CBS's 2010-11 schedule: 'Big Bang Theory' to Thursdays one of many bold moves

The most conservative network has the most aggressive schedule

William Shatner in "$#*! My Dad Says."

Credit: CBS

Leave it to CBS - conservative, old-skewing CBS - to make by far the boldest moves of Upfront Week.

Where the other major networks played things relatively safe (ABC is only moving one returning show, Fox will still air "Glee" after "American Idol" for half the season), CBS unveiled a schedule with major changes on five nights of the week.

By far the biggest move: "Survivor" relocates to Wednesdays at 8, leaving the Thursday at 8 timeslot open for "The Big Bang Theory" and the new comedy "$#*! My Dad Says" (based on the less family-friendly Twitter feed @shitmydadsays).

"We kind of thought back to the days when comedy ruled 8 o'clock on Thursdays," CBS scheduling guru Kelly Kahl told reporters, "and we wanted to take a big swing at that. If you're going to do that, we had to bring a big stick, and we bought the biggest 18-49 show on television to the night."

(The move, by the way, puts "BBT" directly opposite NBC's "Community," in a battle for comedy supremacy among TV's two most Asperger-like characters who have yet to be diagnosed as having Asperger's. I'm sure Sheldon and "BBT" will win that fight handily, but I am and will remain an Abed man.)

Beyond shifting "BBT" and "Survivor," CBS has also displaced both of the "CSI" spin-offs and killed its Wednesday comedies and most of its Friday shows.

"We're calling it 'aggressive stability,'" Kahl joked.

It's definitely aggressive. It also looks like by far the most logical schedule of the Big Four.

The schedule, and my thoughts on it, night-by-night:

MONDAY: "How I Met Your Mother" and "Two and a Half Men" are stable at 8 and 9. Utility player "Rules of Engagement" finally gets on the fall schedule at 8:30, and "Men" (which gave Charlie Sheen a big raise to come back) will be followed by another Chuck Lorre sitcom "Mike & Molly," about a plus-sized pair (Billy Gardell and Melissa McCarthy) who meet and fall in love at an Overeaters Anonymous meeting.

"CSI: Miami," which once upon a time was referred to as the most-watched TV show in the world, has faded enough in recent years that CBS will try to grow a new hit after the Lorre comedies with the "Hawaii Five-O" remake, with Alex O'Loughlin, Scott Caan, Daniel Dae Kim (who gets to stay in Hawaii after "Lost" ends) and Grace Park. O'Loughlin has been a kind of pet project of CBS president Nina Tassler. "Five-O" is a brand name, albeit one from 40 years ago. Maybe this is his shot, or maybe the theme song is the only thing people will look forward to.

TUESDAY: Status quo, as it should be, since the combo of "NCIS," "NCIS: Los Angeles" and "The Good Wife" worked so well for the network this year.

WEDNESDAY:
"Survivor" is at 8, where, as Kahl pointed out, it's aired one or two times every year during the NCAA basketball tournament. A few days ago, it looked like NBC was making a smart move putting "Undercovers" into one of the more wide-open timeslots in primetime. It looks much less wide-open now.

"Criminal Minds" is back at 9 (and the Forest Whitaker spin-off was picked up for mid-season), while at 10 we get "The Defenders," a legal dramedy - "We like to say it's more of a bromance than a conventional legal drama," said Tassler - starring Jim Belushi and Jerry O'Connell as a pair of slick Vegas defense attorneys. This means there will be three new legal dramas in this timeslot in the fall: this, "Law & Order: LA" and ABC's "The Whole Truth." There can only be one survivor, right?

CBS chairman Les Moonves, who kicked off the press breakfast that was once known as "Lox with Les," defended the cancellation of Wednesday sitcoms "The New Adventures of Old Christine" and "Gary Unmarried" by saying, bluntly, "guys, the numbers were a 1.7 and a 1.8 and not heading in the right direction."

THURSDAY:
"Big Bang Theory" at 8 (where it should, sadly, crush "Community"), followed by "$#*! My Dad Says" (Tassler says it will be pronounced "Bleep My Dad Says" by the announcers, and when reporters kept pressing her on that, she spelled out the word, B-L-E-E-P), with William Shatner as the dad given to saying offensive things - albeit less offensive than what's on the Twitter feed.

