Nellie Andreeva

CBS 2012 UpfrontsEvery year, CBS goes for a couple of major scheduling moves in anchor slots. This year, it is 2 Broke Girls moving to the tentpole Monday 9 PM position after breaking out at 8:30 PM this season. After seven seasons in the Monday 9 PM slot, Two And A Half Men is moving to the Thursday 8:30 slot behind The Big Bang Theory. That is a role-reversal for the two comedies as Big Bang grew into a hit behind Men on Monday. The 2 Broke Girls move reflects CBS’ strategy to support “shows that have momentum, trying to catch them on the way up,” CBS’ scheduling guru Kelly Kahl said at the network’s press breakfast. As for sending Men to Thursday, “we’ve created a super comedy hour,” Kahl said. Men was brought over because the network had difficulty finding a show as broad as Big Bang for the 8:30 PM slot to create flow on the night and help 9 PM drama Person Of Interest grow.

Kahl took a snipe at ABC, NBC and Fox, which all scheduled single-camera comedies in the Tuesday 9 PM hour, calling the pileup “a comedy Sigalert”. “It’s good to have a drama there,” he said of CBS, which is sticking with NCIS: LA in the slot. CBS’ entertainment president Nina Tassler said it was a toss-up decision which CSI spinoff to cancel, which ultimately came down to whose slot the network found more suitable for The Mentalist as it didn’t want to have any of the veteran CSIs change nights again. “It was about keeping the flow, and Miami was the odd man out,” she said. As for veteran comedy Rules Of Engagement, “we’re still discussing it, no decision has been made,” Tassler said.

Related: CBS Update: ‘Rules Of Engagement’ Talks Down To The Wire, ‘Mentalist’ On The Move

CBS is introducing four new shows in the fall: comedy Partners and dramas Vegas, Elementary and Made In Jersey. The strategy was “protecting our new shows, with all of them having hits in front of them,” Kahl said. Partners follows How I Met Your Mother on Monday, Vegas is behind NCIS: LA on Tuesday, Elementary behind Person of Interest on Thursday and Made In Jersey behind CSI: NY on Friday.

Here’s the CBS 2012-2013 schedule:
(N=New, NT=New Time)

MONDAY

8 PM  HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER

8:30 PM  PARTNERS (N)

9 PM  2 BROKE GIRLS (NT)

9:30 PM MIKE & MOLLY

10 PM  HAWAII FIVE-0

TUESDAY

8 PM  NCIS

9 PM NCIS: LOS ANGELES

10 PM VEGAS (N)

WEDNESDAY

8 PM  SURVIVOR

9 PM  CRIMINAL MINDS

10 PM CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION

THURSDAY

8 PM THE BIG BANG THEORY

8:30 PM  TWO AND A HALF MEN (NT)

9 PM  PERSON OF INTEREST

10 PM  ELEMENTARY (N)

FRIDAY

8 PM CSI: NY (NT)

9 PM MADE IN JERSEY (N)

10 PM BLUE BLOODS

SATURDAY

8 PM  CRIMETIME SATURDAY

9 PM CRIMETIME SATURDAY

10 PM 48 HOURS MYSTERY

SUNDAY

7 PM  60 MINUTES

8 PM  THE AMAZING RACE

9 PM  THE GOOD WIFE

10 PM THE MENTALIST (NT)

 

Descriptions of CBS’ new series:

The New Dramas:

 

