SHILO’S SUPERLATIVES
Most Promising Trailer: I’ll talk about All Rise, which wasn’t my favorite trailer but was the trailer I liked more than I expected. Just the thought of CBS doing a legal drama with a nebulous premise like this made me sleepy, so to say that I wasn’t exactly enthused when the trailer came out was an understatement. However, All Rise was a fun zig when I expected a major zag, as its lighter tone and magnetic lead in Simone Missick made it look like immensely watchable. It’s not quite as zany as, say, Ally McBeal, but it seems like a way for CBS to expand the type of drama they do and I’m interested if they can keep it frothy without becoming too silly or lightweight.
Most Anticipated New Show: I liked The Unicorn a lot. Walton Goggins is good in everything, so his performance and presence in the trailer is no surprise, but I was encouraged to see a show with this premise steer away from the treacle. This could’ve been a very maudlin This Is Us-type show that chases the social media Feels in lieu of making you laugh; instead, I thought the trailer did a good job at balancing its tone and justifying this being an on-going series vs. a movie. The supporting cast helps a lot, while the dramedy-ish feel is an interesting vibe for CBS to go after. Broadcast should always be encouraged to push its boundaries and I think that this being successful could open CBS up a little more, which would be much welcomed.
Best Scheduling Move: I feel like Monday really works? It’s not going to set the 18-49 demo world on fire, but using a Chuck Lorre multi-cam with predominantly black cast following The Neighborhood feels like the right move, while All Rise tonally fits with the comedies and makes sense airing along with another legal drama in Bull. It’s scheduling that feels thematically sound from 8:00 – 11:00 and is more active than CBS’s usual brand of stability, so I’ll take it.
Worst Scheduling Move: Moving SEAL Team back behind Survivor feels wasteful. The latter is still especially solid in the ratings and could’ve given another new drama a chance to launch outside of 10:00; the only drama competition in the hour is Chicago Fire and untested Not Just Me, which could end up as a tonal mismatch with The Masked Singer, so there was an opening for something new. Instead, not only is CBS punting on a night when they could be attacking, they’ve decided to drag down SWAT in the process by moving it to 10:00. Granted, SWAT isn’t owned by them so they don’t have as much stake in it, but it’s looked pretty good the last few months and running a young, solid performer off the rails for seemingly no reason is dumb.
Most Likely New Hit: The Unicorn has the best scheduling behind Young Sheldon, but I’m still iffy as to whether it can hold enough of the lead-in to be considered a hit or even the highest rated CBS newbie. Something like Bob Hearts Abishola is more in line with what the CBS audience typically goes for and it has a pretty good lead-in of its own in The Neighborhood. I just wonder how people will react to the premise and whether audiences will give the show time to work through the initial awkwardness. I don’t think there’s a big breakout show in the CBS fall lineup, but those are the two that I think have the best chance at emerging as their top freshman.
Likely First Cancellation: As with the other networks, I don’t expect formal cancellations until sometime around next upfronts; everything will at least get to air out its initial order before simply being replaced. The most vulnerable fall newbie for CBS is Evil, which is a genre that CBS doesn’t have much recent success in, launching at 10:00 which is tough in 2019, and following an incompatible new comedy in Carol’s Second Act. It should have critical acclaim that will keep it in the conversation, and I’m sure how much CBS loves the Kings will come into play, but in terms of ratings, I’m not expecting enough to really justify a renewal.
What I’ll Be Watching in the Fall: For the first time in a while, CBS actually has a few shows I would consider sampling. I’m super curious about how Bob Hearts Abishola handles what could be a problematic premise; I think there could be a sweet show in there, but I want to see how its TCA panel goes and whether we get information on their plan going forward and/or the makeup of the writer’s room.
I’m not much of a legal drama guy, but All Rise looks like it could be a fun, frothy little show, something Shonda Rhimes-ish without the smothering monologues. Meanwhile, The Unicorn has a great leading man in Walton Goggins and looks very un-CBS, which piques my interest.
I don’t know if I’ll sample all or any of these, though. On the one hand, the only way representation of any minority will improve is if people put their money where their Twitter threads are and actually watch the shows. I want CBS to do better and the way CBS is encouraged to do better is if people show up when they put out shows like this. However, the corporate issues at CBS leave me kind of uncomfortable when it comes to sampling their shows, especially when it seems like all the poison hasn’t been sucked out just yet.
