2014 Upfronts: CBS

As we've gotten used to, a fairly stable fall offering for CBS, but with one major addition that should shake things up.

What's Cancelled?

The only show that got axed that wasn't clear a while ago was The Crazy Ones. Which is kind of too bad, thought it was OK from what I saw of it.

Starting this Fall

Monday- big news here is that The Big Bang Theory will (temporarily) kick off the night before moving back to Thursday at the end of October. At that point 2 Broke Girls returns. Mom moves to 8:30, and at 9 we have Scorpion, about a group of genius misfits who help solve crimes using their massive brains. But because they suck at real life the mom of a gifted boy helps them cope with feelings and other icky stuff. This is apparently "inspired by a true story," curious as to how far the true story deviates from the show.

The night ends with a relocated NCIS: Los Angeles.

Tuesday - NCIS leads into the new NCIS: New Orleans. I assume I can skip the plot description. The evening ends with Person of Interest, so a nice night of people getting shot at.

Wednesday - Survivor leads into Criminal Minds which leads into a new drama, Stalker, which follows a unit of the LAPD that investigates... stalkers. Just in case one hour a week of Law & Order: SVU wasn't enough for you.

Thursday - FOOTBALL. CBS now has a slate of Thursday night games, which will also air on the NFL Network. It's not quite the deal that NBC has where they can flex games into the night (not surprisingly, given that it's a different day and during the first eight weeks of the season), but given the apparently limitless appetite for the NFL this should give CBS a huge boost early in the fall.

Once football is over, The Big Bang Theory moves back to kick off the night, followed by The Millers, Two and a Half Men, The McCarthys, and Elementary. The McCarthys tells the story about a "loud and sports-crazed" Boston family where the one unathletic son is tabbed by his dad to be his assistant basketball coach. The son, who is gay, just wants to move away and find a partner, but feels compelled to take the job. News flash: not everyone who lives in Boston is Irish. Also, the son could just as easily stay in the city, find a guy, and get married while also being a basketball coach. Ugh.

Friday - the final big move is that The Amazing Race will move here from its long-held Sunday slot. I really don't like this, but do at least appreciate that my DVR won't cut it off due to football or NCAA basketball overruns. Hawaii 5-0 and Blue Bloods return.

Saturday - Crimetime Saturday and 48 Hours, which at least gives us a break from reruns and sports.

Sunday - 60 Minutes leads into the new show Madame Secretary, where Tea Leoni plays the new Secretary of State, who, in a shocking turn of events, has to balance her work and home life. This is followed by The Good Wife and CSI. At some point CSI will give way to CSI: Cyber, about a group that investigates crime that is planned/starts/somehow involves the Internet. Patricia Arquette is the only cast member I've seen mentioned, so I kind of hope this is just an hour of her sitting in front of her computer. Gripping!

And then at midseason

At some point Mike & Molly, The Mentalist, and Undercover Boss will all return. There are two new shows as well:

Battle Creek features mismatched cops, played by Josh Duhamel and Dean Winters, fighting crime in the titular Michigan city. Duhamel is apparently an FBI agent who takes on Winter as his partner, which makes me wonder how a city cop can just become an FBI agent, but I'm thinking too much about this.

The Odd Couple is the latest reboot of the quintessential TV show about mismatched guys. Matthew Perry stars as Oscar, which is funny as I think of him as a Felix.

Outlook

The rich get richer, as even if the new fall shows tank the presence of football will keep ratings up, and the return of so many known shows in the spring should keep CBS at or near the top.