At the end of last season, ABC caused quite a stir with Lost and Desperate Housewives, and seemed poised to give CBS a run for its money. Well, it’s one year later – and CBS is still watched by more viewers than ABC or any other network. The reason is simple: their programming is consistent and familiar.
Staying Put: 60 Minutes, The Amazing Race, Big Brother*, Close to Home, C.S.I., C.S.I.: Miami, C.S.I.: New York, Cold Case, Criminal Minds, The Ghost Whisperer, How I Met Your Mother, King of Queens*, N.C.I.S., New Adventures of Old Christine, Numb3rs, Rock Star*, Survivor, Two and a Half Men, The Unit, Without a Trace
Coming Soon: The Class, Creature Comforts#, Jericho, Rules of Engagement#, Shark, Smith, Waterfront#
Say Goodbye: Courting Alex, Love Monkey, Out of Practice, Still Standing, Threshold, Yes Dear
* Not a full-season pickup
# Mid-season replacement
More of the same this fall for the Tiffany network. 60 Minutes, the C.S.I.‘s, Survivor, Two and a Half Men and Without a Trace continue to roll along. Cold Case and N.C.I.S. are close to joining that group of proven veteran shows, with Criminal Minds and The Unit not far behind. And while How I Met Your Mother might not have the ratings CBS is looking for yet, the younger-skewing comedy gives them a much needed hip-quotient. It’s also very funny.
As for their 2006 Freshmen class, they’ve probably had better in past seasons. But The Class (with John Ritter’s son Jason) should work well with the Monday comedies. And Smith, starring Ray Liotta and Virginia Madsen, could complete a very formidable Tuesday lineup following N.C.I.S. and The Unit.
Let’s face it: it’s good to be CBS. They have the best product to build around and, unlike ABC and NBC, don’t desperately need breakout hits.
Monday
8 How I Met Your Mother
8:30 The Class
9 Two and a Half Men
9:30 The New Adventures of Old Christine
10 CSI: Miami
Tuesday
8 N.C.I.S.
9 The Unit
10 Smith
Wednesday
8 Jericho
9 Criminal Minds
10 C.S.I.: New York
Thursday
8 Survivor
9 C.S.I.
10 Shark
Friday
8 Ghost Whisperer
9 Close to Home
10 Numb3rs
Saturday
8 Crimetime Saturday
9 Crimetime Saturday
10 48 Hours Mystery
Sunday
7 60 Minutes
8 The Amazing Race
9 Cold Case
10 Without a Trace
Strongest Night(s): Thursday & Sunday
Weakest Night(s): Do they have one?
First New Show to Go: Jericho
My Take: Sounds like a broken record at this point, but season after season, CBS has the most consistent programming schedule with the fewest holes. And I love what they did with Sunday: ditching the Sunday movie and moving The Amazing Race and Without a Trace over.
