CBS Goes Nuts

CBS, the network with the most viewers but the least buzz, wants to fix that next season by populating its primetime with a musical, suburban swingers from the '70s (and yes we mean those kind of swingers), a primetime soap about a wealthy South Florida Cuban-American family, a vampire detective, and 40 kids without parents who are given 40 days to forge a new society.

The networks' one new fall sitcom, Monday's "Big Bang Theory," is brought to you by Chuck Lorre, the same guy behind the most-watched sitcom on TV, the very naughty "Two and a Half Men." It's about Cal Tech geeks when confronted by a hot chick -- Kaley Cuoco from "8 Simple Rules."

Tuesday's "Cane" follows the foibles of a large Cuban-American family running a successful rum and sugar business in South Florida. Jimmy Smits, Cynthia Cidre, Rita Moreno, Hector Elizondo, Nestor Carbonell are just a few of the actors in the ensemble cast.

Wednesdays at 8, "Kid Nation" kicks off the night -- think "Lord of the Flies" meets "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."

"Without a Trace" fans rejoice -- CBS has moved the series back to its original Thursday timeslot, switching with James Woods' "Shark," now on Sunday at 10.

Fridays, after Jennifer Love Hewitt talks to dead people, a vampire detective solves crime at 9, in "Moonlight."

And Sunday, musical "Viva Laughlin," based on the British series "Viva Blackpool" gets the post "60 Minutes" timeslot. Hugh Jackman is exec producer and has a recurring role.

But you have to wait for midseason for the swinging suburbanites -- sorry.


CBS TELEVISION NETWORK
2007-2008 PRIMETIME SCHEDULE
(N=New, NT=New Time, all times ET/PT)

MONDAY:
8:00-8:30 p.m. "How I Met Your Mother"
8:30-9:00 p.m. "The Big Bang Theory" (N)
9:00-9:30 p.m. "Two and a Half Men"
9:30-10:00 p.m. "Rules of Engagement"
10:00-11:00 p.m. "CSI: Miami"

TUESDAY:
8:00-9:00 p.m. "NCIS"
9:00-10:00 p.m. "The Unit"
10:00-11:00 p.m. "Cane" (N)

WEDNESDAY:
8:00-9:00 p.m. "Kid Nation" (N)
9:00-10:00 p.m. "Criminal Minds"
10:00-11:00 p.m. "CSI: NY"

THURSDAY:
8:00-9:00 p.m. "Survivor"
9:00-10:00 p.m. "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation"
10:00-11:00 p.m. "Without a Trace" (NT)

FRIDAY:
8:00-9:00 p.m. "Ghost Whisperer"
9:00-10:00 p.m. "Moonlight" (N)
10:00-11:00 p.m. "Numb3rs"

SATURDAY:
8:00-9:00 p.m. "Crimetime Saturday"
9:00-10:00 p.m. "Crimetime Saturday"
10:00-11:00 p.m. "48 Hours: Mystery"

SUNDAY:
7:00-8:00 p.m. "60 Minutes"
8:00-9:00 p.m. "Viva Laughlin" (N)
9:00-10:00 p.m. "Cold Case"
10:00-11:00 p.m. "Shark" (NT)

By Lisa de Moraes  |  May 16, 2007; 11:22 AM ET Broadcast TV Upfronts 2007
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Comments

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Where's The Amazing Race?

Posted by: GT | May 16, 2007 12:23 PM

what about 'New Adventures of Old Christine?

Posted by: Anonymous | May 16, 2007 12:30 PM

So glad to see How I Met Your Mother is Back!!! More Barney!

Posted by: That is Aw..wait for it...some! | May 16, 2007 12:55 PM

So is Hugh Jackman in the Tennant role or the Morrissey role?

And since he's involved, will there be actual singing this time or lip-synching like in the original?

(seriously, if it's real singing, I might be able to suck up the embarrassment and actually watch this - I couldn't bear to get caught by my roommate if i was watching Blackpool, so I only got about halfway through, despite my undying adoration for the entire main cast, including Bryan Dick.)

Posted by: MB | May 16, 2007 1:13 PM

What about Close to Home? Do we know what CBS has definitely cancelled?

Posted by: AMN | May 16, 2007 1:34 PM

Save Jericho!!!

Posted by: sjf | May 16, 2007 2:04 PM

What CBS did to "Jericho" was criminal. A hot show, with lots of buzz, and then they inexplicably take it off the air for two months, and are shocked when people have moved on.

Sorry to see "The Class" go. Although it ran hot and cold, it had some cool characters.

Egads, another sitcom from Chuck Lorre. We watched "Two and a Half Men" loyally but finally bailed this year as it became more and more pervy, and we are hardly prudes.

It used to be a fun show, with the kid a prime part of it. But, it became such a degenerate affair that it is often embarrassing to watch, certainly with your family.

Would imagine "Amazing Race" will return at mid-season. What the heck is "Crimetime Saturday"?

Posted by: filmex | May 16, 2007 2:45 PM

Oh, thank god How I met your mother is back. It's the funniest sitcom not on NBC...

Posted by: YourMother | May 16, 2007 3:03 PM

Jericho is the only reason I like CBS...Now What?

Posted by: Anonymous | May 16, 2007 3:05 PM

Crimetime Saturday is just another name for crime drama reruns.

My television may have to be deloused if I watch CBS this fall.

Posted by: Everett W. | May 16, 2007 4:17 PM

A case of wishful thinking, perhaps...

...but I originally mistook the word "musical" (with its ensuing comma) to be a description of the suburban 70's swingers show...

...and I thought aloud to myself...

"...'Cop Rock' meets THE ICE STORM! Finally, somebody got it right..."