"He says outrageous stuff," acknowledged Tassler, "but obviously we're going to adhere to our time-honored tradition of Standards & Practices at that hour. You can be funny and outrageous and still be at the 8 o'clock hour."

Though there was speculation that original-recipe "CSI" might swap timeslots with "The Mentalist" (if not move off the night altogether), the two stay in place at 9 and 10, respectively, since CBS wanted some stability to go with the "BBT" move.

FRIDAY: "Ghost Whisperer" is kaput (though, as with "Old Christine," there are rumors ABC might pick it up for mid-season), as are "Numb3rs" and "Miami Medical." "Medium" survives at 8, leading into a relocated "CSI: NY" at 9 and then "Blue Bloods," a new drama about several generations of a family of New York cops, including Tom Selleck, Donnie Wahlberg, Len Cariou and Will Estes.

"It was a tough call between 'Ghost Whisperer' and 'Medium,'" Kahl said, "but we felt we had to be more aggressive on Friday night."

CBS, like the other networks, seems to be taking the approach that the only way to beat their recent Friday ratings woes is with familiar material and/or faces. So we get a "CSI" spin-off at 9 (albeit the lowest-rated of the franchise) and Tom Selleck at 10, where NBC is putting Jimmy Smits on Fridays and ABC has Dana Delany.

SATURDAY: Nothing to see here: as usual, two hours of crime show repeats, followed by "48 Hours Mystery."

SUNDAY:
"60 Minutes" at 7, "Amazing Race" at 8, "Undercover Boss" at 9 and then "CSI: Miami" at 10 (replacing "Cold Case," which was canceled for being old and too expensive for its modest ratings). "Undercover Boss" was one of the season's biggest new hits and will now get to air in the fall, and Tassler said the network wanted a familiar show at 10 to combat the usual problem in the fall when football overruns push the Sunday shows back to irregular start times.

"Shows with loyal audiences hold up to that better," she said.

Alan Sepinwall may be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com

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  • Default-avatar

    Miken BBT is one of the worst shows on TV and it disgusts me that it's going to kill Community.

    I have tried to watch it numerous times and it's just awful. At least How I Met Your Mother was clever and charming the first 2-3 seasons, but with it's fade this season, CBS has next to nothing in their comedy lineup that is any good.

    I feel like every night we get a variation of the same show. But old people watch TV, and they love these things for some reason. It's one of the biggest mysteries to me that CBS always kills.

    May 19, 2010 at 9:38AM EST Reply to Comment
    • Default-avatar

      jcpdiesel21 I also dislike BBT. My husband has a co-worker who is constantly raving about it, so we've tried to watch it a few times. I don't think I've laughed once. And while I appreciate Jim Parsons' performance, I find Sheldon to be incredibly irritating.

      May 19, 2010 at 10:14AM EST
    • Default-avatar

      Kujo Yeah, I totally agree. To be honest, I think all of CBS' comedies (I can't stand laugh tracks), and dramas are awful.

      CBS pretty much lost me after cancelling "Jericho", and then "The Unit". The only two shows I watch on CBS are "Survivor", and "TAR". It looks like that'll remain the same.

      May 19, 2010 at 3:37PM EST
  • Alan:

    Do you know where ATF is? I read in Feb that CBS picked up the Pilot, but maybe it didn't make the upfront schedule? Maybe if a show bombs it gets moved up?

    May 19, 2010 at 9:41AM EST Reply to Comment
  • Default-avatar

    Jesse Thursday night's move really hurts NBC in my opinion, even more so with them pushing back Parks & Rec to midseason. I hope Community gained enough viewers in order to compete with Big Bang Theory but it's CBS, so i'm sure that Sheldon and the gang will win out.

    May 19, 2010 at 9:43AM EST Reply to Comment
  • Bxjkbx6msjbkpfw_talkback_profile

    nolookpass432 I am wondering why Numb3rs got the heave ho? It still seemed very solid, especially for a Friday night.

    May 19, 2010 at 9:51AM EST Reply to Comment
    • Andy_looking_up_talkback_profile

      andythesaint Its age made it too expensive for its modest ratings.

