CBS Upfront/General News and Discussion: 2024-25

[icecream]

Fall Schedule

Sundays
7:00 60 Minutes
8:00 Tracker- new time slot
9:00 The Equalizer- new time slot
10:00 Repeats

Mondays
8:00 The Neighborhood
8:30 Poppa's House- new sitcom
9:00 NCIS
10:00 NCIS: Origins- new drama spin-off

Tuesdays
8:00 FBI
9:00 FBI: International
10:00 FBI: Most Wanted

Wednesdays- ugh continuing with 90 minute episodes of all reality crap the whole night
8:00 Survivor
9:30 The Summit- new reality show

Thursdays
8:00 Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage- new sitcom spin-off from Young Sheldon (really, that's the title they chose? )
8:30 Ghosts
9:00 Matlock- drama remake starring Kathy Bates
10:00 Elsbeth

Fridays
8:00 S.W.A.T.
9:00 Fire Country
10:00 Blue Bloods final season continues

Saturdays
8:00 Repeats
10:00 48 Hours

https://tvline.com/news/cbs-fall-sch...ff-1235227615/

[icecream]

Midseason Schedule

Sundays Spring
7:00 60 Minutes
8:00 Tracker
9:00 The Equalizer
10:00 Watson- new drama

Wednesdays Winter
8:00 The Price is Right at Night
9:00 Raid the Cage
10:00 Hollywood Squares remake- Drew Barrymore as center square

Wednesdays Spring
8:00 Survivor
9:30 The Amazing Race

Fridays Spring
8:00 NCIS: Sydney- new night
9:00 Fire Country
10:00 S.W.A.T.- new time slot

[icecream]

Sheriff Country (spin-off of Fire Country) has been ordered to series. But it won't premiere until the 2025-2026 season.

https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/fir...up-1235990337/

[icecream]

I knew Blue Bloods wouldn't go beyond this next year like some hoped, but CBS should have at least given it more episodes to go over 300. NCIS: Sydney will do terrible on its new night and won't see a season 3 that airs on CBS anyway.

[Pavan]

Blog story: https://blog.sitcomsonline.com/2024/...s-shirley.html

CBS ANNOUNCES ITS 2024-2025 PRIMETIME SCHEDULE

The New Scripted Series "Matlock," "Poppa's House," "NCIS: Origins" and "Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage" Join 18 Returning Shows

High-Stakes Competition Show "The Summit," Hosted by Manu Bennett, to Debut After "Survivor" in Fall; "The Amazing Race" Returns in Spring

"Hollywood Squares," Starring Drew Barrymore as the Center Square, to Premiere in January as Part of the New "Game Show Wednesdays" Paired with "The Price Is Right at Night" and "Raid the Cage"

The New Drama "Watson," Starring Morris Chestnut, to Debut Mid-Season



CBS today announced its 2024-2025 primetime programming lineup of CBS Originals, featuring three new dramas, two new comedies, a new alternative series, a reimagined classic game show, special event programming and 18 returning series.

New drama series for fall include NCIS: ORIGINS, starring Austin Stowell as a young Leroy Jethro Gibbs and narrated by flagship NCIS series star Mark Harmon; and MATLOCK, a reimagining of the classic television series, starring Emmy and Academy Award winner Kathy Bates as a brilliant, wily lawyer with unusual and unexpected tactics. Midseason will introduce WATSON, starring Morris Chestnut as a modern version of one of history's greatest detectives solving medical mysteries.

The new multi-camera comedies for fall are POPPA'S HOUSE, starring Damon Wayans as happily divorced "Poppa" who finds himself still parenting his adult son, Damon Wayans Jr; and GEORGIE & MANDY'S FIRST MARRIAGE, the sequel to YOUNG SHELDON, following Georgie (Montana Jordan) and Mandy (Emily Osment) as they raise their young family in Texas while navigating the challenges of adulthood, parenting and marriage.

The new fall alternative series is THE SUMMIT, hosted by Manu Bennett, which follows 16 strangers embarking on a once-in-a-lifetime journey through the treacherous New Zealand Alps in an attempt to reach the peak of a distant, towering mountain and win $1 million. Midseason will launch a new edition of the legendary game show HOLLYWOOD SQUARES, starring Drew Barrymore as the center square, in which two contestants play tic-tac-toe to win money and prizes.

The new schedule of CBS Original series also includes the return of the new #1 series on television, TRACKER, starring Justin Hartley; the 2023-2024 season's #2 new program, ELSBETH, starring Carrie Preston; the world's #1 TV franchise, NCIS; and #1 news program 60 MINUTES.

"This is another CBS primetime schedule that will break through the clutter and entertain a mass audience," said Amy Reisenbach, president of CBS Entertainment. "We're grateful to the creative talent who deliver the characters and stories, as well as the viewers who spend nights, seasons and years with them."

