CBS is the most stable of the major broadcast networks, and honcho Les Moonves had stated last week that he expected to launch only around 2 dramas and 2 comedies in the fall, so unsurprisingly, the network has followed its 3-year deal to renew THE BIG BANG THEORY and its agreement to bring back the other Chuck Lorre/Warner Bros Television comedies 2 1/2 MEN, MIKE & MOLLY and MOM with renewals for most of its current schedule.
The majority of these decisions were easy: NCIS, NCIS LA, PERSON OF INTEREST, CSI, BLUE BLOODS, HAWAII 5-0, CRIMINAL MINDS, ELEMENTARY, THE MILLERS, THE AMAZING RACE, 60 MINUTES, UNDERCOVER BOSS, and 48 HOURS. Of these, the only ones that might have been in any danger were the Friday duo of Blue Bloods and Hawaii, which skew older every season, but they’re still performing well enough and have value overseas. The question for The Millers will be whether it retains its cushy slot after Big Bang next season, and if not, whether it can survive on its own.
Every season, THE GOOD WIFE is rumored to be heading for the executioner’s block, and last week it was particularly low at 1.3 (airing against the huge debut of Resurrection), but its return isn’t much of a surprise. The series gets an upscale audience that makes it more valuable than its numbers suggest, and it’s the only critically acclaimed show on CBS’s schedule–and while CBS isn’t in the Emmy business, it’s still nice to have one of those. This season, showrunners Robert and Michelle King have delivered Good Wife‘s most-praised year since its debut (and rightly so). What’s more, with Undercover Boss, Hawaii 5-0 and Blue Bloods all renewed, Good Wife doesn’t seem likely to face exile to Fridays, another perennial rumor.
Note: we don’t know that all these renewals are for full 22-episode seasons (the rumor was that 2 1/2 Men, at least, would be for 13 episodes), nor do we know that all these shows will be on the fall schedule–midseason debuts, like Mike & Molly‘s this season, are possible. Still on the CBS bubble: THE MENTALIST and THE CRAZY ONES. (And technically INTELLIGENCE and HOSTAGES, although neither of those have much of a pulse.)
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