TVSquad

CBS doesn't announce its new schedule till tomorrow, but the news is spilling out everywhere about what's in and what's out. The New Adventures of Old Christine has been given a 22-episode commitment for a third season; Shark has been sunk. For fans of the James Woods legal drama -- and I know there are lots of you out there because you've posted here -- my heart goes out to you. It was a good show, but it seems that CBS has four new dramas on deck for next season (that we have heard they're announcing tomorrow), so something had to give. It's likely that the choice came down between The Unit and Shark, with The Unit getting the renewal.

As for Christine, I say "Yeah!" I love Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Hamish Linklater (Matthew, her brother on the show) and would have been really upset if CBS let the show get away. If the network had passed on the sitcom, ABC was reportedly very, very interested in taking it on. They had visions of pairing Samantha Who? with Christine for an all-girl sitcom hour. That's not going to happen now because Julia is staying put on CBS.

Whether the show remains on Monday nights, however, is still to be determined. For the past year, it has mostly shared the 9:30 slot with Rules of Engagement, which has also been renewed. Some reporters are suggesting that CBS could be launching a second sitcom night.

• TNT has NBA Playoffs all night.
• CNN, MSNBC, and FOX News have North Carolina/Indiana Primary coverage all night.
• At 8, ABC has two new episodes of Dancing with the Stars (a "best of" episode and the regular episode), then a new Women's Murder Club.
• CBS has a new NCIS at 8, followed by a new Shark.
• NBC has a new Most Outrageous Moments at 8.
• FOX has new episodes of American Idol and Hell's Kitchen.
• The CW has a new Beauty and the Geek, followed by a new Reaper.
• AMC has The Great Escape at 8.
• At 9, PBS has a new American Experience.
• Discovery has a new Deadliest Catch at 9.
• Also at 9: BBC America has a new Last Restaurant Standing.
• At 10, NBC has a new Law and Order: SVU.
• There's a new Work Out on Bravo at 10.
• MTV has a new A Shot At Love with Tila Tequila at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

The reverberations caused by the writers' strike continue to affect how the networks are doing business. Case in point: according to The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd, the networks may be more generous with renewals than they have in the past, due to the fact that even hit shows have been returning to diminished ratings. My guess is that, after a three-month break, most people realized they didn't give two craps about things like Meredith and McDreamy's latest breakup. But it may just be that the weather's nice outside.

Anyway, Hibberd goes on to mention the current status of some of the most prominent "bubble" shows. The good news: Reaper, Old Christine, and HIMYM and Moonlight have shifted over towards the "likely to certain" end of the spectrum, and Boston Legal will likely survive for another year. The bad news: Shark, Men In Trees (which is already gone, according to reports), Cashmere Mafia, and October Road are likely gone. And there's still no real feel for what's going to happen with Eli Stone or Women's Murder Club.

• TNT has NBA Playoffs all night.
• At 8, ABC has a new According To Jim.
• CBS has a new NCIS at 8, followed by a new Shark.
• FOX has new episodes of American Idol and Hell's Kitchen.
• There's a new Beauty and the Geek on The CW at 8, then a new Reaper.
• At 9, ABC has a new Dancing with the Stars, then a new Women's Murder Club.
• PBS has a new installment of Carrier at 9.
• Discovery has a new Deadliest Catch at 9.
• Hallmark has the new movie The Good Witch at 9.
• BBC America has a new Last Restaurant Standing at 9.
• At 10, NBC has a new Law and Order: SVU.
• FX has a new episode of The Riches at 10.
• Sci-Fi has a new ECW at 10.
• HBO has a new Costas Now at 10.
• Also at 10: MTV has a new A Shot At Love with Tila Tequila.

Check your local TV listings for more.

The failure of Secret Talents of the Stars has had ripple effects on the CBS prime time schedule. With Big Brother coming to an end and Secret Talents unable to make it past one episode, the return of Shark, which was going to come back on Tuesdays at 10 p.m., will now return on Tuesday at 9 p.m. for three broadcasts beginning April 29. Had Secret Talents worked, CBS wouldn't be scrambling on Tuesdays.

The CBS Tuesday lineup for next Tuesday, therefore, will be NCIS, Shark and a rerun of CSI. Then on May 6, it'll be NCIS, Shark and a CSI: Miami rerun. On May 13, NCIS, Shark and a Criminal Minds rerun.

