CBS Wants To Court Pre-Existing Fans With Its New Shows
The network clearly hopes fans of Dr. Phil, Training Day, MacGyver, Friends, Community, and Parenthood will love their new shows too.
CBS, the most stable of the broadcast networks, still faces the same terrifying viewer erosion as its competition. So even though the network renewed 15 shows — dramas, comedy, and reality stalwarts Survivor and The Amazing Race — all of them are down in the ratings from previous seasons. And CBS did not find any new hits during the 2015-2016 season.
While the company is putting considerable resources into its new online platform CBS All Access with its Bryan Fuller-led Star Trek series, and a possible Good Wife spinoff, CBS the TV network is relying on familiar faces (Matt LeBlanc, Michael Weatherly, Joel McHale, Kevin James) and properties (MacGyver, Training Day) to draw in viewers next season.
This 2016-2017 schedule is the first with CBS's new entertainment president, Glenn Geller, at the helm and he's relying on a few star producers such as Jerry Bruckheimer (Training Day) and Steven Spielberg (Bull) to help his chances of success. Whether there will be a critics' favorite among this bunch to replace the now-retired The Good Wife — always in the Emmys conversation — remains to be seen, but it's also possible that CBS has bigger priorities these days.
Training Day
Who's in it? Bill Paxton, Justin Cornwell, Drew Van Acker, Katrina Law, Lex Scott Davis, Julie Benz
Who created it? Jerry Bruckheimer, Antoine Fuqua, Jonathan Littman, Will Beall, Barry Schindel
What's it about? Based on the 2001 movie starring Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke, the series picks up 15 years later and focuses on a young LAPD police officer who is paired with an ethically questionable detective.
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Bull
Who's in it? Michael Weatherly, Freddy Rodriguez, Geneva Carr, Chris Jackson, Jaime Lee Kirchner, Annabelle Attanasio
Who created it? Paul Attanasio, Dr. Phillip C. McGraw, Steven Spielberg, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, Jay McGraw
What's it about? Dr. Phil is producing this drama inspired by his early life as a trial consultant. NCIS alum Michael Weatherly takes on the larger-than-life role of "the ultimate puppet master as he combines psychology, human intuition and high tech data to learn what makes jurors, attorneys, witnesses and the accused tick," according to CBS.
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Pure Genius
Who's in it? Augustus Prew, Dermot Mulroney, Brenda Song, Reshma Shetty, Ward Horton, Aaron Jennings, Odette Annable
Who created it? Jason Katims, Michelle Lee
What's it about? A Silicon Valley millionaire taps a veterinarian to lead a hospital that intends to attempt risky — but potentially groundbreaking — procedures.
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