CBS unveils 2005-06 schedule

[Burgundy Ranger]

NEW YORK (AP) - CBS on Wednesday canceled "Judging Amy," "Joan of Arcadia" and the Wednesday edition of "60 Minutes" as the nation's most popular network tries to attract younger viewers.

The network will add two new comedies and four new dramas next season, including a series in which Jennifer Love Hewitt talks to dead people.

"Two and a Half Men," the highest-rated situation comedy left on broadcast television, will move into the 9 p.m. Monday slot vacated by "Everybody Loves Raymond," which drew a series-high 33 million viewers to its finale this week.

CBS is again the most-watched network and this season will narrowly miss beating Fox among the youthful 18-to-49-year-old demographic prized by advertisers. If Fox hadn't aired the Super Bowl this season, CBS said, it would have won.

Four of the five prime-time CBS programs with the oldest audience were removed from the schedule. CBS also canceled the Jason Alexander comedy "Listen Up" and the long-running military drama "JAG" stopped production. The Sunday "60 Minutes" remains as the CBS show with the oldest audience.

"We want to win it all," said Leslie Moonves, CBS chairman.

The Wednesday spinoff to "60 Minutes" was doomed by low ratings, not its controversial story last fall about President Bush's military service, Moonves said. With "48 Hours Mysteries" on Saturday, CBS has two remaining newsmagazines.

The failure of "Joan of Arcadia," which received an Emmy nomination and critical acclaim in its first season but faded this year, was one of his biggest disappointments, Moonves said.

CBS is trying two supernatural stories on Friday nights. "Threshold" features a team of experts called in when the Navy discovers aliens have landed in the Atlantic Ocean. Hewitt's "Ghost Whisperer," reminiscent of NBC's "Medium," is about a woman who conveys messages from dead people to the living.

"I think talking to ghosts may skew younger than talking to God," Moonves said.

With its crime dramas continuing to work well, CBS will add "Criminal Minds," a thriller about FBI profilers who try to stop criminals, and "Close to Home," with Jennifer Finnigan (NBC's "Committed) starring as a suburban prosecutor.

"King of Queens" returns to CBS's Monday comedy lineup, joined by two new shows: "How I Met Your Mother," a "Friends"-like romantic story created by two of David Letterman's former writers; and "Out of Practice," about a dysfunctional family of doctors, created by the team behind "Frasier."

CBS made no changes to its enormously successful Thursday lineup, where "Survivor" and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" reign supreme.

The network is taking a gamble with two paranormal or sci-fi series, continuing a trend evident at other networks. CBS' off-beat experiments:

•"Ghost Whisperer", with Jennifer Love Hewitt as a newlywed who communicates with the dead (but, in a twist, solves no crimes). It's based on psychic James van Praagh's work.

•"Threshold", a sci-fi drama about a mysterious alien life form, with a cast that includes Charles Dutton, Brent Spiner (Star Trek) and Carla Gugino.

The network has three new sitcoms. Among them is Elfman's "Everything I Know About Men", which marks CBS' first female-driven comedy in a few years; the network is known for being home to sitcoms led by tubby men with hot wives.

Other new shows (some for midseason):

•"How I Met Your Mother", a flashback comedy about a single man looking for his future wife.

•"Flesh & Blood", a sitcom from the producers of Frasier about a family of single doctors, starring Stockard Channing and Henry Winkler.

•"American Crime", yet another series from producer Jerry Bruckheimer, about a new-mom prosecutor battling suburban crime.

•"Criminal Minds", a suspense thriller about the FBI behavioral-analysis unit. Features Dharma's Gibson, Shemar Moore and Mandy Patinkin (Chicago Hope).
•"The Unit", a drama about members of a military commando unit and their families. Stars Dennis Haysbert (24); from David Mamet and producer Shawn Ryan (The Shield). Likely for midseason.

