CBS cuts $#*! My Dad Says, adds Criminal Minds spinoff as part of midseason overhaul
12/22/10 08:40 AM
Paula Abdul and fellow Dance masters Kimberly Wyatt, Travis Payne. CBS photo
By ED BARK
No. 1-rated CBS is doing less deck-shuffling than its rivals, but will still make some significant changes in the coming year.
The network announced Tuesday night that four new series will be joining its new mix, although Paula Abdul's previously announced Live to Dance basically is a place-holder for Survivor as Wednesday night's lead-off hitter.
The notable eviction is William Shatner's $#*! My Dad Says, which had been nestled behind The Big Bang Theory on Thursdays. The $#*! will last hit the fan on Feb. 17th. On the following Thursday, its replacement is Rules of Engagement, which has been airing on Mondays between How I Met Your Mother and Two and a Half Men.
CBS says that Dad Says "will have completed its on-air order for the season" when it leaves the network. That leaves the door open a crack for renewal next season. But in truth CBS has never been entirely comfortable with either the title of the show or its fall-off among advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds. Big Bang currently ranks seventh in that key demographic with an average of 9.8 million 18-to-49-year-olds per episode, with Dad Says then falling to 31st with 7.6 million viewers.
Starting Feb. 21st, Rules of Engagement will be replaced on Mondays by the new comedy Mad Love. Jason Biggs of American Pie fame heads the cast in this saga about a "quartet of New Yorkers, two of whom are falling in love while the other two despise each other."
CBS also is adding Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior at 9 p.m. (central) Wednesdays, beginning Feb. 16th. Forest Whitaker and Janeane Garafolo head the network's latest crime-solving team.
Moving from Wednesdays to Fridays is The Defenders, starting on Feb. 4th. In the interim, Tom Selleck's Blue Bloods cop drama gets a four-week run in The Defenders' 9 p.m. Wednesday slot (from Jan. 19th to Feb. 9th). It will then move back to its previous home -- Fridays at 9 p.m. Out of luck on Fridays is Medium, which will be supplanted by Defenders in the 7 p.m. leadoff spot.
Abdul's Live to Dance launches on Tuesday, Jan. 4th with a two-hour edition before moving to its regular Wednesday, 7 p.m. spot on the following night. On Jan. 19th, it will be pitted directly against the Season 10 premiere of Fox's American Idol. Dance so far is scheduled for just a six-week run, with Survivor: Redemption Island starting up on Wednesday, Feb. 16th at 7 p.m.
The fourth new CBS series, Chaos, is set for a Friday, April 1st premiere in that night's lead-off slot. There were strong indications earlier that it would be filming in Dallas, but the network opted for Canada instead. Freddy Rodriguez (Six Feet Under) and Eric Close (Without A Trace) star in what CBS describes as a "comedic drama about a group of rogue CIA spies in the Office of Disruptive Services who combat threats to national security amidst bureaucratic gridlock, rampant incompetence and political infighting."
Sounds just like Congress, but CBS isn't about to break away from its tried-and-true crime and punishment format. All 12 of its scripted one-hour series are in that genre.
|