Analyzing the 2016 Fall Schedule: CBS

TUESDAY

SHILO’S PREDICTIONS: 8:00 NCIS; 9:00 NCIS: New Orleans; 10:00 Bull
CRAIG’S PREDICTIONS: 8:00 NCIS; 9:00 NCIS: New Orleans; 10:00 Bull
ACTUAL SCHEDULE: 8:00 NCIS; 9:00 Bull; 10:00 NCIS: New Orleans

SHILO: I figured that CBS would leave NCIS and NCIS: New Orleans joined at the hip until the latter was solidly into syndication or another spin-off was developed, but I don’t hate the move to put Bull at 9:00. Michael Weatherly is a familiar face for NCIS audiences, so marketing Bull should be fairly easy, and the post-NCIS slot might be the best place to launch a new drama, which CBS needs after mostly soft results this past season. And this way, NCIS: New Orleans gets to plug a troublesome time slot for CBS while adding to its syndication package, which are two big wins that allow the network to focus on other nights.

Also helping matters is that Bull doesn’t really have any direct drama competition in the hour, as Scream Queens is a non-factor in linear ratings and The CW is a non-factor in most ratings races. With ABC going comedy in the hour, Bull will just have to deal with NBC newbie This Is Us, which could launch well thanks to social buzz but which might have a harder time sustaining itself than the quasi-legal procedural. It’s smart scheduling to put Bull where there are no procedurals and where its main drama competition is another new show, so this might be the safest bet on CBS this fall.

CRAIG: Bull going on at 9:00 is something that I thought might work, but didn’t think CBS would ever do, as the one-two punch of NCIS and New Orleans seemed to work well. But the more I think about it, the more this change seems to make some sense: The NCIS folks who miss Michael Weatherly will still get their fix, and New Orleans will now have two solid lead-ins. And, yes, there’s nothing else like Bull in the 9PM Tuesday slot on the other networks, which I think will work to its favor.