Here's the complete schedule:

Monday:
8:00-8:30 THE KING OF QUEENS
8:30-9:00 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
9:00-9:30 TWO AND A HALF MEN
9:30-10:00 OUT OF PRACTICE
10:00-11:00 CSI: MIAMI

TUESDAY
8:00-9:00 NCIS
9:00-10:00 THE AMAZING RACE
10:00-11:00 CLOSE TO HOME

WEDNESDAY
8:00-8:30 STILL STANDING
8:30-9:00 YES, DEAR
9:00-10:00 CRIMINAL MINDS
10:00-11:00 CSI: NY

THURSDAY
8:00-9:00 SURVIVOR: GUATEMALA
9:00-10:00 CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION
10:00-11:00 WITHOUT A TRACE

FRIDAY
8:00-9:00 GHOST WHISPERER
9:00-10:00 THRESHOLD
10:00-11:00 NUMB3RS

SATURDAY
8:00-9:00 CRIMETIME SATURDAY
9:00-10:00 CRIMETIME SATURDAY
10:00-11:00 48 HOURS MYSTERY

SUNDAY
7:00-8:00 60 MINUTES
8:00-9:00 COLD CASE
9:00-11:00 CBS SUNDAY MOVIE

[Michael24]

•"Ghost Whisperer", with Jennifer Love Hewitt as a newlywed who communicates with the dead (but, in a twist, solves no crimes). It's based on psychic James van Praagh's work.

•"Threshold", a sci-fi drama about a mysterious alien life form, with a cast that includes Charles Dutton, Brent Spiner (Star Trek) and Carla Gugino.
I'll have to check out these two. GHOST WHISPERER sounds like a major departure for JLH, but having her on TV each week would be a dream come true for me. :D (Too bad her comedy series got canned, but this should be interesting.) And THRESHOLD's got Data and the mom from SPY KIDS, so that should be cool, too. Nice that they'll be on back-to-back, but too bad they've got such a crappy timeslot. :(

[Tobias]

Was Joan of Arcadia really getting bad enough ratings to get cancelled? You'd think with Raymond and Jag gone, that CBS would be trying to hang onto to as many shows as possible.

[Discloner]

Was Joan of Arcadia really getting bad enough ratings to get cancelled? You'd think with Raymond and Jag gone, that CBS would be trying to hang onto to as many shows as possible.From what I hear, it was doing pretty horrible. EW did a whole thing about 'on the bubble' shows a month or so back, and it said one of the only hopes for Joan of Arcadia was that the president of CBS (or programming) loved the show.

If any of these Sci-Fi shows (from CBS or NBC) take off as hits...I can see them becoming the next 'crime drama' of brodcast television.

[Youko Recca]

Can't wait for the premier of, The Unit. Otherwise, I don't really have much of a comment on anything.

[Peter Paltridge]

There's The Unit....what'd I tell you? I was right again. CBS wants a 24. In fact, they seem to want a lot of things next season. I see a disturbing number of ripoffs there.

[Fone Bone]

I'm going to say something controversial. Out of ALL of the shows that aired last year, Joan of Arcadia was the most deserving of another season. The last couple of episodes introducing the creepy guy who thought he was better than God glued me to the screen. I am bitterly disappointed we won't see that resolved. On the other hand, I think the guy who played him will be starring in Fox's Prison break.

[Joker85]

I cannot believe this. JOA, a show about a girl who talks to God, who had huge success her first season, and moderate success the second (the ratings weren't that bad, they were second in their timeslot each week), is being replaced by a show about a girl who talks to Ghosts. Amber Tamlyn can act, JLH can't. Wow that was a great move on Les Moonves part. Brilliant he is. But hey, it's Okay, with Joan off the air it'll give me more time to watch the Lost and Medium knockoffs that are appearing everywhere, and of course I'll be drawn to another stellar season of Yes, Dear. CBS can go to hell.

