The CBS 2013-2014 Schedule: What We’d Like To See

A little bit later than we expected to have it up, but before the official announcement with the actual schedule is made, KSiteTV’s Craig Byrne teams up with TVOvermind & TVHackr‘s Shilo Adams to do some fantasy scheduling for Grandma’s favorite channel, CBS.

All kidding aside, CBS is one of the most consistent networks on TV, which surely adds to viewer loyalty. They have some good stuff coming up to add to some decent shows already on the schedule.

Here we go! You can read our thoughts on other network schedules here: CW – NBC – ABC – FOX

SUNDAY

SHILO: The CBS Sunday lineup is subject to constant, varying football overruns in the fall, so there’s no stability in when the night kicks off or, more importantly, when it will end. I’d still start the night off with 60 Minutes, but I’d use it more as a flex option than a regular piece of programming. Say that afternoon’s football goes until 8:05 – rather than delaying the night another hour by showing 60 Minutes, I’d delay it by 5 minutes and use that episode in another capacity. (Saturday? In place of a rerun?) The storied news series may be a part of the CBS DNA, but the network’s unwillingness to move it when necessary has hurt Sundays as a whole.

Therefore, I’d keep things the same at 8, too, at least for one more season. Although The Amazing Race had a down-ish season in its most recent iteration, which wrapped on May 5th, it’s still a solid enough anchor for the night that doesn’t get as damaged as scripted series do thanks to overruns. It’s still big-tent and family friendly enough to follow football and while it likely won’t ever dominate the pop culture watercooler, its done nothing to warrant a move from its slot.

If CBS had a stronger Sunday, I would endorse moving The Good Wife to Fridays. The show has a knack for attracting name guest stars, is the network’s only drama with any Emmy attention, and was just sold into syndication, but it’s never been a big ratings player and the night needs a shot in the arm; conceivably, that could come in the form of moving the four season old drama to a night where its 18-49 demo looks better and it can air with more compatible programming, getting away from big cable dramas in the process. However, CBS seems content enough with the numbers and in the interest of not damaging another drama when The Good Wife is doing okay, it should stay put.

The same things that I said about The Good Wife, say them again for The Mentalist. The quick renewal for the show, which has slipped in the ratings this season, makes me think that CBS knows this is likely their best option for the Sundays at 10:00 slot, which tends to get pushed out of primetime during the fall. They don’t want to damage a younger drama by putting it in a slot like this and they have older dramas that do better than The Mentalist did when it aired during the week, so another season of Simon Baker Sundays seems likely.

CRAIG: The 60 Minutes overrun can indeed be a problem, which is why I’d make a different suggestion which hasn’t always worked out well in the past, but why not: A comedy hour between 8-9. More specifically, one anchored by a hit, in this case Two And A Half Men at 8. That audience seems to follow it just about anywhere, even if the quality of the show isn’t what it used to be. I’d follow it up with another show that will surely have some dysfunction in the family with the Sarah Michelle Gellar and Robin Williams-led The Crazy Ones. If 60 Minutes runs over, then maybe one of the half hours can be pre-empted, meaning the line-up doesn’t go too late.

If that doesn’t work, at midseason, The Amazing Race or another drama can sub in, of course.

At 9, I’d keep The Good Wife, but at 10, I’d throw in the just-picked-up Reckless, which I think would pair really well with Good Wife and maintain much the same kind of audience.

MONDAY

SHILO: The final season of How I Met Your Mother is likely to be a ratings boon for CBS, meaning that a move from 8:00 would be silly. It’s arguably CBS’ third strongest comedy right now and still provides a pretty decent lead-in, so leaving it on Mondays at 8:00 seems to be the best move. It’s been there for more than a couple of seasons and CBS needs to think about launching new shows rather than giving high priority spots to older ones. Translation? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

How I Met Your Mother will be tasked with helping to nurture a new show that could conceivably take its place in 2014. The show I’m thinking they go with at 8:30? Mom, which would give Chuck Lorre four comedies on the CBS schedule. It’s as much of a sure thing as the network has on its comedy development slate and as such, should be placed in a slot that they’ve had trouble in. There’s validity in the argument of putting it at 9:00 and swinging for the fences, shifting 2 Broke Girls back to its original 8:30 home, but that could be an extra move for nothing. Mom will almost assuredly be stronger out of the gate than Partners was and that will, in turn, help 2 Broke Girls regain some steam, thereby strengthening the night as a whole.

The Michael Patrick King comedy 2 Broke Girls has been a bit of a disappointment this season for CBS after they thought it could assume the 9:00 mantle from Two and a Half Men. The show hasn’t exactly collapsed, but with its pairing with Partners damaged it and Rules of Engagement is doing its typical solid-but-unspectacular numbers, so it might turn out that it was too early to entrust an entire night on the sophomore comedy. However, as mentioned, a quality 8:30 show and the boost from the final season of How I Met Your Mother can do a lot to help the show bounce back.

After that, we have what is probably the most interesting part of the CBS Monday lineup in Mike & Molly, which has never set the world on fire but always does just well enough to keep its slot. CBS has ordered more comedy pilots than it did last season and if they’re happy with enough of them, there’s a (minor) chance that Mike & Molly is either moved to Thursdays or held for midseason. They need performers to assume the mantles of How I Met Your Mother and (possibly) Two and a Half Men and this show has never had to perform on its own. It already has a syndication deal, so could CBS want to see how it does without being protected? I think they leave it at 9:30 this season, but if/when it makes it to the 2014-2015 season, don’t be surprised if the network moves it in favor of a buzzier comedy.

Next, CBS had a choice to make in how they handled their Monday at 10:00 slot, currently occupied by a fading Hawaii: Five-0: either go for the most comedic drama pilot they have or substitute in something a little harder edged. With Beverly Hills Cop not being picked up, it seems they’ve decided to go with the second option, whose best representative is Intelligence, starring Josh Holloway as a U.S. Cyber Command agent who has a microchip implanted in his brain that allows him to access the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Fellow drama pickup Hostages, from Jerry Bruckheimer, is said to be a limited run series and eyed for midseason, taking it out of the running for the spot; CBS could always, if they’re feeling very conservative, keep Five-0 around for another season, but with a splashy concept and hugely marketable leading man whose TV return is highly anticipated, Intelligence might be the smart move to make.

CRAIG: I was really shocked to read that CBS had passed on Beverly Hills Cop. It sounded like a slam dunk, and even though I’m sure they can’t afford it, it’s too bad that such a project couldn’t move on to CBS’ younger-skewing partner The CW. A known franchise — and even better, one with an African-American lead — I think something like that, especially with the talent involved, would give The CW a certain legitimacy (and ratings!) that could really help them.

With that said, I’m surprised CBS didn’t go for it, either, as I think that Beverly Hills Cop could have appealed to a younger audience than some of their other hour-long fare.

Anyway, Mondays for me: I agree with How I Met Your Mother and Mom at the 8:00 hour, for a “How I Met Your… Mom” kind of promotion, and 2 Broke Girls and Mike & Molly at the 9:00 hour. I would definitely not count 2 Broke Girls out yet, by the way — it’s a legitimately funny show (yes, I admit it, I like it) that was just surrounded by mediocrity this past season. Yes, it’s a little bawdy, but it’s enjoyable.

For 10:00, I agree: Intelligence is a safe bet.

There are still four more days for us to cover! Keep reading!