ELEMENTARY stars Jonny Lee Miller as detective Sherlock Holmes and Lucy Liu as Dr. Joan Watson in a modern-day drama about a crime-solving duo that cracks the NYPD’s most impossible cases. Following his fall from grace in London and a stint in rehab, eccentric Sherlock escapes to Manhattan where his wealthy father forces him to live with his worst nightmare – a sober companion, Dr. Watson.  A successful surgeon until she lost a patient and her license three years ago, Watson views her current job as another opportunity to help people, as well as paying a penance.  However, the restless Sherlock is nothing like her previous clients.  He informs her that none of her expertise as an addiction specialist applies to him and he’s devised his own post-rehab regimen – resuming his work as a police consultant in New York City. Watson has no choice but to accompany her irascible new charge on his jobs.  But Sherlock finds her medical background helpful, and Watson realizes she has a knack for playing investigator. Sherlock’s police contact, Capt. Tobias “Toby” Gregson (Aidan Quinn), knows from previous experience working with Scotland Yard that Sherlock is brilliant at closing cases, and welcomes him as part of the team.  With the mischievous Sherlock Holmes now running free in New York solving crimes, it’s simple deduction that he’s going to need someone to keep him grounded, and it’s elementary that it’s a job for Watson.  Rob Doherty, Sarah Timberman, Carl Beverly and Michael Cuesta, who directed the pilot, are executive producers for CBS Television Studios.

 

Dennis Quaid and Michael Chiklis star in VEGAS, a drama inspired by the true story of former Las Vegas Sheriff Ralph Lamb, a fourth-generation rancher tasked with bringing order to Las Vegas in the 1960s, a gambling and entertainment mecca emerging from the tumbleweeds.  Ralph Lamb (Quaid) wants to be left in peace to run his ranch, but Las Vegas is now swelling with outsiders and corruption which are intruding on his simple life.  Recalling Lamb’s command as a military police officer during World War II, the Mayor appeals to his sense of duty to look into a murder of a casino worker – and so begins Lamb’s clash with Vincent Savino (Chiklis), a ruthless Chicago gangster who plans to make Vegas his own.  Assisting Lamb in keeping law and order are his two deputies: his diplomatic, even-keeled brother Jack (Jason O’Mara) and his charming but impulsive son, Dixon (Taylor Handley).  Ambitious Assistant District Attorney Katherine O’Connell (Carrie-Anne Moss), who grew up on the ranch next to the Lambs, also lends a hand in preserving justice.  In Vegas, two powerful men – Lamb and Savino – are engaged in a fierce battle for control of the budding oasis, and for both of them, folding is not an option.  Nicholas Pileggi, Greg Walker, Cathy Konrad, Arthur Sarkissian and James Mangold, who also directed the pilot, are the executive producers for CBS Television Studios.

 

MADE IN JERSEY is a drama about a young working-class woman who uses her street smarts to compete among her pedigreed Manhattan colleagues at a prestigious New York law firm.  Martina Garretti (Janet Montgomery) finds her firm’s cutthroat landscape challenging, but what she lacks in an Ivy League education she more than makes up for with tenacity and blue-collar insight. After just a few weeks, firm founder Donovan Stark (Kyle MacLachlan), takes note of Martina’s ingenuity and resourcefulness, as does her sassy secretary Cyndi Vega (Toni Trucks).  With the support of her big Italian family, including her sexy older sister Bonnie (Erin Cummings), Martina is able to stay true to her roots as a bold, passionate lawyer on the rise in a new intimidating environment.  Jamie Tarses, Kevin Falls, Julia Franz and Mark Waters, who also directed the pilot, are the executive producers for Sony Pictures Television in association with CBS Television Studios.  Pilot was written by creator and co-executive producer Dana Calvo.

 

The New Comedy:

 

PARTNERS is a comedy based on the lives of creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick, about two life-long best friends and business partners whose “bromance” is tested when one of them is engaged to be married.  Joe (David Krumholtz) is an accomplished architect who leads with his head and not his heart, especially in his love life.  That’s in stark contrast to his gay co-worker, Louis (Michael Urie), who is spontaneous, emotional and prone to exaggeration.  Both have found joy in their love lives: Joe is newly engaged to Ali (Sophia Bush), a beautiful and sophisticated jewelry designer, while Louis is dating Wyatt (Brandon Routh), a vegan nurse who Louis insists is just a promotion away from becoming a doctor.  As news of Joe’s engagement settles, time will tell if their business and personal bond can adapt to the addition of two other important relationships.  Emmy Award winners David Kohan and Max Mutchnick are executive producers for Warner Bros. Television.  Emmy Award winner James Burrows directed the pilot.