      May 19, 2010 at 12:20PM EST
  • Stubby1_talkback_profile

    cadfile BBT and Community will be a fight to see. I thought BBT slid a bit this season and if Community continues as strong as they ended this season then it has a good chance - but I'm probably wrong and the sheep will only watch CBS.

    I am kind of upset that "Gary Unmarried" got canceled since I thought they were doing better this season but I do like that "Rules of Engagement" is on the fall schedule. I just wish they would stop making Oliver Hudson's character dumber and dumber....

    May 19, 2010 at 9:56AM EST Reply to Comment
  • Default-avatar

    Ally Although I bet they don't, this has me hoping that CW moves Vampire Dairies to another slot other than Thurs. at 8. What an annoyingly crowded timeslot.

    May 19, 2010 at 10:27AM EST Reply to Comment
    • Avatar_talkback_profile

      Jaynee Yeah, my Tivos were definitely overused during that timeframe. I finally had to give up on Vampire Diaries and will watch the repeats this summer.

      May 19, 2010 at 11:21AM EST
  • Madmen_icon_talkback_profile

    LJA Team Abed.

    But I'm going to have to give Shat My Dad Said a shot.

    May 19, 2010 at 10:30AM EST Reply to Comment
  • Default-avatar

    Patti So Thursday has Greys, Fringe, Office/30 Rock and possibly Mentalist at 9. That is not going to work for me with 1 two channel TIVO and one non TIVO TV. Why can't they spread these things around?

    May 19, 2010 at 10:36AM EST Reply to Comment
  • Default-avatar

    dudleysmom I'm feeling so torn right now. I'm genetically programmed to avoid CBS Mondays at 10pm, yet...Alex O'Loughlin. It's another cheesy remake, yet...Alex O'Loughlin. It's another weak premise with hardly any substance, yet...Alex O'Loughlin and other pretty people from shows I liked. Yeah, I'm weak. CBS is counting on viewers like me to cave. However, if this one stinks like his last two vehicles did, AOL should probably reconsider his contract at CBS. (**waiting for the wrath of Moonlight uber-fans to start spewing at me**)

    Although I'm not that impressed with the show premise for "!%(* My Dad Says", I'll check it out once to see the Shat.

    So far CBS's new offerings are interesting me the least of all the networks.

    May 19, 2010 at 10:51AM EST Reply to Comment
    • Default-avatar

      alamble Personally, I don't get Alex O'Loughlin's appeal in the slightest, but I am a tiny bit surprised that CBS bypassed the opportunity to schedule Five-O on Tuesdays at 10, when they could have easily assembled the male leads from the three shows and marketed them to the female 18-until you're dead crowd. A little someone for everyone in that group.

      Also, my understanding is that Tassler essentially foisted O'Loughlin on Five-O's producers; they were having a hard time casting Steve McGarrett and his deal with CBS was going to expire if they didn't get him on another show.

      May 19, 2010 at 5:03PM EST
    • Default-avatar

      bob "see the Shat" -- that's funny given what "shat" is arguably the past-tense verb form of....

      May 19, 2010 at 7:42PM EST
  • As much as I like Sheldon, I like Community as a show better than BBT. So, yeah. I'm With Abed.

    May 19, 2010 at 10:52AM EST Reply to Comment
  • Default-avatar

    Aly Ack! I love BBT (in the minority on this here, it looks like), but Community is one of my favorite new shows and I don't want to see it die. Unless CBS starts putting BBT online, looks like I'm going to have to let that one slide a bit.

    May 19, 2010 at 10:56AM EST Reply to Comment
    • Stubby1_talkback_profile

      cadfile I like BBT and Community but if I have to choose and I do due to lack of more than 2 DVR channels then I will have to pick BBT since it isn't available legally online

      May 19, 2010 at 11:56AM EST
  • Default-avatar

    M Shit My Dad says is a clever name for a twitter feed. BLEEP My Dad says is an awful name for a show. I can't believe no one came up with anything better.

    May 19, 2010 at 11:18AM EST Reply to Comment
    • Default-avatar

      Chrissy Even Stuff My Dad Says would at least make sense, even if it's not funny.

      May 19, 2010 at 6:36PM EST
  • Avatar_talkback_profile

    Jaynee Ugh. I hate BBT. A friend of mine swore up and down that it was great - I watched it once and HATED IT. I hope Community kicks BBT's ass on Thursdays. It's a much funnier show.