What'll be interesting for Shark fans -- and TV geeks in general like us -- will be to see exactly how well the James Woods legal drama performs with a strong lead in like NCIS. Even the reruns scheduled to follow the three episodes are all strong support. Will this Tuesday hammock experiment be advantageous to Shark, securing the kind of Nielsen numbers that will be a deciding factor in the show's renewal for next season?

Shark will swim again -- at least for the rest of this season. The future, however, remains unclear. CBS today announced that Shark will return on April 29 in a new timeslot. The network is switching the L.A. legal drama from Sundays at nine to Tuesdays at nine, where it may benefit from the strong lead-in of NCIS. Chances are that if Shark holds NCIS's ratings -- or improves on them -- that could mean more Shark for fall. If the show stumbles, CBS will likely pull the plug.

Fans of Shark may need to get more militant if they want to keep the show on the air. In a recent story we did about CBS renewals, there was fervent outcries for bringing back Moonlight and The Unit, even Cane. Out of 40 comments, only two came to Shark's defense. It may be a small sample, but still...

Fans of the Tiffany network can do the happy dance. CBS has renewed 11 scripted shows for the 2008-2009 TV season. The lucky 11 are: CSI; CSI: Miami; CSI: New York; NCIS; Criminal Minds; Cold Case; Without a Trace; Ghost Whisperer; Numb3rs; Two and a Half Men; and The Big Bang Theory.

There are not a lot of surprises in this bunch, although it's great news that The Big Bang Theory, CBS's rookie Monday-night sitcom from Chuck Lorre's stable, made the cut. Still in limbo, however, are three other Monday-night comedies from the network: How I Met Your Mother, Rules of Engagement, and The New Adventures of Old Christine. The story speculates that Mother will get the greenlight for a fourth season soon, but Rules and Christine seem to be in competition for the 9:30-10:00 half-hour slot.

• At 7, CBS has a new 60 Minutes, then a new Shark and the movie The Russell Girl.
• ABC has a new America's Funniest Home Videos at 7, then a new, two hour Extreme Makeover.
• NBC has Figure Skating at 7, then Guinness World Records: Top 100.
• At 8, FOX has a new Simpsons.
• The CW has a new Life is Wild at 8.
• TNT and TBS have The Screen Actor's Guild Awards at 8.
• At 9, PBS has a new Masterpiece.
• ESPN has coverage of the Winter X Games at 9.
• HBO has a new episode of The Wire at 9, followed by a new Russell Simmons' Def Comedy Jam.
• Also at 9: Showtime has a new The L Word.
• At 9:30, FOX has a new American Dad.
• At 10, Food Network has a new Throwdown with Bobby Flay.
• At 11:45, Cartoon Network has a new Aqua Teen Hunger Force, followed by new episodes of Squidbillies and Tim and Eric's Awesome Show, Great Job.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 7, CBS has a new 60 Minutes, then new episodes of The Amazing Race, Cold Case, and Shark.
• ABC has a new America's Funniest Home Videos at 7, then a new Extreme Makeover and the new movie For One More Day.
• NBC has a new Football Night In America at 7, followed by the Colts/Ravens game.
• The CW has a new CW Now at 7.
• At 8, The CW has a new Life is Wild.
• Lifetime has the movie The Christmas Shoes at 8, then the movie An Accidental Christmas.
• Mario Lopez and Melissa Joan Hart spend a a Holiday in Handcuffs, on ABC Family at 8.
• At 8:30, FOX has a new episode of King of the Hill.
• At 9, Showtime has a new Dexter.
• At 9:45, AMC has the excellent 1984 version of A Christmas Carol.
• At 10, HGTV has What's With That Decked Out Christmas House?

Check your local TV listings for more.

