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May 20, 2009 · 1:32 pm

Upfronts Analysis: CBS 2009-2010 Fall Schedule

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CBS 2009-2010 Fall Schedule

May 20th, 2009

If you’re looking for surprises, why the heck are you watching CBS?

It’s the question we face all the time, really, and I’m sure advertisers feel the same way: CBS never really gives them any reason NOT to buy ads on their shows, considering that they are by far the most consistent network, but at the same time they make so few changes every year that it’s hard for the ad buyers (or us as critics) to really get excited about what they have to offer.

Their new shows are really the only thing of much interest usually, but admittedly I think that their schedule changes this year are quite perplexing and worthy of some analysis. CBS is a network that is trying to maintain their existing image while building new hits, but two decisions in particular are quite strange and indicate a sign that CBS is trying to look further into the future than it might seem like at first.

Full schedule and analysis after the jump.

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Tagged as 2009, 2009 Upfronts, 2009-2010, Accidentally on Purpose, Alex O'Loughlin, Canceled, CBS, CBS Fall 2009 Schedule, Cold Case, Comedy, CSI, Entertainment, Fall Schedule, How I Met Your Mother, Jenna Elfman, Medium, NCIS: Los Angeles, New Series, Television, The Amazing Race, The Big Bang Theory, The Mentalist, The Unit, Three Rivers, Two and a Half Men, Without a Trace

May 19, 2009 · 1:44 pm

Upfronts Analysis: NBC 2009-2010 Fall Schedule

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NBC 2009-2010 Schedule

May 19th, 2009

NBC is not a network of surprises: it announced its new shows at its Infront presentation, we’ve known about Jay Leno moving to 10pm for ages, and even Chuck’s renewal was something that was pretty well guaranteed before today’s upfronts presentation. At the same time, the network’s schedule is perhaps the most interesting of the major networks since, with less primetime real estate than CBS or ABC, they are working on a whole new schedule and forced to make some important decisions.

It’s a better schedule than I expected, to be honest: yes, the network has been forced to make some tough decisions (My Name is Earl and Medium cut, but potentially returning on another network – FOX and ABC interested in Earl, CBS likely to pick up Medium), but they’ve been pretty smart in how they’ve scheduled everything else. With smart strategies for launching their new comedies, and one last attempt at seeing whether Heroes’ audience is capable of serving as a lead-in, NBC has at least leveraged what momentum they have going into this year (not much) to try to create a schedule that could keep them out of last place.

Even with all that work, though, ten to one Leno ends up keeping them there.

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Tagged as 100 Questions, 2009 Fall Schedule, 2009 Upfronts, 30 Rock, Ben Silverman, Chuck, Comedy, Community, Day One, Drama, Entertainment, Fall Season, Heroes, Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, Medium, Mercy, Midseason, My Name is Earl, NBC, NBC Schedule, Parenthood, Parks and Recreation, Saturday Night Live, Southland, Television, The Jay Leno Show, The Office, Trauma, Weekend Update