CBS fall sked will swim with 'Shark' on Thursdays
CBS steady for fall
May 18, 2006
NEW YORK -- CBS is sending James Woods into battle on Thursday and the investigators of "Without a Trace" to Sunday to help it find new viewers on the night in the 2006-07 season.
CBS brass unveiled a new fall lineup that keeps much of the eye network's strong schedule intact with the addition of three new dramas and one comedy, the ensemble "The Class" from the "Friends" co-creator David Crane.
"We're taking some swings, but taking some swings in an environment that's protected," CBS Corp. president and CEO Leslie Moonves told reporters at a press briefing in New York prior to the network's formal schedule presentation at Carnegie Hall later Wednesday.
Of the pending showdown next season between CBS' Thursday powerhouse "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and ABC's hot-shot medical drama "Grey's Anatomy," which ABC announced would move against "CSI" next season, Moonves observed: "Two big hit shows can work in the same time period. I'm not saying 'Grey's Anatomy' won't ding 'CSI' a little bit."
CBS plans to relocate "Without a Trace" and its family-friendly reality show "The Amazing Race" to Sunday, where the network is dropping its 9-11 p.m. telefilm block for the first time in 20 years.
"ABC is not going to be as strong as they were without 'Grey's Anatomy'," Moonves said. "We're going to be stronger."
Newsmagazine "60 Minutes" stays put at 7 p.m. on Sunday, followed by "The Amazing Race," rerouted from Tuesday. Returning drama "Cold Case" slides back from the 8 p.m. berth to 9, followed at 10 by "Without a Trace," which shifts from the Thursday 10 p.m. berth that will be filled by the high-profile new legal drama "Shark."
Monday remains CBS' comedy stronghold. The night will open with the sophomore year of "How I Met Your Mother," which has held the 8:30 p.m. berth this year. That slot goes to the most anticipated new comedy of next season, "The Class." "Two and a Half Men" returns for its fourth season at 9 p.m., paired with the second year of Julia Louis-Dreyfus' "The New Adventures of Old Christine." "CSI: Miami" stays put at 10 p.m.
"We've got the strongest comedy block on television (and) frankly the only comedy block on television," Moonves crowed.
Tuesday is a high-octane drama night opening with "NCIS," followed by second season of promising new covert-ops drama "The Unit," and capped at 10 p.m. by the new Ray Liotta-Virginia Madsen crime drama "Smith."
Wednesday opens with the new drama "Jericho," about a small Kansas town that becomes isolated after a nuclear attack, followed by the sophomore season of FBI drama "Criminal Minds" and junior year of "CSI: NY."
Thursday is status quo from 8-10 p.m. with "Survivor" and "CSI," capped by "Shark," starring Woods as a celebrity defense attorney who has an epiphany and becomes a cut-throat prosecutor.
Friday remains the same with returning second-year dramas "Ghost Whisperer" and "Close to Home" and closed out by the third season of "Numbers." Saturday is also status quo with an 8-10 p.m. bank of drama repeats followed by newsmagazine "48 Hours: Mystery."
CBS brass unveiled a new fall lineup that keeps much of the eye network's strong schedule intact with the addition of three new dramas and one comedy, the ensemble "The Class" from the "Friends" co-creator David Crane.
"We're taking some swings, but taking some swings in an environment that's protected," CBS Corp. president and CEO Leslie Moonves told reporters at a press briefing in New York prior to the network's formal schedule presentation at Carnegie Hall later Wednesday.
Of the pending showdown next season between CBS' Thursday powerhouse "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and ABC's hot-shot medical drama "Grey's Anatomy," which ABC announced would move against "CSI" next season, Moonves observed: "Two big hit shows can work in the same time period. I'm not saying 'Grey's Anatomy' won't ding 'CSI' a little bit."
CBS plans to relocate "Without a Trace" and its family-friendly reality show "The Amazing Race" to Sunday, where the network is dropping its 9-11 p.m. telefilm block for the first time in 20 years.
"ABC is not going to be as strong as they were without 'Grey's Anatomy'," Moonves said. "We're going to be stronger."
Newsmagazine "60 Minutes" stays put at 7 p.m. on Sunday, followed by "The Amazing Race," rerouted from Tuesday. Returning drama "Cold Case" slides back from the 8 p.m. berth to 9, followed at 10 by "Without a Trace," which shifts from the Thursday 10 p.m. berth that will be filled by the high-profile new legal drama "Shark."
Monday remains CBS' comedy stronghold. The night will open with the sophomore year of "How I Met Your Mother," which has held the 8:30 p.m. berth this year. That slot goes to the most anticipated new comedy of next season, "The Class." "Two and a Half Men" returns for its fourth season at 9 p.m., paired with the second year of Julia Louis-Dreyfus' "The New Adventures of Old Christine." "CSI: Miami" stays put at 10 p.m.
"We've got the strongest comedy block on television (and) frankly the only comedy block on television," Moonves crowed.
Tuesday is a high-octane drama night opening with "NCIS," followed by second season of promising new covert-ops drama "The Unit," and capped at 10 p.m. by the new Ray Liotta-Virginia Madsen crime drama "Smith."
Wednesday opens with the new drama "Jericho," about a small Kansas town that becomes isolated after a nuclear attack, followed by the sophomore season of FBI drama "Criminal Minds" and junior year of "CSI: NY."
Thursday is status quo from 8-10 p.m. with "Survivor" and "CSI," capped by "Shark," starring Woods as a celebrity defense attorney who has an epiphany and becomes a cut-throat prosecutor.
Friday remains the same with returning second-year dramas "Ghost Whisperer" and "Close to Home" and closed out by the third season of "Numbers." Saturday is also status quo with an 8-10 p.m. bank of drama repeats followed by newsmagazine "48 Hours: Mystery."
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