 

The New Midseason Series:

 

GOLDEN BOY is a drama about the meteoric rise of an ambitious cop who becomes the youngest police commissioner in the history of New York City, and the high personal and professional cost he pays to achieve it.  As he’s interviewed for a story about his career, Walter William Clark, Jr. (Theo James) flashes back on his hard-fought journey from street kid to the most powerful man in law enforcement.  After only three years as a beat cop, Clark’s heroics on the job make him bold enough to ask for and receive the unheard – of promotion to Homicide Detective, angering the members of his new department who are eager to see him fail.  Clark’s disappointed to be partnered with veteran Detective Don Owen (Chi McBride), a gruff lifer just two years shy of retirement.  He would rather team with First Grade Detective Christian Arroyo (Kevin Alejandro), the alpha dog in the squad who’s just as ambitious as Clark, but without a moral center.  Arroyo’s partner is Detective Deborah McKenzie (Bonnie Somerville), a tough third-generation cop and the only female detective in the unit. Also on the team is Detective Joe Diaco (Holt McCallany), well-connected with tremendous resources which Clark might find useful.  Though laser-focused on moving up the ladder, Clark’s soft spot is serving as the sole caregiver and supporter of his sister, Agnes (Stella Maeve), a teenager demonstrating increasingly dangerous behavior.  Keenly observant and politically savvy, the Golden Boy bases his career decisions solely on his need to succeed as quickly as possible, and he’ll find that his epic journey will be filled with consequences.  Greg Berlanti, Emmy Award winner Nicholas Wootton and Richard Shepard, who directed the pilot, are executive producers for Warner Bros. Television.

 

FRIEND ME is a comedy about two 20-something best friends who just moved from Indiana to Los Angeles to start cool new jobs, but can’t agree on how to socially engage in their new city. Rob (Nicholas Braun) is eager to embrace the L.A. scene and meet new people who aren’t looking down at their smart phones or laptops.  Evan (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), however, prefers to socialize online at home in his underwear, web-chatting and playing poker with his Hoosier buddies Mike (Parveesh Cheena), Sully (Tim Robinson) and Farhad (Dan Ahdoot) just a keystroke away. Meanwhile, Rob’s had enough of iChatting, and naively posts a flyer seeking new friends on the coffee house bulletin board, despite Evan’s warning that no good can come from meeting strangers in person. Soon the calls start rolling in, some with potential, some just disturbing, and Rob and a reluctant Evan embark on what will be a series of the most epic adventures – and disasters – of their lives.  Alan Kirschenbaum and Ajay Sahgal, Eric and Kim Tannenbaum, are executive producers for CBS Television Studios, in association with The Tannenbaum Company.  The pilot was directed by Pamela Fryman.

 

From reality show masters Michael Davies (“Who Wants To Be A Millionaire,” “Watch What Happens Live”) and Mark Burnett (“Survivor,” “The Voice”) comes a new reality series, THE JOB, where every week talented candidates are chosen from across the country for a chance to win their dream job at one of America’s most prestigious companies. Host Lisa Ling guides participants through several rounds of the most intense interviews of their lives, including challenges ranging from an on-the-spot quiz to assess their knowledge of the company to deadline-driven tasks while spending a day on the job. But the candidates aren’t the only ones in the hot seat. Adding to the pressure, a rival company is also present and waiting for an opportunity to swoop in and steal any of the contenders by making a competing offer. The participant must then decide immediately whether they will take the rival’s offer or stay in the competition in the hope that they are the last one standing for this once-in-a-lifetime job opportunity. Produced by Sony Pictures Television and Embassy Row.

 

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