In addition to CBS' new and returning top series, the Network's year-round schedule of original programming also features annual high-profile events, including the return of the GRAMMY Awards, the Golden Globe Awards, the Tony Awards, the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors, New Year's Eve Live: Nashville's Big Bash and the recently announced American Music Awards.

CBS Sports' portfolio of marquee properties and championships will feature the NFL, with a schedule highlighted by TV's most-watched window at 4:25 PM, ET on Sundays, as well as Wild Card and Divisional Playoff games plus the AFC Championship in January, NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament - including the Final Four and National Championship- in March, the Masters Tournament in April, the PGA Championship in May and the UEFA Champions League Final in June. A full season of Big Ten Football comes to CBS this fall at 3:30 PM, ET on Saturdays. CBS will broadcast the Big Ten Football Championship for the first time in December and will also air the NWSL Championship game in primetime in November.

Fast forwarding one year into the future, the Network also ordered its first new series for the 2025-26 broadcasting season - the drama series SHERIFF COUNTRY, starring Morena Baccarin, an extension of the FIRE COUNTRY universe.

The following is the new 2024-2025 schedule:

MONDAY - Monday night features the additions of two new series. The popular comedy THE NEIGHBORHOOD returns for its seventh season at 8:00 PM, paired with the new comedy POPPA'S HOUSE at 8:30 PM. At 9:00 PM, the flagship series NCIS returns for season 22, as a powerful lead-in for the new drama NCIS: ORIGINS at 10:00 PM.

TUESDAY - FBI Tuesday returns with the top-rated lineup of the night. FBI opens the night at 8:00 PM, followed by FBI: INTERNATIONAL at 9:00 PM and FBI: MOST WANTED concluding the block of heroic storytelling at 10:00 PM.

WEDNESDAY - Wednesday night returns in fall and spring with two 90-minute high-stakes competition series, and in mid-winter a special all game show-themed night. In fall, the groundbreaking reality series SURVIVOR kicks off the night at 8:00 PM, serving as a compatible lead-in for the new reality series THE SUMMIT at 9:30 PM. The annual midseason winter break between the spring edition of SURVIVOR and the return of THE AMAZING RACE at 9:30 PM will be eventized with three game shows. A special primetime THE PRICE IS RIGHT AT NIGHT, hosted by Drew Carey, kicks off the festivities at 8:00 PM followed by the return of RAID THE CAGE, hosted by Damon Wayans, Jr. and co-host Jeannie Mai, at 9:00 PM, leading into a new edition of the HOLLYWOOD SQUARES, starring Drew Barrymore as the center square, at 10:00 PM.

THURSDAY - Thursdays feature a thematic night of comedy and humorous dramas. At 8:00 PM, the new comedy GEORGIE & MANDY'S FIRST MARRIAGE leads into the #2 comedy series, GHOSTS, at 8:30 PM. The amusing new legal drama MATLOCK, starring Emmy and Academy Award winner Kathy Bates, debuts at 9:00 PM and serves as lead-in to the critically acclaimed #2 new series, ELSBETH, at 10:00 PM.

FRIDAY - Friday night features the return of S.W.A.T. at 8:00 PM followed by the hit drama FIRE COUNTRY at 9:00 PM. At 10:00 PM, BLUE BLOODS closes out the night as it returns for the second half of its 14th and final season. Following the conclusion of Blue Bloods in midseason, NCIS: SYDNEY leads off the night at 8:00 PM, with FIRE COUNTRY remaining in the 9:00 PM slot followed by S.W.A.T. at 10:00 PM.

SATURDAY - CBS' Saturday night lineup features encore broadcasts of the Network's popular dramas at 8:00 PM and 9:00 PM, followed at 10:00 PM by the true crime docuseries 48 HOURS, Saturday's #1 non-sports primetime series.

SUNDAY - Sunday night begins at 7:00 PM with 60 MINUTES, television's acclaimed #1 news program, followed at 8:00 PM by television's new #1 series, TRACKER. At 9:00 PM, THE EQUALIZER, starring Queen Latifah, returns for a fifth season. During the first half of the season, when the CBS Sunday primetime lineup often has a delayed start due to late afternoon NFL broadcasts, the 10:00 PM slot will feature encore broadcasts of popular Network dramas. In midseason, after the end of football, TRACKER and THE EQUALIZER will provide a potent lead-in to the new drama WATSON at 10:00 PM.

THE NEW FALL DRAMAS:

NCIS: ORIGINS (Monday, 10:00-11:00 PM)



NCIS: ORIGINS follows a young Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Austin Stowell) in 1991, years prior to the events of NCIS, and is narrated by Mark Harmon. In the series, Gibbs starts his career as a newly minted special agent at the fledgling NCIS Camp Pendleton office where he forges his place on a gritty, ragtag team led by NCIS legend Mike Franks (Kyle Schmid).

