CBS can seemingly do no wrong this fall. The network has finished atop the ratings the first four weeks of the new season. In late night, David Letterman has started beating Jay Leno again. And CBS chief Leslie Moonves’s longtime enemy, NBC Universal’s Jeff Zucker, is being forced out by the Peacock’s new Comcast owners. How to celebrate? How about giving renewals to all five first-year shows!
Indeed, as expected, the Eye this afternoon told producers on all of its new series — Hawaii Five-0, $#*! My Dad Says, The Defenders, Mike & Molly, Blue Bloods and The Defenders — that they get to stay in production for the rest of the season. It’s the first time since the fall of 2000 that the Eye has been so generous to its freshman class — but back then, it kept some shows around (Bette!) simply because the network was still in rebuilding mode and really had little choice but to be patient.
CBS insiders aren’t saying exactly how many more episodes each show will churn out: While nine is the standard number for such pickups, it’s possible some series could produce a few more (or a few less) depending on the network’s specific scheduling needs in individual time slots. But the bottom line is: They’ll all be around for most of the year, a fact which makes CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler quite happy. “Everything has clicked so far this year — from development in January, to scheduling in May, to production over the summer, to marketing and publicity in the fall,†she said via press release.
CBS loves to quantify the success of its shows, so it’s no surprise its pickup announcement includes numerical descriptions underlining just how well they’re all doing. Five-0, for example, is the No. 1 new show of the season in viewers, the network said; Mike & Molly the No. 1 new comedy. And critical punching bag $#*! My Dad Says? Resisting the temptation to call it TV’s No. 1 show based on a Twitter site, CBS instead opted for the more restrained “second-highest-rated new comedy.â€
The Eye’s pickup announcement follows NBC’s decision earlier this week to renew most of its first-year class (save for the deceased Outlaw and the still-in-limbo Undercovers). Fox has renewed Raising Hope, killed Lone Star, and hasn’t yet decided the fate of Running Wilde. Among the big four, ABC has been most quiet about its new shows: While My Generation was quickly offed, there’s no official word yet on more episodes for Better With You, The Whole Truth, Detroit 1-8-7, or No Ordinary Family. That’s probably a formality, however: It seems almost certain the last two shows will stick around a while longer.