TVSquad

CBS has a killer Monday night lineup. The sitcom block from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., followed by the very popular CSI: Miami consistently delivers in the Nielsens. The only vulnerable, flexible and soft spot is 9:30, after Two and a Half Men, before Horatio Cane and company.

The network apparently isn't sure that Worst Week has earned that coveted spot -- even though it's doing well enough in the ratings -- or else they're wondering what they have in Gary Unmarried.

Next Monday, Gary Unmarried will get a shot at 9:30. The pilot episode of Gary Unmarried -- which was pretty good -- will be rerun in that cushy timeslot with the idea of getting more people to sample it.

Interesting news out of CBS this morning. On the heels of renewing The Big Bang Theory last week, the network has now announced that when Bang returns with new episodes on March 17, it will be leading off the night. How I Met Your Mother, in its third year, is also returning with new shows that night, but will be taking over Bang's 8:30 slot. On a side note, The New Adventures of Old Christine will be replaced by new episodes of Rules of Engagement on Monday, April 14.

The Newark Star-Ledger's TV critic, Alan Sepinwall, is reporting on his personal blog that CBS has decided to hand the coveted post-Super Bowl timeslot to an episode of Criminal Minds.

There was some speculation -- maybe it was more wishful thinking than anything else -- that the network would follow their broadcast of Supe XLI with an episode of their emerging comedy How I Met Your Mother. But CBS decided to go with one of their tried-and-true procedurals instead.

Tonight is an interesting night on NBC. With two of their most hyped shows struggling, they've decided to throw a little time slot voodoo at us and see what happens. Tonight's Studio 60 was scheduled to be a repeat, but instead the kids from Friday Night Lights are going to get a go in the post Heroes spot. I think that's a good idea. A repeat would almost guarantee a drop in viewers, and the last thing Studio 60 needs is another round of stories that say "ratings drop for the Xth week in a row."

The situation with Friday Night Lights is a little different. Where Studio 60 has lost viewers every week, Friday Night Lights just never found them in the first place. The numbers have been fairly consistent, but when you premiere below expectations, consistent isn't exactly what you are looking for. And the fact that I use the word consistent is evidence that I really like the show. A more objective person might call the numbers stagnant.