NCIS: ORIGINS stars Austin Stowell as young Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Kyle Schmid as Mike Franks, Mariel Molino as Special Agent Lala Dominguez, Tyla Abercrumbie as Field Operation Support Officer Mary Jo Sullivan and Diany Rodriguez as Special Agent Vera Strickland. Flagship series star Mark Harmon will narrate and executive produce. In addition to Harmon, Sean Harmon, David J. North and Gina Lucita Monreal will executive produce, with North and Monreal co-writing the premiere episode and serving as co-showrunners. Niels Arden Oplev will executive produce and direct the pilot. The series is produced by CBS Studios.

MATLOCK (Thursday, 9:00-10:00 PM)



MATLOCK stars Kathy Bates as the brilliant septuagenarian Madeline "Matty" Matlock, who, after achieving success in her younger years, decides to rejoin the workforce at a prestigious law firm where she uses her unassuming demeanor and wily tactics to win cases and expose corruption from within. Matty is assigned to Olympia (Skye P. Marshall), a senior attorney and key rainmaker with a thirst for justice, while Olympia's ex-husband, Julian (Jason Ritter), the son of the head of the firm, is intrigued by Matty and her clever skills. Matty works alongside the firm's younger associates - the charismatic Billy (David Del Rio) and the uber ambitious Sarah (Leah Lewis) - as she endeavors to establish herself in her new high-stakes world. MATLOCK is a reimagining of the classic television series of the same name.

MATLOCK stars Kathy Bates as Madeline "Matty" Matlock, Skye P. Marshall as Olympia, Jason Ritter as Julian, David Del Rio as Billy and Leah Lewis as Sarah. Bates, Jennie Snyder Urman, Joanna Klein, Eric Christian Olsen, John Will and Kat Coiro are executive producers. Coiro directed the pilot from a script written by Urman. The series is produced by CBS Studios.

NEW FALL COMEDIES:

GEORGIE & MANDY'S FIRST MARRIAGE (Thursday, 8:00-8:30 PM)



GEORGIE & MANDY'S FIRST MARRIAGE, the sequel to YOUNG SHELDON, follows Georgie (Montana Jordan) and Mandy (Emily Osment) as they raise their young family in Texas while navigating the challenges of adulthood, parenting and marriage.

GEORGIE & MANDY'S FIRST MARRIAGE stars Montana Jordan as Georgie and Emily Osment as Mandy. Chuck Lorre, Steven Molaro and Steve Holland will serve as executive producers of the series, from Chuck Lorre Productions, Inc. in association with Warner Bros. Television.

POPPA'S HOUSE (Monday, 8:30-9:00 PM)



POPPA'S HOUSE, starring Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr., features Wayans as legendary talk radio host and happily divorced "Poppa" who has his point of view challenged at work when a new female co-host (Essence Atkins) is hired, and at home where he finds himself still parenting his adult son (Damon Wayans Jr.), a brilliant dreamer who is trying to pursue his passion while being a responsible father and husband.

POPPA'S HOUSE stars Damon Wayans as Poppa, Damon Wayans Jr. as Damon, Essence Atkins as Ivy and Tetona Jackson as Nina. The Wayans and Dean Lorey are executive producers. Andy Ackerman directed the pilot from a script written by Kevin Hench and Wayans. The series is produced by CBS Studios.

NEW ALTERNATIVE SERIES:

THE SUMMIT (Wednesday, 9:30-11:00 PM)



THE SUMMIT, hosted by Manu Bennett, follows 16 strangers embarking on a once-in-a-lifetime journey through the treacherous New Zealand Alps in an attempt to reach the peak of a distant, towering mountain. With their backpacks containing an equal share of $1 million, the group must traverse an exhausting distance in just 14 days in order to win the cash they are carrying. But not everyone will make it, as these strangers must work together to tackle the dangerous terrain, unforgiving Antarctic winds, heart-pounding challenges and gut-wrenching eliminations on their way to the peak. Tracking them along this journey is the "Mountain's Keeper" who will surprise the trekkers with brutal twists and force decisions that complicate an already grueling ascent. Morals and relationships will be tested when they must decide what to do if someone falls behind - because if the group fails to reach THE SUMMIT in time, all the prize money will be lost.

THE SUMMIT is produced by Endemol Shine North America. Kevin Lee, Tina Nicotera and Endemol Shine North America's Sharon Levy and Michael Heyerman are executive producers. The series is based on a format by Endemol Shine Australia and Nine.

HOLLYWOOD SQUARES (Wednesday Beginning in January, 10:00-11:00 PM)

HOLLYWOOD SQUARES, starring Drew Barrymore, is a classic game show in which two contestants play tic-tac-toe to win money and prizes. The "board" for the game is a vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk and facing the contestants. The celebrities are asked questions and the contestants judge the legitimacy of their answers to win the game. Award-winning actress and talk show host Drew Barrymore will take her place as the famed "center square" answering questions for the contestants.