    May 19, 2010 at 11:20AM EST Reply to Comment
  • Default-avatar

    Rick Dan Harmon was pretty classy about the news, but die-hard Community fans are going to get even more obnoxious. Then again, if it means one of my favorite comedies has a better chance of survival, then I'm okay with it. I know which show I'll be watching live.

    May 19, 2010 at 11:36AM EST Reply to Comment
  • Default-avatar

    Drewson Moving BBT to Thursday reminds me of when Fox moved the Simpsons to Thursday to attack the Cosby Show. Once again someone is trying to mess with NBC's "must see TV" night.

    May 19, 2010 at 12:05PM EST Reply to Comment
  • Andy_looking_up_talkback_profile

    andythesaint Alan, any thoughts on how much this hurts Community? Clearly, BBT will draw more ratings than Community, but Survivor was already doing that. Do we think BBT will draw away even MORE of Community's audience (as a comedy) than it was already losing to Survivor?

    May 19, 2010 at 12:28PM EST Reply to Comment
  • Summer09hitfix_talkback_profile

    gregel This is bizarre. Of all the networks, grand daddy CBS's schedule sort of looks the most interesting to me.

    God, I'm getting old...

    May 19, 2010 at 12:53PM EST Reply to Comment
  • Default-avatar

    SaveFarris Wednesday, May 20th, 2011

    (New York) -- CBS announced their 2011-2012 Fall Schedule this morning. Noteable among the new shows was "Quad Cities", the story of a defense attorney in Davenport, IA, featuring Alex O'Loughlin as Russell "Mac" McKenzie, Jennifer Garner, Benjamin Bratt, and Anthony LaPaglia.

    Asked as to why O'Loughlin was starring in his fourth series in as many years for the Tiffany network, the actor said "I'd already portrayed a Private Eye, Doctor, and Cop. Lawyer is the only TV staple I haven't failed at yet."

    May 19, 2010 at 1:09PM EST Reply to Comment
    • 9yearsold_talkback_profile

      klg19 Awwww. That's sweet. Poor guy.

      May 19, 2010 at 3:54PM EST
  • Default-avatar

    Billiam Wow, the line about thinking "back to the days when comedy ruled 8 o'clock on Thursdays" was a fairly jerk-ish slam to NBC." Admittedly, the ratings of Community/P&R are pretty poor, which makes me sad.

    May 19, 2010 at 1:23PM EST Reply to Comment
  • Default-avatar

    Steve Himber Damn. I hadn't realized Miami Medical was canceled. Any chance they'll show the episodes already in the can over the summer?

    I'm on team Community.

    May 19, 2010 at 1:34PM EST Reply to Comment
  • Default-avatar

    VisionOn Looks like CBS are worried that Community is stealing the geek and pop culture limelight from BBT.

    And they should be.

    Like many Chuck Lorre shows, BBT started with a good premise and has just repeated it over and over and over and over. I used to be a big fan of BBT but now you know that you can miss episodes, come back and be exactly where you left off. It amazes me Sheen is getting the salary he is for 2/Men. He's been playing the same exact character with the exact same jokes for seven years. I expect the cast of BBT will follow the same pattern for seven years too.

    I'll be watching Community. Community still has the potential to be funny, creative and surprising every week, with a surreal style that BBT can't even touch.

    May 19, 2010 at 2:15PM EST Reply to Comment
    • Default-avatar

      skint . CBS is not worried at all with Community stealing The Big Bang Theory's geek and pop culture limelight. Community is barely getting 5 million viewers and it's not even the most buzzed new sitcom, it belongs to Modern Family. CBS just wants to extend the comedy success they have, they failed on wednesdays so they're trying it on Thursdays and moving one of their top rated shows on Thursdays to start the new block makes sense. I don't hate the show but I'm annoyed with the cocky fans who are so threatened with BBT's move.

      May 19, 2010 at 11:17PM EST
    • Hey, why pick on Charlie Sheen. I despise 'Two and a Half Men' I guess Fox and Seth McFarlane have proved you're never going to go broke over-estimating a certain demo's appetite for toilet humour, sex gags only fit to be scrawled on a toilet stall wall, and treating women as nothing more than nuts, sluts or castrating shrews.

