follow.
Because of that CBS has not many changes to its schedule. The big changes happen on Sunday night, where ‘Cold Case’ moves an hour later, ‘The Amazing Race’ takes its 8 p.m. slot and ‘Without a Trace’ ends the night off. If Race and Trace can carry their audiences to Sunday CBS should have a very strong night and may challenge ABC’s domination of the night now with ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ moving to Thursday.
Here is a breakdown of the four new shows that will debut in the fall of 2006.
The Class
This new comedy will follow ‘How I Met Your Mother,’ at 8:30 p.m. on Mondays. Like that show it follows a group of twenty-somethings. These folks all shared the same grade three class and they have an impromptu reunion on the 20th anniversary of when they met. If this sounds a bit like déjàvu you are not alone. The concept sounds strikingly familiar to ABC’s ‘In Case of Emergency.’ Lucky for ‘The Class’ that it will debut first so whether Emergency ripped off Class or vice versa won’t matter as Class is the first out of the gate. Jason Ritter, the son of the late John and best known for his solid work in ‘Joan of Arcadia’ is joined by mixture of young actors who you may or may not recognize including Lizzy Caplin who most recently appeared in ‘Related,’ and Andrea Anders from ‘Joey.’ The success of the show will depend on the chemistry of the ensemble cast. After many attempts before is the world ready for a new ‘Friends’? Either way it pairs up well with it’s lead-in, ‘How I Met Your Mother.’
Smith
Ray Liotta, best known for ‘Goodfellas,’ plays another criminal in this new one-hour dram. This time he is a master thief and part of a close-knit crew of criminals who plan two or three big heists a year. Sounds a bit like ‘Heist’ without the pressure of the whole show revolving around one big heist. Virginia Madsen from ‘Sideways’ plays Liotta’s unsuspecting wife. The FBI are on the tail of Liotta’s gang as he tries to get a few more big scores so he can retire. Jonny Lee Miller, ‘Trainspotting,’ and Amy Smart ‘Road Trip’ also star in the John Wells, ‘ER,’ produced series. There have been several attempts to create a crime drama of this sorts. With Wells, Liotta and Madsen tied to the project one would have to give this series the benefit of the doubt and think maybe someone has figured out how to make this idea work.
Jericho
An apocalyptic drama about small town Jericho, Kansas explores what happens when a mushroom cloud appears on the horizon leaving the residents of the town isolated and wondering if they are the only Americans left alive. Needless to say doses of chaos and mayhem follow once power and communication systems go dead. But not everyone in the town is ready to let things fall apart and let paranoia take over. Skeet Ulrich, ‘Scream’ and ‘Miracles’ and Gerald McRaney, ‘Major Dad,’ and ‘Deadwood’ lead a solid cast that includes Ashley Scott, ‘Dark Angel,’ Sprague Grayden, ‘Six Feet Under,’ Michael Gaston, ‘Blind Justice,’ and Erik Knudsen, ‘Saw II,’ just to name a few. I’m a big fan of the whole apocalyptic drama, whether in book, TV or movie format. ‘Jeremia’ tried to pull off this genre a few years ago but couldn’t last more than a few seasons. Hopefully ‘Jericho’ can be as dark as an old favourite and mysterious of mine, ‘Carnivale’ and have a bit of ‘The Stand’ thrown in for good measure.
Shark
CBS sticks with the plan to have as many one word title dramas as humanly possible. Sharks stars Emmy winner James Woods, best know for James Woods High in ‘Family Guy,’ and the most famous Rhode Island native. Ok perhaps not, but I couldn’t resist. Woods, who I loved in ‘Diggstown,’ has been in so many movies it’s hard to name just one of two. Woods plays Sebastian Shark a defense attorney who switches sides and joins the L.A.’s District Attorney office. His boss is the beautiful Jeri Ryan, ‘Star Trek: Voyager,’ and ‘The O.C.’ Shark is used to bending the law and being a bit underhanded in order to win. Spike Lee directs and Brian Grazer, of ‘A Beautiful Mind’ fame produces. Legal dramas are always a popular genre for TV. Some are wildly successful and others just fade away. The big question will be if Woods can be captivating every week rather than just for two hours at a time.
Mid-Season Shows
‘The King of Queens’ is not gone for good and will return at mid-season. Two other dramas and one new comedy are set for mid-season debuts. 3 LBS is a medical drama staring Stanley Tucci, ‘The Terminal’ about New York neurosurgeons. Waterfront is a drama about the major of Providence R.I., staring Joe Pantoliano ‘The Sopranos.’ Rules of Engagement stars Patrick Warburton, who played played David Puddy in ‘Seinfeld,’ in a comedy about two couples and single guy.
It looks like CBS can afford to sit on its laurels and not make too many big changes to its schedule. All four of the new shows coming out this fall sound like they could be winners, odds are not all four will succeed but even if only one or two of them turn out to be hits CBS should still stay on top of its perch.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wedneday | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 PM | How I Met Your Mother THE CLASS |
ncis | JERICHO |
| 9 PM | Two and a Half Men The New Adventure of Old Christine |
The Unit | Criminal Minds |
| 10 PM | CSI: Miami | SMITH | CSI: New York |
| Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 PM | 60 Minutes | |||
| 8 PM | Survivor | Ghost Whisperer | Crimetime Saturday | The Amazing Race |
| 9 PM | csi | Close To Home | Cold Case | |
| 10 PM | SHARK | Numb3rs | 48 Hours Mystery | Without a Trace |