HOLLYWOOD SQUARES is produced by Jesse Collins for Jesse Collins Entertainment and Drew Barrymore and Flower Films.

NEW DRAMA FOR MIDSEASON:

WATSON (Premieres Sunday Mid-Season, 10:00-11:00 PM)

WATSON takes place seven months after the death of the titular character's friend and partner Sherlock Holmes at the hands of Moriarty. Dr. John Watson (Morris Chestnut) resumes his medical career as the head of a clinic dedicated to treating rare disorders. Watson's old life isn't done with him, though - Moriarty and Watson are set to write their own chapter of a story that has fascinated audiences for more than a century. Watson is a medical show with a strong investigative spine, featuring a modern version of one of history's greatest detectives as he turns his attention from solving crimes to solving medical mysteries.

WATSON stars Morris Chestnut as Dr. John Watson. Craig Sweeny wrote the pilot and will showrun and executive produce. Additional executive producers include Chestnut, Aaron Kaplan and Brian Morewitz for Kapital Entertainment, Sallie Patrick and Shäron Moalem MD, PhD. Larry Teng will executive produce and direct the first episode. The series is produced by CBS Studios.

NEW DRAMA FOR 2025-2026 BROADCAST SEASON:

SHERIFF COUNTRY

SHERIFF COUNTRY stars Morena Baccarin as straight-shooting sheriff Mickey Fox, the stepsister of Cal Fire's division chief Sharon Leone (Diane Farr of FIRE COUNTRY), who investigates criminal activity as she patrols the streets of small-town Edgewater while contending with her ex-con father and a mysterious incident involving her wayward daughter. SHERIFF COUNTRY is an expansion of the universe of the hit drama series FIRE COUNTRY.

The SHERIFF COUNTRY initial episode is being written by Tony Phelan and Joan Rater with story by Phelan, Rater and Max Thieriot. Executive producers are Thieriot, Phelan, Rater, and Jerry Bruckheimer and KristieAnne Reed for JBTV. The series is produced by CBS Studios.

[James28]

The first midseason schedule change I'm calling is George and Mandy's First Marriage and Ghosts swapping timeslots after the former gets low ratings and is beaten by Ghosts. I've never understood any logic in veteran shows in hammock slots leading out of unproven freshman shows in anchor slots.

I feel the original NCIS should be the next veteran series ending its original run after Blue Bloods concludes. Blue Bloods's series finale would definitely be airing this month if "Strikemageddon" hadn't occurred; then the Friday lineup this fall would be NCIS: Sydney at 8, the 2017 version of S.W.A.T. at 9, and Fire Country at 10. It remains to be seen how long S.W.A.T. 2017 is realistically going to last after its sudden retirement reversal before cost-prohibitiveness gets in the way so S.W.A.T. 2017 ends up re-cancelled—this time for good—with no proper send-off at all.

NCIS: Origins looks like it is undeserving of being a multi-season show, so it should have been a miniseries like Rich Man, Poor Man.

I am so glad that Tracker is being put on the timeslot after 60 Minutes and not be doomed to low viewership elsewhere on the schedule, even with my initial doubts over the series's long-term prospects because of being unowned. I am, however, also unpleased with 90-minute editions of Survivor (which is just as big a waste of scheduling as the two-hour editions of Dateline and 20/20).

[icecream]

Originally Posted by James28

The first midseason schedule change I'm calling is George and Mandy's First Marriage and Ghosts swapping timeslots after the former gets low ratings and is beaten by Ghosts. I've never understood any logic in veteran shows in hammock slots leading out of unproven freshman shows in anchor slots.

Blue Bloods's series finale would definitely be airing this month if "Strikemageddon" hadn't occurred; then the Friday lineup this fall would be NCIS: Sydney at 8, the 2017 version of S.W.A.T. at 9, and Fire Country at 10.

NCIS: Sydney never would have aired on CBS period if the strikes hadn't happened, it was filler. They wouldn't waste Fire Country moving to 10:00 either out of its anchor slot. If FC moves it will be an hour earlier to 8:00 to lead into Sheriff Country.

Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage is likely leading off since Young Sheldon fans are used to watching them there. Ghosts really doesn't seem like an 8PM show (or 8:30 either but they are still paying for cutting the 2 hour Thursday block). And if it is the right sitcom a freshman can anchor, what ABC should have done being ready with Tim Allen's new comedy at 8:00 on Wednesdays instead of reality garbage. And while I wish it were on Tuesday, Happy's Place with Reba is a much better choice to lead off NBC Fridays than Lopez vs. Lopez which has been low rated from the start. Just because a sitcom is a veteran doesn't mean it is proven, marginal renewals have often happened if a network doesn't have anything better to bring back. Modern Family was the biggest sitcom hit of the 2010s besides TBBT, it anchored an hour from the very beginning as a freshman. ABC's only returning sitcoms that year were Scrubs and Better Off Ted. If either of them had anchored at 9:00 with Modern Family pushed to 9:30 results would have been a lot different.

