TVSquad

CBS announced its plans for the 2008-2009 season today. For the most part, things are staying the same, but there are two new sitcoms and four hour dramas planned. Here are the highlights:

Returning: The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Rules of Engagement, The Unit, Cold Case, Numb3rs, Criminal Minds, The Ghost Whisperer, CSI, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, NCIS, 60 Minutes, Without A Trace, Survivor, The Amazing Race

Out: Shark, Moonlight, Cane, Kid Nation, Power of 10, Secret Talents of the Stars, Viva Laughlin, Welcome to the Captain

New: The Worst Week, Project Gary, The Ex List, Eleventh Hour, The Mentalist

Mid-season: Harper's Island, Rules of Engagement

Schedule and detailed descriptions of the new shows coming soon, after the jump.

Project Gary (Wednesday, 8:30) is a new sitcom starring Jay Mohr (goodbye, Ghost Whisperer!) and Paula Marshall (Nip/Tuck) about a recently divorced dad trying to balance the demands of his kids and his ex, while getting out into the dating world. Ed Yeager (Still Standing) and Ric Swartzlander (8 Simple Rules) are the executive producers -- I know, yeech! -- but there's supposedly very good buzz about this show, and CBS apparently wanted to keep Mohr on the net. By the description, it sounds like this might pair well with Christine on Wednesdays -- two divorce, single parent comedies. "We really wanted to focus on comedy, and we had the goods to it this year," said CBS entertainment president Nina Tassler. "We've been looking to expand, to build out to another night. We have two of highest-testing new comedies we've had in years."

The Worst Week (Monday, 9:30) is an American version of a British comedy (The Worst Week of My Life) about a young engaged couple getting acquainted with their in-laws. Kyle Bornheimer and Erin Hayes (Kitchen Confidential) star as the couple. Kurtwood Smith (That '70s Show) also stars. (By the way, didn't ABC do a similar show in 2006 -- remember Big Day? It starred Wendie Malick and Marla Sokoloff among others). Matt Tarses (Scrubs) wrote the script. NBC Universal owns this sitcom; the net had first shot at this show and passed.

The Ex List (Friday, 9:00) (formerly known as Mythological Ex) is a romantic drama about a woman who gets a tarot card reading at a party and learns that she needs to marry very soon and she's already met the man who is her destiny. She has to go back through her ex-es to find him. Elizabeth Reaser (an Emmy nominee for Grey's Anatomy) stars. Diane Ruggiero (Veronica Mars) wrote the pilot, and it's said to have a sweet, romantic comedy flair. It sounds interesting, especially if Ruggiero does her Mars magic here. Pairing this with Ghost is an attempt to draw the ladies to the TV. "Women drive network television," Tassler said. "Women watch our procedurals and comedies and we wanted to build on that. We've added more female faces to the network."

Eleventh Hour (Thursday, 10:00) is a latest from Jerry Bruckheimer's production company -- Cold Case, CSI -- so you know that this will be given every chance to succeed. CBS loves Jerry. The show stars Rufus Sewell as a scientific investigator working for the government to probe unsolved anomalies. Based on a British series that starred Patrick Stewart, it already has sci-fi fans curious. Sounds like an X-Files wannabe to me. The showrunners are Cyrus Voris and Ethan Reiff, formerly of Sleeper Cell.

The Mentalist (Tuesday, 9:00) marks the return of Simon Baker (The Guardian, Smith) to CBS. He plays a man who has superior innate (ESP?) powers of deduction to assist the California Bureau of Investigation. Bruno Heller (Rome) is the writer. Robin Tunney (Prison Break) co-stars.

Mid-season
Rules of Engagement - yes, it's coming back. Watch for it to replace any sitcom that falters.

Harper's Island is a murder mystery involving a group of friends who meet on an island near Seattle for a wedding when things go very wrong, like murder. Jericho producer Jon Turteltaub is in charge and the pilot was penned by Ari Schlossberg. It hasn't been shot yet nor has it been cast. Tassler described it as a cross between 10 Little Indians and Scream. (What no Gilligan's Island and Lost?)

Other Notes
The Amazing Race will have two editions for the 2008-09 season (yes!). Similarly, Survivor will air the 17th edition -- Gabon-Earth's Last Eden -- in the fall, and the 18th in the spring. Both will be in HD for the first time.

Moonlight is definitely gone. It will not get another go on The CW. According to CBS, it was a tough decision to let it go, but they felt they needed to make space for other projects.

Here's the schedule:

Monday
8:00 The Big Bang Theory
8:30 How I Met Your Mother
9:00 Two and a Half Men
9:30 The Worst Week
10:00 CSI: Miami

Tuesday
8:00 NCIS
9:00 The Mentalist
10:00 Without A Trace

Wednesday
8:00 The New Adventures of Old Christine
8:30 Project Gary
9:00 Criminal Minds
10:00 CSI: NY

Thursday
8:00 Survivor: Africa
9:00 CSI
10:00 Eleventh Hour

Friday
8:00 The Ghost Whisperer
9:00 The Ex-List
10:00 Numb3rs

Saturday
8:00 Crimetime Saturday
9:00 Crimetime Saturday
10:00 48 Hours

Sunday
7:00 60 Minutes
8:00 The Amazing Race
9:00 Cold Case
10:00 The Unit