The CBS 2015-2016 Schedule: Thoughts & Predictions

TUESDAY

SHILO: 8:00 NCIS; 9:00 NCIS: New Orleans; 10:00 Code Black
CRAIG: 8:00 NCIS; 9:00 NCIS: New Orleans; 10:00 Person of Interest

SHILO: CBS exec Nina Tassler has mentioned that the network is looking for a medical drama, so I figure if they’re willing to put that into the public sphere, they’d likely be willing to use one of their better slots on one of their medical projects. I went with Code Black, based on the documentary about the busiest ER in the nation and starring Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden, because it sounds like a better fit for the NCIS audience than fellow medical pilot LFE, which reads very fast and very young. They get the benefit of using Harden’s industry status in their advertising, similar to how they did with Patricia Arquette, while Code Black has enough of a social justice angle to where it could make some noise on its own.

CRAIG: Code Black does sound good, though I’m keeping Person of Interest where it is. Stop looking at me like I’m lazy! There are methods to my madness! I think. I hope.

WEDNESDAY

SHILO: 8:00 Survivor; 9:00 Supergirl; 10:00 Criminal Minds
CRAIG: 8:00 Survivor; 9:00 Criminal Minds; 10:00 For Justice

SHILO: I struggle with what to do with Supergirl. It doesn’t really fit with anything on CBS, bar maybe Scorpion, and I don’t know if the comic crowd would be willing or able to watch a CBS-ized version of a show like this. However, I think CBS has talked Supergirl enough to where they’ll give it a series order and plunk it on Wednesdays, assuming they don’t decide to premiere it following the Super Bowl next year. Survivor remains one of the sturdiest shows on the network and I think it’s young enough and broad enough to be able to launch something like Supergirl. Wednesdays won’t have any comic competition in the 9:00 hour, and Supergirl might be able to take advantage of the indirect Arrow lead-in, while Criminal Minds is still sturdy enough to sure up the 10:00 hour. CBS will have to make a change on Wednesdays within the next couple of seasons, given that Minds will only have so much life in it, so my thought is that they’ll take one of the buzzier projects they’ve had in a while and use it as the night’s new tentpole.

CRAIG: Apparently For Justice is one of Les Moonves’ favorites, and it’s got some familiar CBS faces within, so I’m giving that the Wednesday at 10 spot, and I’m assuming that the Criminal Minds spinoff – if it happens – would happen at midseason. As for Supergirl… I’ll talk about that later.