[James28]

Originally Posted by icecream

NCIS: Sydney never would have aired on CBS period if the strikes hadn't happened, it was filler. They wouldn't waste Fire Country moving to 10:00 either out of its anchor slot. If FC moves it will be an hour earlier to 8:00 to lead into Sheriff Country.

Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage is likely leading off since Young Sheldon fans are used to watching them there. Ghosts really doesn't seem like an 8PM show (or 8:30 either but they are still paying for cutting the 2 hour Thursday block). And if it is the right sitcom a freshman can anchor, what ABC should have done being ready with Tim Allen's new comedy at 8:00 on Wednesdays instead of reality garbage. And while I wish it were on Tuesday, Happy's Place with Reba is a much better choice to lead off NBC Fridays than Lopez vs. Lopez which has been low rated from the start. Just because a sitcom is a veteran doesn't mean it is proven, marginal renewals have often happened if a network doesn't have anything better to bring back. Modern Family was the biggest sitcom hit of the 2010s besides TBBT, it anchored an hour from the very beginning as a freshman. ABC's only returning sitcoms that year were Scrubs and Better Off Ted. If either of them had anchored at 9:00 with Modern Family pushed to 9:30 results would have been a lot different.

Here is one crazy scenario I'm imagining for next season (all because I'm hesitant to see the wrong shows become long-runners):

The other three Thursday shows (Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage, the 2024 version of Matlock, and Elsbeth) drag-down the viewership for Ghosts, and all of them end up cancelled next May due to insufficient viewership, leaving CBS to start over on Thursday nights in Fall 2025, with Ghosts leading off at 8 pm. You ask me which shows I want to move there, I would choose FBI: International, NCIS: Origins (if that one actually does become a multi-season series), Fire Country (to make room for Sheriff Country), or maybe Tracker or the 2021 version of The Equalizer.

Also, why I'm suggesting Georgie & Mandy's and Ghosts switch timeslots at midseason is because I'm not going to have a freshman in an anchor slot be a single-season failure. During the 2013-14 season, on the Thursday at 9 hour, CBS had The Crazy Ones on the anchor slot, and veteran Two and a Half Men on the hammock slot (which is usually seen as a burial for a veteran show that has always occupied anchor slots. After the Sochi Olympics, Crazy Ones and TaaHM did end up swapping their timeslots (mainly because Crazy Ones tried to drag down TaaHM's ratings, and Crazy Ones's viewership started getting beaten by that of TaaHM after the former's seventh episode), and at the end of the season, The Crazy Ones was cancelled. Roseanne, during its freshman season, only got an anchor slot because Moonlighting's ratings were on the decline and it (Moonlighting) ended up being moved from Tuesdays to Sundays.

[icecream]

The real Alphabet network already has CSI, NCIS, and FBI franchises. They could always start CIA, ATF, and TSA franchises.

[James28]

Two of CBS's most recent serieses to premiere after the Super-Bowl had both been previously scheduled to return for their next seasons on October 27. Now, the season two premiere of Tracker will instead kick off CBS's Premiere Week on October 13, leading into the season 26 finale of Big Brother. The 2021 version of The Equalizer will premiere its season five on October 20 (60 Minutes will air a special 90-minute episode on the same day).

https://tvline.com/news/tracker-seas...bs-1235295754/

[TMC]

CBS unveils “You’re Laughing at CBS" comedy campaign

“People will say that CBS is old and stodgy, but actually, if you look at our programming, it’s really not,” says CBS president/chief marketing officer Mike Benson of the tagline that will be used on shows like Ghosts and The Neighborhood. “I think we’ve got a lot of work to do, from a brand perspective, to show that we can have a lot of fun. That we are willing to poke fun at ourselves as much as we want people to come in and laugh at the shows that we’ve got.”

[James28]

Originally Posted by TMC

CBS unveils “You’re Laughing at CBS" comedy campaign

What is the point of getting into CBS or any of its comedy division right now if it'll never be given a ratings boost after the end of The Big Bang Theory five years ago by having one of its comedies air after the Super Bowl? Yes, I will never stop being so hung-up over the post-SB timeslot being wasted on drama while CBS acts like they're just forbidding their own sitcoms from getting that same opportunity, and God help CBS when the 2027-28 season comes. At this point, I am just about ready to give up on CBS altogether.

[icecream]

It is bad enough Tracker will be delayed by football on weeks CBS has the 4:30 game. On a week with no sports overruns Tracker will be delayed to 8:30/7:30 on October 20 because of a 90 minute episode of 60 Minutes.

[TMC]

CBS has created its own “world” of shows

This week the network rolled out an “NCIS” spinoff, a “Young Sheldon” spinoff, a “Good Wife” spinoff and … “Matlock”?

