CBS Fall 2010

I admit it: I’m old. Practically ancient. I bring up this painful-yet-undeniable fact not to torture myself, but instead to create context for you as I make the following statement: not much surprises me anymore. Nope, not much at all. I’ve seen a lot over my many years… ten presidents… five popes… and even two Darrins.

So you can probably imagine how I felt earlier this week when CBS actually SURPRISED me with its fall lineup. CBS doesn’t often surprise. It’s familiar, reliable and comfortable… kind of like any McDonald’s up-and-down the eastern seaboard at which you’ve ever eaten.

But during year’s upfront presentations, CBS surprised me… in a big way… with its bold and aggressive scheduling moves. CBS smells blood in the pool of water known as broadcast primetime, and it’s attacking shark-like on pretty much every night of the week. The highlight of this bold strategy: the move of CBS’s hottest series The Big Bang Theory from CBS’s traditional cradle of comedy (Mondays) to Thursdays-at-8… a time slot not populated by a CBS comedy since the early ‘80s (you DO remember Checking In, the spin-off of The Jeffersons, don’t you?).

MONDAY

8:00 How I Met Your Mother

8:30 Rules of Engagement

9:00 Two and a Half Men

9:30 Mike and Molly (comedy - couple meets at Overeaters Anonymous)

10:00 Hawaii Five-O (remake of classic crime series)

TUESDAY

8:00 NCIS

9:00 NCIS: LA

10:00 The Good Wife

WEDNESDAY

8:00 Survivor

9:00 Criminal Minds

10:00 The Defenders (comedic "buddy" detectives)

THURSDAY

8:00 The Big Bang Theory

8:30 $*!# My Dad Says (William Shatner sitcom)

9:00 CSI

10:00 The Mentalist

FRIDAY

8:00 Medium

9:00 CSI: NY

10:00 Blue Bloods (Tom Selleck crime show)

SATURDAY

8:00 Drama repeats

10:00 48 Hours

SUNDAY

7:00 60 Minutes

8:00 The Amazing Race

9:00 Undercover Boss

10:00 CSI: Miami

Not returning for another season are Cold Case, Numbers, The New Adventures of Old Christine, The Ghost Whisperer, and Gary Unmarried.