• TV Land has an Andy Griffith Show marathon all night.
• At 7, CBS has a new 60 Minutes, then new episodes of The Amazing Race, Cold Case, and Shark.
• ABC has two new episodes of Extreme Makeover starting at 7, then new episodes of Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters.
• NBC has a new Football Night in America at 7, followed by the Eagles/Patriots game.
• FOX has a new King of the Hill at 7.
• There's a new CW Now on The CW at 7.
• At 8, FOX has a new Simpsons.
• ABC Family has a new holiday movie at 8, Christmas Caper.
• TNT has one of their 700 showings of A Christmas Story at 8.
• AMC has Santa Claus: The Movie at 8, followed by the excellent 1984 TV version of A Christmas Carol.
• Food Network has a new Challenge at 8, then a Christmas dessert battle on a new Iron Chef America.
• At 8:30, PBS has The Best of Masterpiece Theatre.
• At 9, FOX has a new Family Guy.
• At midnight, Cartoon Network has a new Xavier: Renegade Angel, then a new Tim and Eric's Awesome Show, Great Job.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Here are the weekly TV ratings, by number of viewers.

Wait a second...is that actually an NBC non-game show in the Nielsen top 20? That must be a typo, let me check...

Nope, it's true! That's a rare sighting, like the Aurora Borealis or a picture of Rosie O'Donnell where she isn't doing that "lip pucker" thing to make her face look thinner. It's so rare I just have to put a pic of Law and Order: SVU to the right. But the ratings were still dominated by Dancing with the Stars and CBS shows.

1. Dancing with the Stars - Mon (ABC)

• At 7, CBS has a new 60 Minutes, then new episodes of The Amazing Race, Cold Case, and Shark.
• NBC has a new Football Night In America at 7, followed by the Patriots/Bills game.
• The CW has a new CW Now at 7.
• At 8, FOX has a new Simpsons, then new episodes of King of the Hill, Family Guy, and American Dad.
• ABC has The American Music Awards at 8.
• PBS has a new Nature at 8, followed by a new Masterpiece Theatre.
• There's a new Life is Wild on The CW at 8.
• At 9, Food Network has a new Iron Chef America, featuring the winner of Next Iron Chef.
• Showtime has a new Dexter at 9, then a new Brotherhood.
• At midnight, Cartoon Network has a new Metalocalypse, followed by new episodes of Xavier: Renegade Angel and Tim and Eric's Awesome Show, Great Job.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 7, CBS has a new 60 Minutes, then new episodes of The Amazing Race, Cold Case, and Shark.
• NBC has a new Football Night in America at 7, followed by the Colts/Chargers game.
• The CW has a new episode of The CW Now at 7.
• At 7:30, ABC has a new America's Funniest Home Videos, followed by new episodes of Extreme Makeover, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers & Sisters.
• At 8, FOX has a new Simpsons, then new episodes of King of the Hill, Family Guy, and American Dad.
• The CW has a new Life is Wild at 8.
• PBS has a new Nature at 8, followed by a new Masterpiece Theatre.
• At 9, Food Network has the season finale of The Next Iron Chef.
• HBO has a new Tell Me You Love Me at 9, then a new Curb Your Enthusiasm.
• Also at 9: Showtime has a new Dexter, followed by a new Brotherhood.
• At 11:30, Cartoon Network has a new Robot Chicken, then new episodes of Metalocalypse, Xavier: Renegade Angel, and Lucy, Daughter of the Devil.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Sweeps period is not only important for networks but also for TV viewers. Sweeps periods are when some of the biggest events in a TV series happen: deaths, explosions, extra special guest stars, etc.

To prepare you for November sweeps, I've combed through the networks' sweeps press releases and official episode descriptions and extracted what seems to be the juicy information for almost all scripted series on the five major networks.

All spoilers listed after the jump are actually spoilers the networks want you to know!

• G4 is running a Heroes marathon all day and night.
• At 7, CBS has a new 60 Minutes.
• ABC has a new America's Funniest Home Videos at 7, followed by new episodes of Extreme Makeover, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers & Sisters.
• The CW has a new CW Now at 7.
• At 8, FOX has Game 4 of The World Series.
• The CW has a new Life Is Wild at 8.
• There's a new Nature on PBS at 8, then a new Masterpiece Theatre.
• The Cartoon Network has the new movie The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It at 8.
• Food Network has a new Challenge at 8, then new episodes of The Next Iron Chef and Iron Chef America.
• At 9, CBS has a new Cold Case, followed by a new Shark.
• HGTV has the special What's With That Haunted Halloween House at 9.
• HBO has a new Tell Me You Love Me at 9, then a new Curb Your Enthusiasm.
• Also at 9: Showtime has a new Dexter, followed by a new Brotherhood.
• At 11:30, Cartoon Network has a new Robot Chicken.

Check your local TV listings for more.