By Mike Hale
Oct. 18, 2024

CBS is reconvening this week, premiering a dozen of its dramas and comedies, including 10 of last season’s 15 most-watched scripted shows. You might dismiss the network’s dominance of the broadcast ratings as a case of being the top dog on a small playground, but the seven million to 10 million viewers each of those shows drew — before any streaming numbers were added — probably don’t care much about your opinion.

Along with the returning CBS hits this week come two new shows, “NCIS: Origins” and “Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage,” and one that still feels new, “Elsbeth,” which premiered in February and is starting its second season.

These additions to the schedule are nominally very different from one another, contributing to the diverse menu a big-box television outlet needs to offer: a sentimental buds-and-blood crime procedural set on a California military base (“NCIS: Origins”); a wacky-Texas-family sitcom (“Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage”); and an archly comic case-of-the-week detective series set in New York (“Elsbeth”).

But their differences are less notable than the thing they have in common: Each has emerged from the CBS ecosystem, spun off from one of the network’s existing franchises. “Origins” is the sixth “NCIS” show; “Georgie” follows “The Big Bang Theory” and “Young Sheldon”; and “Elsbeth” stars a character who was introduced in “The Good Wife” and later appeared in “The Good Fight.”

There are a couple of ways to look at that. You can see timidity and lack of imagination, and an overreliance on proven quantities like the sitcom mogul Chuck Lorre (“Georgie”) and the smart-drama mavens Michelle and Robert King (“Elsbeth”). But you can also see shrewd strategy at a time when seemingly unlimited choice and the associated fracturing of the audience make viewers’ desires for familiarity and comfort stronger than ever. All of the major streamers could take lessons in brand management from CBS.

The network does not have a “universe” in the sense of Marvel’s crisscrossing superhero stories or the byzantine timelines of the “Star Wars” franchise. But it has a sensibility that is actually more consistent, across a variety of genres and creators. There may not be a CBS universe, but there is a CBS world, a zone with a common language and values. Traveling from “Blue Bloods” to “Fire Country” to “Tracker,” you won’t have any problems at the border.

The shows arriving this week — to which we can add “Matlock,” also in its first season, and “Tracker,” another February arrival — hew to the brand, similar in ways that are hard to quantify but still visible. Easiest to see is the attribute that makes the shows easy for many to dismiss: They are resolutely formulaic, each following a familiar path in nearly every episode. That is not to say that they are entirely predictable, from moment to moment, but they avoid rude surprises.

That is a timeworn observation about shows across all broadcast networks. More particular to the CBS shows is how they balance what can be seen as appeals to Middle American conservatism with nods to blue-state values.

Amid the standard investigation and suspense motifs of “Origins,” we see the crusty team leader, Mike Franks (Kyle Schmid), reluctantly facing up to issues of gender and race in the workplace; but his retrograde attitudes and jokes are still woven, at face value, into the show’s humor. (To be fair, it takes place in 1991.)

“Georgie,” set in the mid-1990s between “Young Sheldon” and “The Big Bang Theory,” focuses sympathetically on the efforts of Mandy (Emily Osment) to find a job while making clumsy jokes about the importance of her breasts in the imagination of Georgie (Montana Jordan), a notion we are probably meant to see as natural given that he is 12 years younger than she is. (The presentation of Georgie as both an adolescent, good-old-boy dimwit and a well-meaning, deceptively smart striver encapsulates the straddle CBS is always trying to pull off.)

In “Matlock,” the lawyer played by Kathy Bates nearly derails her firm's pursuit of a sexual-harassment case when she admits that her age and experience led her to distrust the young plaintiff.

In “Elsbeth,” Carrie Preston’s Elsbeth Tascioni, a Chicagoan temporarily attached to the New York police, is an awe-struck tourist in the big city (probably an experience familiar to many viewers) who also maintains a visitor’s critical distance. In Thursday’s season premiere, she falls in love with opera under the tutelage of a murderer charmingly played by Nathan Lane, but does not plan to go back to the opera house anytime soon — once or twice a year is enough, she notes with asperity.

All of the plot elements or throwaway lines involving social or cultural values are written without any reference whatsoever to actual politics or events in the larger world, of course; reality is in every case subsumed by formula and genre. This relates to another notable characteristic of the CBS shows: the way in which they seem to exist both in and out of time. They take place in specific moments on the calendar, but those time frames seem relevant only as a framework on which to hang jokes, references, costumes and props.

That free-floating quality points to a central truth about the CBS shows: Their universe is the world of broadcast TV itself. They occupy a timeless, homogeneous zone that is comfortably self-referential without being meta in a way that could be distracting or challenging.

“Elsbeth” is derived not just from the Kings’ earlier shows, but also from the template set by the beloved 1970s NBC detective show “Columbo.” “Matlock” plays with the folksy-lawyer premise of its namesake, the 1980s-’90s “Matlock” on NBC and ABC.

