Jan. 7 on CBS, the new tech-savvy faces of “Intelligence” will debut a special premiere after “NCIS.” The midseason series will also replace “Hostages,” which will end its season with a two-hour finale. Though originally planned for February, CBS moved up the premiere date for “Intelligence” more than a month, presenting the network with a great opportunity for a series launch, but with not so much time to promote it in.

“Intelligence” will follow an operative (Josh Holloway) who has a rare mutation that lets the government implant a computer chip in his brain, allowing him to map out information. CBS calls him “the first supercomputer with a beating heart.”

After the new premiere date was announced last November, CBS’ plan was to keep the action theme going from “Hostages” and feed that into “Intelligence,” using CBS’ football nights and the holiday season for more exposure. And while CBS’ go-to plan is typically to use its own airtime and slate of broad programming to introduce new series, the marketing calendar was shortened this time around, complicating the usual timetable.

“We didn’t get to do the slow burn in launching this show,” according to Garen van de Beek, EVP and creative director of CBS Marketing. “For us, the key thing is getting the show exposure in all our big events, like our specials over the holidays, the football games we have.”


Originally, CBS’ plan was to play up its well-known actors (notably “Lost” actor Josh Holloway) in short teasers leading into the show. But when the premiere date changed, so did the network’s strategy. “We felt like we couldn’t tease anymore. Our time for teasing was over,” said van de Beek. “We had to really tell people about the new show.”

But that doesn’t mean Holloway and other stars don’t figure prominently in “Intelligence’s” marketing plan. He and former “CSI” star (and familiar face to CBS) Marg Helgenberger each had dedicated show promos used on air.


Another theme of CBS’ promotion strategy involved setting it apart from other programming based on similar technology. “At the same time, Fox was launching ‘Almost Human,’ which is a similar type of story – seemingly,” said van de Beek. “So our job has been to make clear that this is not a ‘future show.’ This is not about the future. It’s maybe a day into the future.”

So while CBS played up the interesting technology involved, promos used Josh Holloway in order to humanize the story – he’s a real guy, just with a computer chip in his head. “This is not science fiction, it’s basically taking the technology that we have right now today, and just pushing it a little bit into the future.” So while CBS brought attention to the man versus machine struggles at play, it still focused on the man involved and his role most of all.


“Intelligence” debuts on CBS after “NCIS” on Tuesday, Jan. 7, then takes up its usual timeslot at 10 p.m. on Jan. 13.

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