CBS Gets its Mid-Season Report Card

The Good: Thanks to a diverse lineup of shows we love (THE GOOD WIFE, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER and PERSON OF INTEREST) and shows we could do without (Any procedural with an acronym or number in its title*), CBS’ fantastic Fall solidified the Tiffany Network as the Tim Tebow of primetime television. Which is to say, we may not agree with how they continue to dominate, but there’s absolutely no arguing with their success. Particularly if the success of a retooled TWO AND A HALF MEN, the seemingly unstoppable one-two punch of NCIS and its Los Angeles based spin-off, not to mention the three flavors of CSI (Original recipe, NY and Miami) help fuel (or is it fund?) the popularity of lesser watched favorites like THE GOOD WIFE and PERSON OF INTEREST. Which brings us to…

The Bad: Much to our chagrin, PERSON OF INTEREST — which thanks to its smart storytelling and increasingly interesting collection of morally ambiguous characters has fast become our favorite new show of the Fall — has not exactly lived up to what CBS proudly proclaimed was their highest testing drama pilot of the past 15 years. More worrisome still is that unlike 2 BROKE GIRLS, the rest of CBS’ fresh Fall offerings have yet to break out as bonafide hits. And while neither UNFORGETTABLE or A GIFTED MAN are even remotely close to joining the already-dearly-departed HOW TO BE A GENTLEMEN [shudder], with the former already having secured a full season pick ups and the latter getting their 13 episodes bumped to 16, they both have a lot to prove heading into 2012 if they expect to see that elusive second season.

The Future: Seeing as though repeats of most of the CBS lineup continue to garner ratings that the likes of NBC and the CW would kill for, the future, looks undeniably bright. That said, it also looks undeniably uninspired, with the Net’s only midseason offerings including the return of UNDERCOVER BOSS, the uninspired addition of a Rob Schneider’s self-titled “laugher” and the Robert DeNiro produced police procedural NYC 22 [formerly The 2-2].

The Grade: B+

* Seriously, it works! Procedurals with an acronym or number in their title include 2 BROKE GIRLS, NCIS, NCIS: LOS ANGELS, CSI, CSI: NY, CSI: MIAMI, HAWAII FIVE-0, and TWO AND A HALF MEN

In Case You Missed It:
• FOX Gets its Mid-Season Report Card
• ABC Gets its Mid-Season Report Card
• CBS Gets its Mid-Season Report Card\
• NBC Gets its Mid-Season Report Card