“Georgie” is strongly reminiscent of one of the most popular shows during the era in which it is set, ABC’s “Roseanne.” (The sympathetic father and father-in-law played by Will Sasso is a direct gloss on John Goodman’s Dan.) “Tracker” carries some DNA from the great Fox series “The X-Files.” It also directly invokes the CW bellwether “Supernatural,” with Jensen Ackles guest-starring in a role practically identical to the caustic, protective older brother he played in that earlier series (and driving a very similar black Chevy).

All that really matters for these shows is executing on their premises and formulas; if they keep faith, they will find an audience waiting for them. If you want to make distinctions, though, the edge probably goes to the featherweight but amusing “Elsbeth,” which has the polish and some of the wit that the Kings usually supply. (Its mysteries are almost offensively simple minded, though.) “Matlock” has a clever season-long premise to generate suspense and engaging performances by Bates and by Skye P. Marshall as a fierce younger lawyer; the case-of-the-week plots are undercooked, however, and Beau Bridges, as the firm’s alpha partner, is severely underused.

“NCIS: Origins” has some surface interest as a darker than usual variation on the “NCIS” blueprint, which usually calls for a mix of light buddy-cop banter and grisly homicide. Austin Stowell, playing the central character Leroy Jethro Gibbs at the beginning of his law-enforcement career, is about as expressive as Mark Harmon was when he played Gibbs on “NCIS”; Harmon made it work for 19 seasons, but Stowell may not get as much time to perfect his deadpan. (Harmon, who left the original series several seasons ago, returns here as narrator.)

“Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage” has the misfortune of having the slenderest connection to its predecessors. The center of gravity of both “Big Bang” and “Young Sheldon,” the comically obsessive scientist Sheldon Cooper (played by Jim Parsons as an adult and Iain Armitage as a child), is not present, and without him it is hard to see much of a purpose in the spinoff. (The show adds a Sheldon surrogate in the person of a twitchy, obsessive musician played by Dougie Baldwin; in the first few episodes it looks like a miscalculation.)

Georgie, Sheldon’s older brother, and Mandy run through achingly familiar sitcom scenarios of working-class travail, leavened only by the performance of Rachel Bay Jones (an Emmy, Grammy and Tony winner for “Dear Evan Hansen”) as Mandy’s disapproving mother. But it is still a good bet that more than a few of the nine million people who watched the last season of “Young Sheldon” will make the painless journey to “Georgie.”

[TMC]

CBS has created its own “world” of shows

This week the network rolled out an “NCIS” spinoff, a “Young Sheldon” spinoff, a “Good Wife” spinoff and … “Matlock”?

By Mike Hale
Oct. 18, 2024

CBS is reconvening this week, premiering a dozen of its dramas and comedies, including 10 of last season’s 15 most-watched scripted shows. You might dismiss the network’s dominance of the broadcast ratings as a case of being the top dog on a small playground, but the seven million to 10 million viewers each of those shows drew — before any streaming numbers were added — probably don’t care much about your opinion.

Along with the returning CBS hits this week come two new shows, “NCIS: Origins” and “Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage,” and one that still feels new, “Elsbeth,” which premiered in February and is starting its second season.

These additions to the schedule are nominally very different from one another, contributing to the diverse menu a big-box television outlet needs to offer: a sentimental buds-and-blood crime procedural set on a California military base (“NCIS: Origins”); a wacky-Texas-family sitcom (“Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage”); and an archly comic case-of-the-week detective series set in New York (“Elsbeth”).

But their differences are less notable than the thing they have in common: Each has emerged from the CBS ecosystem, spun off from one of the network’s existing franchises. “Origins” is the sixth “NCIS” show; “Georgie” follows “The Big Bang Theory” and “Young Sheldon”; and “Elsbeth” stars a character who was introduced in “The Good Wife” and later appeared in “The Good Fight.”

There are a couple of ways to look at that. You can see timidity and lack of imagination, and an overreliance on proven quantities like the sitcom mogul Chuck Lorre (“Georgie”) and the smart-drama mavens Michelle and Robert King (“Elsbeth”). But you can also see shrewd strategy at a time when seemingly unlimited choice and the associated fracturing of the audience make viewers’ desires for familiarity and comfort stronger than ever. All of the major streamers could take lessons in brand management from CBS.

The network does not have a “universe” in the sense of Marvel’s crisscrossing superhero stories or the byzantine timelines of the “Star Wars” franchise. But it has a sensibility that is actually more consistent, across a variety of genres and creators. There may not be a CBS universe, but there is a CBS world, a zone with a common language and values. Traveling from “Blue Bloods” to “Fire Country” to “Tracker,” you won’t have any problems at the border.

The shows arriving this week — to which we can add “Matlock,” also in its first season, and “Tracker,” another February arrival — hew to the brand, similar in ways that are hard to quantify but still visible. Easiest to see is the attribute that makes the shows easy for many to dismiss: They are resolutely formulaic, each following a familiar path in nearly every episode. That is not to say that they are entirely predictable, from moment to moment, but they avoid rude surprises.

