And thus we reach the apex of the quality pyramid with CBS, everyone’s favourite purveyor of monotonous procedurals and insulting comedies that people still watch. Last year, we got the halfway decent Elementary, the pretty good but still cancelled Vegas, the pretty bad and so unsurprisingly cancelled Golden Boy and Made in Jersey, and the insulting bad and offensive ‘comedy’ Partners. That means that only one of CBS’s new shows actually made it through to the next round – which also shows you just how many bankers CBS already had on its books.
Nevertheless, with CBS having now cancelled old faithfuls CSI: NY and Rules of Engagement, as well as those new shows, there’s a little more room in the schedules for new arrivals, and so there’s more to look at this year.
Now, I said that CBS was at the apex of the competency pyramid, but that’s really just in terms of making TV shows that don’t look like they suck. Unfortunately, this line-up proves that in terms of making TV shows with stories that don’t suck, CBS is just as bad as every other broadcast network – with perhaps a couple of exceptions: can you spot them?
Here’s the rundown:
New Comedies
- We Are Men: Four men and their dating issues. Terrible concept, but good cast, including Tony Shalhoub and Kal Penn. However, CBS show-killer Jerry O’Connell is also in there, so it’ll die quickly.
- Mom: Another Chuck Lorre comedy, starring Anna Faris as a newly sober single mother. Good cast, again, including Nate Corddry) and French Stewart, but in case you missed it, it’s Chuck Lorre.
- The Millers: Will Arnett gets divorced, inspiring his dad to get divorced and his mum to move in with him. Two characters have already been recast, so make of that what you will.
- The Crazy Ones: An advertising comedy featuring Robin Williams… and Sarah Michelle Gellar.
New dramas
- Hostages: Surgeon Toni Collette’s family is taken hostage by Dylan McDermott so that she’ll kill the President. Let’s see them eke that out for a season.
- Intelligence: Josh Hollway is a spy with a chip in his brain that connects him to the Internet. No, I didn’t just make that up. It’ll probably do well, though.
- Reckless: A ‘sultry’ legal drama set in Charleston, S.C., where a gorgeous Yankee litigator and a charming Southern attorney must hide their intense mutual attraction as a police sex scandal threatens to tear the city apart. I didn’t make that up either.
- Friends With Better Lives: Romcom about six friends at different stages in their lives – married, divorced, newly engaged and single – who are outwardly happy, but secretly questioning if their friends have it better. Does at least feature James Van Der Beek.
After the jump, full summaries, trailers for everything except the mid-season replacements, and a schedule.
Continue reading “CBS’s upfronts 2013-4 – a rundown and clips from the new shows”
