THURSDAY
CRAIG: 8:00 The Big Bang Theory; 8:30 Young Sheldon; 9:00 Mom; 9:30 Life in Pieces; 10:00 Scorpion
SHILO: 8:00 The Big Bang Theory; 8:30 Young Sheldon; 9:00 Mom; 9:30 Life in Pieces; 10:00 Instinct
CRAIG: As I said before, I do wish Young Sheldon would air on a different night so there isn’t “too much of a good thing,” but I know they’ll pair despite being different kinds of shows — or at least, I’d imagine they’re different kinds of shows. In the 10:00 hour, since I have Instinct on Mondays, I’ve put Scorpion on Thursday nights…. I figure a fun alternative would go with a night of comedies, even if Mom and Life in Pieces aren’t exactly the same kind of humor that you’d see in the other shows.
SHILO: I’m of the mind that Big Bang and Sheldon shouldn’t be separated this season. Young Sheldon doesn’t have the strongest immediate connection to the original and comes in a format that CBS is still figuring out, so keeping it at 8:30 would give it time to find its feet and wring every bit of sampling that it could out of its lead-in. Maybe if it overperforms this season, it could become their next comedy lead-in, but for now, it’s better suited as a lead-out that should greatly improve on the retention The Great Indoors has shown this season. Plus, the flow from Sheldon through Life in Pieces isn’t bad; it’s two family single cams sandwiching Mom, a multi-cam that doesn’t feel like a typical CBS multi-cam, so mixing of the structures shouldn’t be an issue. Though 10:00 has been a tough slot for CBS to launch something, given that Training Day, Rush Hour, and Pure Genius have all disappointed recently, I just don’t get the vibe that CBS wants to play it safe and use a veteran here. As such, I went with Instinct, a CBS-produced drama about a CIA operative hunting a serial killer. It feels like more of a meat and potatoes CBS show than some of the other recent time slot occupants, which plays into their more conservative programming strategy, while the combination of network favorite Alan Cumming and James Patterson, whose upcoming book the series is based upon and who executive produces summer hit Zoo, should be enough to ensure a pickup.