That is a timeworn observation about shows across all broadcast networks. More particular to the CBS shows is how they balance what can be seen as appeals to Middle American conservatism with nods to blue-state values.

Amid the standard investigation and suspense motifs of “Origins,” we see the crusty team leader, Mike Franks (Kyle Schmid), reluctantly facing up to issues of gender and race in the workplace; but his retrograde attitudes and jokes are still woven, at face value, into the show’s humor. (To be fair, it takes place in 1991.)

“Georgie,” set in the mid-1990s between “Young Sheldon” and “The Big Bang Theory,” focuses sympathetically on the efforts of Mandy (Emily Osment) to find a job while making clumsy jokes about the importance of her breasts in the imagination of Georgie (Montana Jordan), a notion we are probably meant to see as natural given that he is 12 years younger than she is. (The presentation of Georgie as both an adolescent, good-old-boy dimwit and a well-meaning, deceptively smart striver encapsulates the straddle CBS is always trying to pull off.)

In “Matlock,” the lawyer played by Kathy Bates nearly derails her firm's pursuit of a sexual-harassment case when she admits that her age and experience led her to distrust the young plaintiff.

In “Elsbeth,” Carrie Preston’s Elsbeth Tascioni, a Chicagoan temporarily attached to the New York police, is an awe-struck tourist in the big city (probably an experience familiar to many viewers) who also maintains a visitor’s critical distance. In Thursday’s season premiere, she falls in love with opera under the tutelage of a murderer charmingly played by Nathan Lane, but does not plan to go back to the opera house anytime soon — once or twice a year is enough, she notes with asperity.

All of the plot elements or throwaway lines involving social or cultural values are written without any reference whatsoever to actual politics or events in the larger world, of course; reality is in every case subsumed by formula and genre. This relates to another notable characteristic of the CBS shows: the way in which they seem to exist both in and out of time. They take place in specific moments on the calendar, but those time frames seem relevant only as a framework on which to hang jokes, references, costumes and props.

That free-floating quality points to a central truth about the CBS shows: Their universe is the world of broadcast TV itself. They occupy a timeless, homogeneous zone that is comfortably self-referential without being meta in a way that could be distracting or challenging.

“Elsbeth” is derived not just from the Kings’ earlier shows, but also from the template set by the beloved 1970s NBC detective show “Columbo.” “Matlock” plays with the folksy-lawyer premise of its namesake, the 1980s-’90s “Matlock” on NBC and ABC.

“Georgie” is strongly reminiscent of one of the most popular shows during the era in which it is set, ABC’s “Roseanne.” (The sympathetic father and father-in-law played by Will Sasso is a direct gloss on John Goodman’s Dan.) “Tracker” carries some DNA from the great Fox series “The X-Files.” It also directly invokes the CW bellwether “Supernatural,” with Jensen Ackles guest-starring in a role practically identical to the caustic, protective older brother he played in that earlier series (and driving a very similar black Chevy).

All that really matters for these shows is executing on their premises and formulas; if they keep faith, they will find an audience waiting for them. If you want to make distinctions, though, the edge probably goes to the featherweight but amusing “Elsbeth,” which has the polish and some of the wit that the Kings usually supply. (Its mysteries are almost offensively simple minded, though.) “Matlock” has a clever season-long premise to generate suspense and engaging performances by Bates and by Skye P. Marshall as a fierce younger lawyer; the case-of-the-week plots are undercooked, however, and Beau Bridges, as the firm’s alpha partner, is severely underused.

“NCIS: Origins” has some surface interest as a darker than usual variation on the “NCIS” blueprint, which usually calls for a mix of light buddy-cop banter and grisly homicide. Austin Stowell, playing the central character Leroy Jethro Gibbs at the beginning of his law-enforcement career, is about as expressive as Mark Harmon was when he played Gibbs on “NCIS”; Harmon made it work for 19 seasons, but Stowell may not get as much time to perfect his deadpan. (Harmon, who left the original series several seasons ago, returns here as narrator.)

“Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage” has the misfortune of having the slenderest connection to its predecessors. The center of gravity of both “Big Bang” and “Young Sheldon,” the comically obsessive scientist Sheldon Cooper (played by Jim Parsons as an adult and Iain Armitage as a child), is not present, and without him it is hard to see much of a purpose in the spinoff. (The show adds a Sheldon surrogate in the person of a twitchy, obsessive musician played by Dougie Baldwin; in the first few episodes it looks like a miscalculation.)

Georgie, Sheldon’s older brother, and Mandy run through achingly familiar sitcom scenarios of working-class travail, leavened only by the performance of Rachel Bay Jones (an Emmy, Grammy and Tony winner for “Dear Evan Hansen”) as Mandy’s disapproving mother. But it is still a good bet that more than a few of the nine million people who watched the last season of “Young Sheldon” will make the painless journey to “Georgie.”