Fall Schedules: CBS

Relatively few major changes for CBS next fall.

The biggest deal is probably the final nail in the coffin for Joan of Arcadia, a show which experienced a shockingly fast rise and fall in ratings, buzz and critical acclaim over just two seasons.

While most other networks are showing patience with struggling series CBS killed off Joan less than a year after the show earned Emmy nominations for best drama and lead actress Amber Tamblyn. Those nominations came at the end of a first season that started strong before showing signs of fatigue at the finish line. This year the show completely ran out of steam with a drastic decline in viewership and storyline complaints from major TV critics. Still, it's odd that such a promising (or at the very least once promising) show can't get a second chance, but that's the price of being at a successful network.

Instead CBS will focus on what they do best (ratings-wise): crime, crime and more crime (meanwhile I'll be watching ABC, Fox, HBO, FX, the WB, etc. etc.).

Icky new additions to the line-up include a Jerry Bruckheimer-produced suburban crime drama which takes over the timeslot Judging Amy vacates after six seasons (seems like a lot more, doesn't it?); a show about FBI profilerzzzzzzzz... sorry, I dozed off; and a series that honest-to-god is called The Ghost Whisperer and stars Jennifer Love Hewitt as a woman who talks to ghosts.

(Incidentally, the three way battle that's brewing Wednesdays at 9 between ABC's established hit Lost and new series on CBS and NBC will no doubt lead to next season's first casualty: but will it be NBC's Jerry Bruckheimer-produced E-Ring or CBS' profiler show. The odds just might be with NBC on this one.)

Then there's promising sci fi drama Threshold which gets a questionable Friday night timeslot (at least it's the old X-Files slot) and will have to compete for buzz with similar projects at both NBC and ABC (and ABC's Invasion has the benefit of a Lost-lead in). And being the only show on all of CBS that isn't a crime drama, family comedy or reality show will either be very good or very bad. Don't expect the network to have much patience if it stumbles out of the gate ratings wise.

On the comedy side CBS killed Jason Alexander/Malcolm Jamal Warner "comedy" Listen Up after one miserable season and they have to fill the significant hole left by Everybody Loves Raymond.

So here come How I Met Your Mother (Alyson Hannigan, Neil Patrick Harris) and Out of Practice (Henry Winkler, Stockard Channing) which in concept and cast both sound ok, but then again so did Center of the Universe last year.

A Jenna Elfman dating comedy and Shawn Ryan/David Mamet's special forces action hour are on deck for midseason. Supposedly the relationship dramedy Love Monkey (with Tom Cavanagh, Jason Priestley, Judy Greer and Larenz Tate) and Julia Louis Dreyfuss comedy Old Christine still have some chance of getting series orders at later dates.