Today, fellow TV lovers, we’ll cover the final network fall announcements with CBS and its corporate little sister, The CW.
CBS is not about to mess with success. As the most watched network, it’s not cleaning house like the others. Twenty current series will return, including TV’s No. 1 overall show (NCIS), No. 1 comedy (The Big Bang Theory) and No. 1 new drama (Elementary).
The recently canceled shows from this season are CSI New York; Golden Boy, Rules of Engagement and Vegas. Canceled earlier in the year were Friend Me; The Job; Made in Jersey and Partners.
To fill the gaps, CBS has ordered only eight new series - five for the fall and three for mid-season.
The four new comedies will include the considerable talents of Robin Williams, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Will Arnett, Margo Martindale, Anna Faris, Allison Janney and Tony Shalhoub.
Here’s a peek at the new shows.
The fall:
The Crazy Ones. This is CBS’ biggest plum. The single-camera comedy comes from executive producer David E. Kelley (Ally McBeal) and stars Robin Williams as a flamboyant advertising genius and Sarah Michelle Gellar as his more focused daughter and partner.
The Millers. A multi-generational family comedy from executive producer Greg Garcia (Raising Hope) starring Will Arnett as a recently divorced TV reporter, Margo Martindale and Beau Bridges as his wacky divorcing parents and JB Smoove as his wacky wingman.
Mom. An edgy (whatever that means on CBS) family comedy from executive producer Chuck Lorre (The Big Bang Theory) starring Anna Faris as a newly sober waitress and single mom of two, and Allison Janney as her critical, estranged mother.
We Are Men. An ensemble comedy starring Tony Shalhoub, Kal Penn, Chris Smith and Jerry O’Connell as four single guys living in an apartment complex.
Hostages. A serialized 15-episode political suspense thriller from executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer starring Toni Collette as a surgeon whose family is taken hostage by rogue FBI Agent Dylan McDermott, who wants her to kill the president. Also on board are James Naughton and Tate Donovan.
Midseason:
Intelligence. A 13-episode action drama starring Josh Holloway as an intelligence operative with a high-tech microchip implanted in his brain. It’s not unlike the Intersect on Chuck. Marg Helgenberger is his chief.
Reckless. A “steamy and sultry” legal drama set in Charleston, S.C. There’s a Yankee litigator and a charming Southern lawyer with the hots for each another and a police department sex scandal. Stars include Anna Wood, Cam Gigandet and Gregory Harrison.
Friends With Better Lives. A new romantic comedy about six friends who are (pick one) married, divorced, newly engaged and single.
Majandra Delfino, Kevin Connolly, James Van Der Beek, Brooklyn Decker, Rick Donald and Zoe Lister Jones star.
Here’s the CBS fall lineup.
Monday: How I Met Your Mother (final season), We Are Men, 2 Broke Girls, Mom, Hostages.
Tuesday: NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, Person of Interest.
Wednesday: Survivor, Criminal Minds, CSI.
Thursday: The Big Bang Theory, The Millers, The Crazy Ones, Two and a Half Men, Elementary.
Friday: Undercover Boss,Hawaii Five-0, Blue Bloods.
Saturday: Comedy and drama repeats.
Sunday: 60 Minutes, The Amazing Race, The Good Wife, The Mentalist.
THE CW
Here’s The CW’s fall schedule, set for October.
Monday: Hart of Dixie, Beauty and the Beast.
Tuesday: The Originals (new), Supernatural.
Wednesday: Arrow, The Tomorrow People (new).
Thursday: The Vampire Diaries, Reign (new).
Friday: The Carrie Diaries, America’s Next Top Model.
The network picked up five new dramas and a reality series.
The Originals. Vampire Diaries spin-off drama. Joseph Morgan, Daniel Gillies and Claire Holt star as the original vampire family.
The Tomorrow People. Action adventure with Robbie Amell as a genetically advanced young man with paranormal abilities.
Reign. Historical drama featuring doe-eyed Australian Adelaide Kane as the beautiful, headstrong teenage Mary Stuart, the future Queen of Scots.
Midseason:
Star-Crossed. Girl bonds with crashed alien kid and reunites with him as a teen. Yep. It’s TV. It could happen.
The 100. There was a nuclear Armageddon and only those aboard space stations survived. Ninety-seven years later, 100 juvenile prisoners are exiled to the surface to see whether it’s habitable. Drama ensues. Cast includes Paige Turco, Kelly Hu and Henry Ian Cusick.
Famous in 12. “Unscripted” social experiment as a family moves to Los Angeles and tries to get famous in 12 weeks. Warning: Celebrity news website TMZ is involved.
Note: Nikita wraps the series up with a six-episode run in midseason.
The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. E-mail:
Style, Pages 50 on 05/26/2013