CBS paired its 2015 upfront on Wednesday with the release of trailers for five of its new shows premiering this fall.
The new shows on CBS’ fall programming slate top out at just seven, including five dramas and two comedies. But then, America’s most-watched network is already packed with successful returning shows, and had already announced the renewal of 15 more shows (making 22 returning series in all) earlier in the day, including NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles, Criminal Minds, Elementary, Blue Bloods, Hawaii 5-0, The Good Wife, Person of Interest, The Odd Couple, CSI: Cyber, and the old unscripted standbys Survivor and The Amazing Race as well as the steady reality ratings workhorse Undercover Boss. Newsmagazine programs 60 Minutes and 48 Hours were also awarded new seasons, to the surprise of few.
Meanwhile, CBS has decided to cancel both its freshman police procedural drama Stalker and the family comedy The McCarthys. In a rare moment of fallibility for Vince Gilligan, the eye network also gave Battle Creek the boot, the dramedy he created with David Shore.
At its annual upfront press breakfast Wednesday, CBS Entertainment Chair Nina Tassler also announced the fate of CSI, “a series so important to this network and one of the longest-running dramas ever.” Rather than produce another truncated season of the show, as some speculated might happen, CBS will air a two-hour finale episode on September 27 and call it quits. From there, Ted Danson, who has been with the show since 2011, will transition to join Patricia Arquette in its spin-off, CSI: Cyber, airing Sunday nights.
NEW DRAMAS
Supergirl
Super-producer (and super-hero producer) Greg Berlanti has three new shows on three different networks this fall (not to mention the already existing Arrow, The Flash and The Mysteries of Laura), and one of them is Supergirl on CBS, following the adventures of Superman’s biological cousin. The show marks CBS’ official foray into the super-hero business and gives it another much-needed drama with a strong female lead in plus Calista Flockhart in the Meryl Streep role from The Devil Wears Prada. Now the question is: when will Cousin Superman show up?
Code Black
CBS has been hungry for a successful medical drama in recent years, with Code Black beating out a few other like-minded shows in development for this season’s slot. Based on Ryan McGarry’s documentary of the same name, the show centers on the busiest ER in the country, at LA County Hospital, and features the steely presence of Marcia Gay Harden in the lead role. But perhaps most excitingly (for this writer), the series will present viewers with a weekly dose of the always-excellent character actor Luis Guzman.
Limitless
Based on the Bradley Cooper film of the same name, Limitless shows what happens when a normal schlub gets his mind marvelously enhanced by a mysterious drug called NZT – namely, he gets coerced into helping solve weekly cases for the FBI. The procedural thriller has Cooper himself serving as an executive producer and in addition to star Jake McDorman, features the welcome (if familiar) casting of Dexter’s Jennifer Carpenter in a supporting role.
Rush Hour
Warner Bros. Television presents yet another movie-to-TV adaptation for CBS, Rush Hour, based on the New Line Jackie Chan/Christ Tucker feature film trilogy of the same name. It’s an odd-couple/buddy-cop premise that never gets old: an uptight, no-nonsense police officer gets assigned to a Los Angeles case with a cocky partner he never asked for. Adding fuel to the fire, the by-the-book officer is from Hong Kong and played by martial arts stud Jon Foo and his goofy partner is the irresistible African-American comedian Justin Hires. Crossover appeal factor = very high.
Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders
10 seasons into Criminal Minds’ stellar run, the Mark Gordon Company drama remains a big enough hit for CBS to get its own spin-off. Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders debuted sneakily back in April as an episode of the flagship show, following a division of the FBI that helps American citizens who are in trouble abroad. Another short-lived Criminal Minds spin-off, Suspect Behavior, came and went in 2011, but this one looks to have some saying power with a cast that includes the likes of Gary Sinise and hunky Daniel Henney.
NEW COMEDIES
Life in Pieces
An all-star cast heads up Life in Pieces, a single-camera dysfunctional family comedy from Better Off Ted scribe Justin Adler. Dianne Wiest, James Brolin, Zoe Lister Jones, Colin Hanks, Angelique Cabral, Thomas Sadoski and Betsy Brandt all star in the ensemble show, which has the added clout of super-producer Aaron Kaplan behind the scenes. Kaplan’s on-air shows already include ABC’s Secrets and Lies, HBO’s Divorce and Nickelodeon’s Instant Mom, among others.
Angel From Hell
Glee may be over, but Jane Lynch isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. In Angel From Hell, developed by Tad Quill and CBS TV Studios, she stars as Amy, a larger-than-life lass who presents herself as guardian angel to control-freak dermatologist Allison (Maggie Lawson). Whether she’s truly who she posits herself to be or simply nuts is the central quandary, and one that seems ideally suited to a performer of Lynch’s singular combination of magnetism and madness.
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