[Fone Bone]

I cannot believe this. JOA, a show about a girl who talks to God, who had huge success her first season, and moderate success the second (the ratings weren't that bad, they were second in their timeslot each week), is being replaced by a show about a girl who talks to Ghosts. Amber Tamlyn can act, JLH can't. Wow that was a great move on Les Moonves part. Brilliant he is. But hey, it's Okay, with Joan off the air it'll give me more time to watch the Lost and Medium knockoffs that are appearing everywhere, and of course I'll be drawn to another stellar season of Yes, Dear. CBS can go to hell.It's a crying shame. Joan had a VERY uneven season last year, but the last two episodes introducing her nemesis were stellar and had me anticipating the next season greatly.:( :sad: :crying:

[Spongebrain2.0]

NEW YORK (AP) -
CBS is trying two supernatural stories on Friday nights. "Threshold" features a team of experts called in when the Navy discovers aliens have landed in the Atlantic Ocean. Hewitt's "Ghost Whisperer," reminiscent of NBC's "Medium," is about a woman who conveys messages from dead people to the living.

"I think talking to ghosts may skew younger than talking to God," Moonves said.



First of all, why ripoff a ripoff. Medium was a cheap ripoff of "The Dead Zone":shrug:

[Tobias]

Let's all have a good laugh when CBS's Friday night lineup folds before November sweeps.

[Master Moron]

It's a crying shame. Joan had a VERY uneven season last year, but the last two episodes introducing her nemesis were stellar and had me anticipating the next season greatly.:( :sad: :crying:

Well, if the plots for most of the season are so bad that not only do half of the fans run away but even the star of the show starts to bash it, a few good episodes near the end of the season really aren't going to be able to save it.


First of all, why ripoff a ripoff. Medium was a cheap ripoff of "The Dead Zone":shrug:

Well, the ghost Whisperer really isn't a rip off of Medium. In Medium the main character uses her psychic powers to solve crimes, in the Ghost Whisperer the main character doesn't.


Let's all have a good laugh when CBS's Friday night lineup folds before November sweeps.

Well, Numb3rs almost single handedly killed Law and Order:Trial by Jury so I'm not sure how accurate your prediction will be. Though, I'm not really sure Friday nights are that important to the networks anyway. I mean, look at the crap the other networks are putting on Friday nights. It won't be too hard for CBS to beat them.

[The Penguin]

Well I've never gotten into the CSI's so it looks like Survivor is it for me on the eye. Provided I don't give it a pass in favor of the mess that will be my other three shows in that timeslot.

[Peter Paltridge]

I'm going to say something controversial. Out of ALL of the shows that aired last year, Joan of Arcadia was the most deserving of another season. The last couple of episodes introducing the creepy guy who thought he was better than God glued me to the screen. I am bitterly disappointed we won't see that resolved. On the other hand, I think the guy who played him will be starring in Fox's Prison break.Dunno why saying that would be controversial. I guess for a devout liberal, it'd be controversial....

I wasn't that much into "Joan"....it was well-written, but too sobby for my tastes. I saw some first-season episodes, but never bothered with the second. I'm suspecting the novelty wore off for most other people too.

[bigddan11]

Alas, Judge Amy Gray had a good run, and I would have been interested in seeing what they did with teh Senatorial run plot next season, but oh well. You've done a good job Judge Amy Gray.

As for the rest of the lineup, it's no real surprise that all 3 CSI's, Survivor, Numb3rs, Amazing Race, Without A Trace, Cold Case, NCIS, and 60 Minutes are returning. With the exception of the group on Tuesday night, they usually win their time slots, and the Tuesday night lineup usually wins its time slot until American Idol starts up. I don't see why CBS is going with the Fox supernatural approach though. there's a reason Fox keeps cancelling all their supernatural shows. Learn from your rivals mistakes. As for moving Still Standing, why not put all the proven comedies on Monday instead of moving it and keeping Yes, Dear on Wednesday. I'll have a tough decision thias fall though. Should I keep watching Survivor, or will I remain faithful to Smallville? Why do those two have to go head to head?

[Fone Bone]

Dunno why saying that would be controversial. I guess for a devout liberal, it'd be controversial....

I wasn't that much into "Joan"....it was well-written, but too sobby for my tastes. I saw some first-season episodes, but never bothered with the second. I'm suspecting the novelty wore off for most other people too.Nah. Me simply saying that it was more deserving of another year over such shows as Alias, Lost, Enterprise, and Arrested Development may have ruffled a few feathers.

Master Moron the quality DID dip this year, but it was still the best show on CBS.:shrug:

Is it just me or is CSI severely overrated?