...but upon further review, I see they're separate entities, possessing less collective charm than as a single organism...

...and now I'm sadly dismayed and shall console myself with Pez.

Posted by: Thor | May 16, 2007 5:45 PM

When I first saw the previews for Jericho last summer, I thought it would be a little too much for me and didn't watch the first couple of weeks. Then I decided to give it a shot and was pleasently surprised. It was a great show that Moonves and friends killed off through scheduling. Now that I'm hooked on it, I'm really ticked that I won't find out how they tie all the loose ends together.

How will the army of the reconstituted federal government deal with the Constantino and the New Bernians? Is the army staioned in Nebraska really the "Union" army or is it part of a group of usurpers (after all, you'd think that the genuine US Army would still fly the 50 star flag even with a a dozen states in rebellion)? If it isn't the real US Army, does that mean the rebels have won (and if so, what does that mean for the future)? Most important of all though, what is Daniel Benzali's character really up to and how far is he willing to go to accomplish it?

I feel/hope there's a two-hour movie coming along in November Sweeps that answers a lot of these questions.

Posted by: Rob | May 16, 2007 7:55 PM

I guess The Class isn't coming back either! So much for my Monday nights! 4 great shows in a row when Class was on and Christine was on after Men...

Posted by: Columbia, MD | May 16, 2007 9:25 PM

New Adventures of Old Christine was one of the smartest comedies on tv. I liked Jericho, too. It was in a doomed spot (similar idiots at NBC put Friday Night Lights in the same death spot against the horrid American Idol). If the networks are trying to seal their fate, it's working. What fools.

Posted by: veronica | May 16, 2007 10:42 PM

Maybe Sci-Fi will pick up "Jericho." Why did it end with a cliffhanger? Is it because CBS didn't let the producers know the show wouldn't be renewed before production ended? If not, that's a lousy way to run a network.

In fairness to viewers, serials like "Jericho" should get a solid commitment for a certain number of episodes or seasons from a network, then the writers should plan at least a partial climax/conclusion for the story arc as they reach the end of the commitment.

Posted by: jonfromcali | May 16, 2007 11:58 PM

Jericho was the best show they had... now what??? We get to see a drama about a bunch of Cuba sugar farmers??? That is about the worse idea I have ever heard of.

Posted by: Al Felten | May 17, 2007 1:11 AM

Send nuts to CBS in support of Jericho! Visit this link: http://www.jericholives.com/mission.htm

Posted by: Wildflower | May 17, 2007 11:00 AM

Online petitions do not work anymore. They have not worked in years because they go up on every damn show that gets taken off. Don't even bother.

In fact, SF geek fanbois, how about getting a life?

(And for those who asked, "Old Christine" and "Amazing Race" are returning mid-season.)

Posted by: Mark Jeffries | May 17, 2007 12:19 PM

Where's Jericho?

CBS is really going nuts:

www.nutsonline.com/jericho

Posted by: Mike | May 24, 2007 11:48 AM

In addition to the online petition, Jericho fans are calling, emailing, writing letters, and sending TONS of NUTS to CBS! We are fighting not just because we want to save our show, but because we want the networks to realize who the REAL people who matter are...the viewers! We're tired of advertisers and out of date rating systems determining what we get to watch. Help our cause visit jericholives.com to see how you can help!

NUTS to CBS!

Posted by: tikahemi | May 24, 2007 2:16 PM

According to the article, CBS was the station with the "most viewers but the least buzz". Doesn't seem like such a bad position to be in, but now I guess they're trying to "fix" that and will turn out to be the network with the "least viewers but the most buzz". The "buzz" is all over the internet in the form of viewers ticked off about the cancellation of their favorite show "Jericho". And with the trash they're replacing it with they will certainly lose a lot of viewers!

Posted by: Jeff | May 24, 2007 3:39 PM

thanks for the article.

jericholives.com
come and join one of the most historical fan movements ever.

Posted by: therese | May 27, 2007 5:46 PM

Which CBS show has the most "buzz" now? Jericho, the one that is not on the schedule. It's not too late CBS. Bring back Jericho!

Posted by: Charles | May 27, 2007 5:59 PM

We want Jericho! CBS ONLY a SECOND SEASON will do!

Posted by: mark | May 27, 2007 6:00 PM

Jericho deserves a second season. The fans have done everything for this show, and the actors/writers/producers deserve respect for their hard work.

CBS make it right!

http://www.nutsonline.com

Posted by: kurt | May 27, 2007 6:04 PM

SAVE JERICHO. WE WANT SEASON 2

Posted by: JERICHO20071 | May 28, 2007 12:09 PM

There were only 2 shows I watched on CBS...CSI and Jericho but now, there are none, Grey's Anatomy is something I've grown to love, not on CBS!! Jericho is one of the best shows on TV and I can't believe, actually, I'm shocked that it is not coming back for a second season. CBS is insane...NUTS for cancelling it! They have the same show on Satuday, twice. Odd, why not do whatever it takes to save JERICHO?

Thank you WA post for featuring this article. There are millions of Jericho fans who appreciate you taking notice!

Posted by: Jayme | May 28, 2007 12:23 PM

I don't like reality television, CSIs or other crime show and their clones. Jericho was different. It was a thought provoking quality drama series. It gave me a reason to watch television. CBS didn't give it a fair chance. If this continues, I will have no option, but to change to a different channel or stop watching television altogether.

Posted by: ataraxis6 | May 28, 2007 12:38 PM

I'm gratified to see that word of Jericho's demise is spreading. CBS made a huge mistake and hopefully will do the right thing and return Jericho for a second season. Nuts to the nuts at CBS!

Posted by: BonnieW | May 28, 2007 1:02 PM

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