      May 20, 2010 at 7:35AM EST
  • Mr_burns_talkback_profile

    Chaesonian If the BBT could tone down its "studio audience" laugh track I'd definitely be more keen to watch this show on a regular basis.

    May 19, 2010 at 3:28PM EST Reply to Comment
  • Default-avatar

    Spencer Did Community get picked up for the full 22 already? I hope so.

    =(

    May 19, 2010 at 3:35PM EST Reply to Comment
  • Default-avatar

    Wade Kwon Know your "Survivor" history: It actually aired on Wednesdays in its very first season, 10 years ago this month, when it was a summer series.

    Maybe CBS is actually playing it super conservative!

    May 19, 2010 at 4:51PM EST Reply to Comment
  • Default-avatar

    Maura I don't see the point of making a show based on "Shit My Dad Says' if they have to tone it down. Part of its appeal is how outrageous the dad is (even if most of the stuff is made up).

    We picked up four shows this year - The Good Wife (for me), Flash Forward, Men of a Certain Age, and Community - and my viewing schedule is already overloaded. With FF and 24 cancelled, I have some breathing, and reading, room now. So far, none of the new shows sounds interesting enough for me to add viewing time back on.

    May 19, 2010 at 5:18PM EST Reply to Comment
  • Phil_collins_talkback_profile

    Falling Ardor I'm not so sure about Big Bang Theory being a lock to crush Community.. Community is still flying under the radar somewhat, and a lot of the people who don't watch the show are turned off by Joel Mchale. I have to admit I was never a fan of him before Community, but I love that show now. I've been watching BBT since the pilot and I was really pulling for it throughout the whole strike. But now it seems it has surpassed HIMYM. The huge drop off in ratings and in writing this year on HIMYM might be a sign of what's to come. If they would get their sh*t together maybe they'd get their buzz back. What I'd like to see is BBT leading the night off then put HIMYM second. It is pretty ballsy of CBS though.

    May 19, 2010 at 5:25PM EST Reply to Comment
  • Creature_exblagoon_talkback_profile

    Rob S. Man, I can't stand the scheduling push when football (or anything else) runs over. Half the time I tivo Amazing Race, it starts with a half-hour of 60 minutes.

    May 19, 2010 at 5:28PM EST Reply to Comment
  • Default-avatar

    J Jim Belushi and Jerry O'Connell on one show? On CBS? Can television handle that much suck in one place?

    May 19, 2010 at 6:55PM EST Reply to Comment
  • Default-avatar

    skint of course the comedy purists will hate TBBT's facing Community. With or without TBBT Community will still be low rated anyway. The only way Community will grow in the rating is behind The Office. So don't blame TBBT killing Community at all since even The Vampire Diaries is close to matching that show.

    May 19, 2010 at 11:08PM EST Reply to Comment
  • Default-avatar

    jmartnwa TBBT is by far the funniest show on television to me. I'm getting into Community late, watching downloaded eps, and I like it a good bit... but not at 8 PM on Thursdays against its competition. I will watch it later... give me TBBT, Modern Family, and Archer as the top three. It all comes down to taste, but that show fits me like a glove, I love the cast, and I root for that show to succeed at every turn. I do think, if it were me, if I was Fox, I might try putting Fringe in the 24 slot and seeing how it worked out, especially now with TBBT moved and NBC still a mess right now. It shows that HIMYM is definitely on the downswing, because truthfully, I can't see it lasting past one more year. They have lost the focus and leading into the finale, I could not be less excited to see where it goes. The first three years, it was flat out gold. I have virtually identical thoughts on The Office. Lorre's other program... I could just do without. I tried to watch it, but it didn't take, kind of like a vitamin before I eat... it isn't going to end well.

    May 20, 2010 at 12:19AM EST Reply to Comment
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Alan Sepinwall

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All through his childhood, Alan Sepinwall's relatives told his parents, "All that boy does is watch television! How's he going to make a living doing that?" His career as a TV critic has been 15 years and counting of his attempt to answer their concerns. "What's Alan Watching" is a blog whose title is self-explanatory: Alan watches TV shows, then writes about what he watched. He can be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com

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