CBS must be pretty happy. They've been dominating the television landscape for the past several years. And their spin-offs policy continues to work very well. In it's premiere week, not only was NCIS: LA the top-rated new show of the season, but it pushed its parent series all the way to number one on the week, achieving its highest ratings, too.
Those strong ratings have helped boost Julianna Margulies' The Good Wife to the top as well. As a show of thanks and support, CBS has ordered full-season pick-ups for both The Good Wife and NCIS: LA. As much as I complain about procedurals dominating the CBS landscape, people want to watch these shows. CBS does them better than anyone.
So that's one more night locked in and secured for CBS to dominate. If America ever does get tired of procedurals, though, they're in big trouble!
Oh, no. Please. CBS, please don't. I know it's tempting when you see the NCIS: LA ratings -- number two for last week, topped only by NCIS! -- but please, refrain. What am I talking about? CBS is pushing a spinoff of Criminal Minds, asking the show's executive producer Ed Bernero and executive producer Chris Mundy to come up with a variation on Criminal Minds. Hmm... Criminal Minds 2.0? Son of Criminal Minds? Criminal Guts?
Over the summer, spoilers were leaked that the NCIS season premiere would begin with a bang. They weren't kidding. Last night's show was a spine-tingling puzzle of an episode that unraveled scene by scene, building suspense to the ultimate -- satisfying -- conclusion. If you were thinking that, like last year, the team was going to be torn asunder after the way things ended with Ziva being returned to Israel, you were pleasantly surprised. More after the jump.
However, there's another story to report. The overnight ratings are in and the viewers have spoken. Twenty million of them! The return of NCIS zoomed to the top of the ratings with 20 million viewers tuning in. That helped CBS launch NCIS: Los Angeles, opening with 18 million, and also bolstered The Good Wife with nearly 14 million. Any way you slice it, those are stellar numbers. The folk at the Black Rock must be dancing in the hallways.
(S01E01)
You might think that you're watching a variation on Law & Order when the first few minutes of The Good Wife commences. It's not just that Chris Noth is in the scene, looking every bit like Mike Logan. It's more that the scene is ripped from the headlines. Disgraced politician -- Elliot Spitzer, David Vitter, Jim McGreevey -- caught in a sex scandal. His innocent, good wife, standing beside him.
As Alicia Florrick, the wife of a Chicago prosecutor who was caught sucking the toes of prostitutes and forced to resign, Julianna Margulies masters the shell-shocked, distant gaze. Her eyes, in fact, fixate on a stray thread on his suit. But the fog lifts quickly and away from the podium, reality comes in the form of a smack in the face. She delivers the smack, and from that moment, you're on her side. Maybe it was a cheap trick, but it worked.
The networks have had a quiet summer, quietly introducing scripted bomb after scripted bomb, so they're certainly ready to jump into the new fall season. And It looks to be an interesting one. ABC is scheduling a two-hour block of new comedies on Wednesdays as the sitcom tries to make a comeback.
Even more risky is NBC handing 10:00 to Jay Leno every night of the week. Everyone's waiting to see how that one plays out. FOX is banking on huge positive buzz for Glee to make it a hit, while ABC is hoping FlashForward can pick up where Lost is leaving off when it wraps its run this season.
To help you with it all, TV Squad has put together a handy calendar of all the premieres so you can schedule responsibly in this busy time of TV watching. Some nights have as many as twelve premieres scheduled, so you might need to invest in a few more DVRs to catch all your favorites; Monday's still look grim. Bookmark this page and you'll have it handy to help see you through.
Amid the CBS Summer Press Tour this week, the subject came up about why the network had cancelled Without A Trace. It wasn't ratings, which is clearly the truth because just this past weekend, Without A Trace was pulling over six million viewers for a rerun, doubling the number of people who tuned in for the brand new ABC series, Defying Gravity. Therefore, if Without A Trace was still capable of besting the fodder produced by the competition, why on earth would CBS dump it?
"Every show has its own life cycle," said CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler, who went on to explain that the shows the network had in development were just too good to wait. In other words, The Good Wife, Three Rivers and NCIS: Los Angeles, none of which are proven hits, were more important than an established success.
In her TCA session to promote her new CBS show The Good Wife, about the wife of a state attorney who tries to build her life and career after her husband has a Spitzer/Sanford/Edwards kind of downfall, Julianna Margulies was asked if she thought Rod Blagojevich should count in the pantheon of "Good Wives."
She said that Mrs. Blago's situation was different because her husband cheated on the people of his state, not on his wife. "Then she goes on a reality show. I mean... god..."
OK, so Mrs. Blago doesn't belong in the same company as Silda Spitzer and Elizabeth Edwards. Would any of them be willing to give her advice on how to play the role of a wronged political wife? "I think all those women are too classy to grumble about anything."
Generally speaking, CBS had a strong 2008, developing one bona fide hit drama -- The Mentalist -- even though shows like The Ex-List never found an audience or a critical plaudit. Ironically, I liked The Ex-List based on the screener I reviewed last summer, so go figure. Sometimes a preview can inform you about a show's potential and sometimes it's just the best it'll ever be.
CBS has shared previews for the new season and we've had a chance to take a look. There are star vehicles for Jenna Elfman, Alex O'Loughlin and Julianna Margulies, which would seem logical based on the success of Simon Baker as The Mentalist. CBS is counting on familiar, popular TV stars to win over audiences. Will the strategy work? It's probably too soon to tell.
Coming off a strong 2008 season, CBS is taking some bold moves with their new season program schedule. As we wrote earlier, there are four new dramas, a sitcom and a reality show in the mix.
The big news is how it's shifting around some hit shows on Monday and Thursday, while standing pat on Wednesday. Here's what we know right now...after the jump.
CBS must be pretty happy. They've been dominating the television landscape for the past several years. And their spin-offs policy continues to work very well. In it's premiere week, not only was NCIS: LA the top-rated new show of the season, but it pushed its parent series all the way to number one on the week, achieving its highest ratings, too.
(S01E01)
You might think that you're watching a variation on 
The networks have had a quiet summer, quietly introducing scripted bomb after scripted bomb, so they're certainly ready to jump into the new fall season. And It looks to be an interesting one. ABC is scheduling a two-hour block of new comedies on Wednesdays as the sitcom tries to make a comeback. 
In her TCA session to promote her new CBS show 
Generally speaking, CBS had a strong 2008, developing one bona fide hit drama -- The Mentalist -- even though shows like The Ex-List never found an audience or a critical plaudit. Ironically, I liked The Ex-List based on the screener I reviewed last summer, so go figure. Sometimes a preview can inform you about a show's potential and sometimes it's just the best it'll ever be. 
Coming off a strong 2008 season, CBS is taking some bold moves with their new season program schedule. As we wrote earlier, there are four new dramas, a sitcom and a reality show in the mix. 
Have any questions for Vik Sahay of Chuck? Ask them here!
Mike Henry and Daryl Hall on a Cleveland Show Thanksgiving
The TV Squad Podcast: The Prisoner, '80s TV, soap news and more
