UpFront 2009 Predictions: CBS Edition

theTVaddict

15 years ago

It’s May, which in case you didn’t know in TV land is kind of a big deal. Not only does it signify the end of the official television season, with the big five networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX and the CW) beginning to roll out their big finales (see: our May 2009 calendar.) It also just so happens to be the start of something new. With next week marking the official start of the 2009 UpFronts where ABC, CBS, FOX, CW and NBC will unveil their fall schedule to advertisers at their annual UpFront Presentation.

But before they do, theTVAddict.com editorial team, led by our very own Ken-Tucker-in-training Aleks Chan will be posting our wish list for what we’d like to see announced.

Steady as she goes over at CBS, with its procedurals continuing to dominate in a crowded field (see: the season’s only bonafide hit THE MENTALIST) and its Monday night comedy lineup, led by THE BIG BANG THEORY, showing some serious strength against very stiff competition. CBS may not draw a lot of eyeballs in search of unconventional programming (or, under the age of 50), but when 12 of the top 20 shows (for the week ending on May 10, 2009) belong to the Tiffany network, who are we to argue with success?

What We’d Like to See:
An hour long drama that doesn’t involve some sort of weekly gruesome murder that may-or-may-not-be ripped from the headlines. But since that probably won’t happen, and if it did, would more likely then not be short-lived (see: SWINGTOWN), we’ll stick with trumpeting the comedic prowess of Julia Louis-Dreyfus and THE NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE, the net’s best comedy next to HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER and the underrated GARY UNMARRIED, which gets serious points from us for offering up a television rarity: Child actors (Ryan Malgarini and Kathryn Newton) that don’t have us wishing Gary was sterile.

What Will Probably Happen:
CBS will continue their conservative, albeit winning ways by using their already established hits to launch eerily similar ones. In the comedy department, expect CBS to use their most popular show, TWO AND A HALF MEN to help launch either the highly buzzed about Jenna Elfman vehicle ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE or the Jason Biggs starrer HAPPINESS ISN’T EVERYTHING. While on the drama front, fans of the aging and increasingly costly procedurals such as COLD CASE, THE UNIT and/or WITHOUT A TRACE should probably brace for one or two of them to vanish, you guessed it… without a trace in an effort to make room for Alex O’Loughlin, Juliana Margulies and/or Chris O’Donnell; All of whom have their very own produce-by-numbers CBS procedural waiting in the wings.