Though it’s usually understandable when a network wants to stand pat with its schedule and go for a more conservative approach to preserve what success it has, a major source of excitement at upfronts is seeing the weird moves that every network makes. The degree and utilization of aggression can make or break a schedule, so it’s always interesting to see what nights each network wants to get a little crazy with and which shows they want to use as weaponry against their opposition. But aggression in and of itself can backfire if not deliberately and delicately applied, which is something CBS is facing next season with a Monday lineup that is both brazen and perplexing. Will their new comedy strategy solidify Mondays and bring them closer to the strength of the Thursday comedy lineup? Or could CBS Mondays turn into a rebuilding project almost immediately?
That’s what KSiteTV’s Craig Byrne and Shilo Adams are trying to figure out, as they’ve tasked themselves with analyzing the fall schedules of each broadcast network. They’ll break down the schedule of every network on a nightly basis, telling you what surprised them and what they think might be set up for failure, all before naming everything from the most promising new show to worst scheduling move and what they’ll be watching in the fall. But before you delve into the article, you can check out every 2017-18 scheduling article below, as well as links to every trailer CBS released.
2017-18 Scheduling Predictions: NBC | FOX | ABC | CBS | The CW
2017-18 Scheduling Analysis: NBC | FOX | ABC | The CW
Trailers: Wisdom of the Crowd | Young Sheldon | 9JKL | Me, Myself & I | Seal Team | SWAT
SUNDAY
SHILO’S PREDICTIONS: 7:00 60 Minutes; 8:00 NCIS: Los Angeles; 9:00 Madam Secretary; 10:00 Elementary
CRAIG’S PREDICTIONS: 7:00 60 Minutes; 8:00 NCIS: Los Angeles; 9:00 Madam Secretary; 10:00 Elementary
ACTUAL SCHEDULE: 7:00 60 Minutes; 8:00 Wisdom of the Crowd; 9:00 NCIS: Los Angeles; 10:00 Madam Secretary
SHILO: Structurally, I don’t mind this schedule because Madam Secretary needed to be pushed to 10:00 and NCIS: Los Angeles should be strong enough to deal with the cable onslaught at 9:00. And I even understand the desire to use 8:00 on a new show, given that CBS will have football overrun in the fall that should keep that hour afloat; however, I really don’t think Wisdom of the Crowd is the right show here. Tech procedurals with a questionable grasp on technology had a rough go this past season, CBS audiences have shown that they have a fairly narrow window of what they like from their dramas, and, at least judging from the trailer, Wisdom doesn’t seem that compatible with NCIS: Los Angeles, so it’s got a lot working against it before it even airs an episode. It helps that it’ll be the only broadcast drama in the hour, but I think once football signs off early next year, Wisdom will look worse than it does this fall and (likely) won’t have the critical acclaim to fall back on.
CRAIG: Pure Genius got cancelled. APB got cancelled. So let’s mix the two and introduce a new show called Wisdom of the Crowd! It’ll be HUGE! Really, though. I see where we could be surprised and this could be better than expected, and who knows, maybe it is where it is so football pre-emptions can do their thing with it. I don’t know. NCIS: Los Angeles will do fine wherever they put it, and it’s interesting to note that Madam Secretary seems to get an hour later with every season. Crimetime After Primetime next year! (Is that still a thing?)
