On Wednesday CBS was the last of the big four networks to present their 2013-15 TV season offerings at the 2013 Upfronts, unveiling 11 new series coming to the the Eye network: five comedies and three dramas. Jump after the break to get more information about all of the new shows including synopses, cast and creator/executive producer listings, clips, and initial reactions.
Significant changes to the schedule include: Hawaii Five-0 steps out of Mondays at 10 to make room for new dramas Hostages and Intelligence–the former (which will air 15 episodes total) will premiere in the fall and the latter will take over in February; Five-0 moves to Fridays at 9 where it will be sandwiched between Undercover Boss and Blue Bloods… Person of Interest leaves its Thursday post to join the NCIS franchise on Tuesdays at 10… This allows the Thursday comedy block to expand to two hours–stuffed between veterans The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men are newcomers The Millers and The Crazy Ones; closing out the night is Elementary.
Elsewhere: Returning sitcom Mike & Molly along with new comedy Friends with Better Lives and new dramas Reckless and Intelligence are being held for midseason debuts.
Programs not returning next season: CSI: NY, Golden Boy, Made In Jersey, Vegas, Partners, and Rules of Engagement.
Update: CBS has uploaded extended “first looks” for all of their upcoming fall shows; they are embedded after the break.
COMEDIES
We Are Men — WE ARE MEN is a single-camera comedy about four single guys living in a short-term apartment complex who unexpectedly find camaraderie over their many missteps in love. Carter (Chris Smith), the youngest and most recent addition to the group, moved in after being ditched at the altar mid-ceremony, and is now eager to re-enter the dating scene and get on with his life with some guidance from his “band of brothers”: Frank Russo (Golden Globe and multiple Emmy Award winner Tony Shalhoub), a successful middle-aged clothing manufacturer and four-time divorcée who still fancies himself a ladies man; Gil Bartis (Kal Penn), a small business owner who was caught having the world’s worst affair; and Stuart Strickland (Jerry O’Connell), a speedo-wearing OB/GYN who’s hiding his assets until his second divorce is settled. Jill (Rebecca Breeds) is Frank’s charming and attractive daughter, who stands as the one positive remnant from his failed relationships. Armed with a hot tub, pool-side barbeque and plenty of questionable advice, these losers in the marriage department take Carter under their wing to impart their own brand of wisdom about the opposite sex. Emmy Award winner Rob Greenberg, Eric Tannenbaum and Kim Tannenbaum are executive producers for CBS Television Studios. Rob Greenberg directed the pilot.
Initial reaction: With Monk‘s Tony Shalhoub, White Castle‘s Kal Penn, and the wacky Jerry O’Connell, I really wanted to find this CBS single-cam sitcom funny, but unfortunately this first look falls rather flat. Decent jokes are sprinkled throughout, but nothing here makes me want to come back for me. I say: pass.
Mom — MOM is a comedy from executive producer Chuck Lorre starring Anna Faris as a newly sober single mom raising two children in a world full of temptations and pitfalls, and multiple Emmy Award winner Allison Janney as her critical, estranged mother. Christy (Faris) is a waitress at a posh Napa Valley establishment who is four months clean and doing her best to be a good mom and overcome a history of questionable choices. Her sobriety is tested when Bonnie (Janney), her recovering alcoholic mom, reappears chock-full of passive-aggressive insights into Christy’s many mistakes. Bonnie joins Christy’s already complicated circle of relationships: her handsome, married boss – and lover – Gabriel (Nate Corddry); the restaurant’s hot-tempered chef, Rudy (French Stewart); her pretty, 16-going-on-25-year-old daughter, Violet (Sadie Calvano); her sweet but overly honest son, Roscoe (Blake Garrett Rosenthal); her irresponsible ex-husband and Roscoe’s father, Baxter (Matt Jones); and Violet’s clueless boyfriend, Luke (Spencer Daniels). Christy tries to remain positive as she pursues her new path in life, but she faces an uphill battle, surrounded by a dubious support system – and a copious amount of dysfunction. Chuck Lorre and Eddie Gorodetsky (“Two and a Half Men” and “The Big Bang Theory”) are executive producers for Chuck Lorre Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television. Pamela Fryman directed the pilot. Gemma Baker co-wrote the pilot with Lorre and Gorodetsky.
Initial reaction: Good lord this is horrendous. There is not a single joke in here to praise; from beginning to finish it’s a real bore. That’s not to say Chuck Lorre doesn’t know what he’s doing; he’s got two ratings juggernauts on CBS already in The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men. Sure, Mom might grow into itself as episodes go on but from the looks of this extended trailer I cannot in my right mind recommend it to anyone. I say: pass.
The Millers — THE MILLERS stars Will Arnett as Nathan Miller, a recently divorced local roving news reporter looking forward to living the singles’ life until his parents’ marital problems unexpectedly derail his plans. After Nathan finally breaks the news of his divorce to his parents, Carol (Emmy Award winner Margo Martindale) and Tom (Emmy Award winner Beau Bridges), his father is inspired to follow suit and stuns the family when he leaves his wife of 43 years. Already in shock, Jack is even more aghast when his meddlesome mom decides to move in with him. Meanwhile, his absent-minded dad imposes upon Nathan’s sister, Debbie, her husband Adam and their daughter Mykayla (Eve Moon). Nathan’s best friend and news cameraman, Ray (JB Smoove), was excited to be Nathan’s wingman in the dating scene, but Carol manages to even cramp his style. Now, as Nathan and his sister settle in with their truly impossible parents, they both wonder just how long the aggravating adjustment period is going to last. Emmy winner Greg Garcia (“Raising Hope” and “My Name is Earl”) is the executive producer of THE MILLERS for CBS Television Studios. Emmy Award winner James Burrows directed the pilot.
Initial reaction: This one’s a tough call for me. The Millers, a multi-cam sitcom, hails from Greg Garcia, the creator of fantastic single-cam comedies My Name is Earl and FOX’s Raising Hope. I dig the pedigree. I also dig the cast; you’ve got Arrested Development‘s Will Arnett as the lead and he’s supported by Margo Martindale who proves in this trailer that hot off a memorable guest role in The Americans she can be very dramatic and very funny. She’s a versatile one. (Let’s hope her contract allows her to return to The Americans in its second season–Granny rules.) Back to The Millers, yeah, I like what I see here for sure but it doesn’t blow me away. With Garcia, Arnett, and Martindale all involved, the call is simple; I say: try it.
The Crazy Ones — Academy Award winner Robin Williams returns to series television in THE CRAZY ONES, a single-camera workplace comedy about a larger-than-life advertising genius whose unorthodox methods and unpredictable behavior would get him fired… if he weren’t the boss. Simon Roberts (Williams) is the head of a powerful agency, with the biggest clients and brands in the world, but even more important to him is that his daughter Sydney (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is by his side. As his partner, Sydney is Simon’s exact opposite – focused, organized and eager to make a name for herself, but also too busy parenting her father, which she’d resent if he wasn’t so brilliant at what he does. Joining them in the firm are the dashing and talented Zach (James Wolk); art director Andrew (Hamish Linklater), who’s as hard-working as he is neurotic; and the beautiful and deceptively smart assistant Lauren (Amanda Setton). With his team and his daughter behind him, Simon continues to set the advertising world on fire, and it looks like they are definitely buying what these crazy ones are selling. Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner David E. Kelley (“Ally McBeal” and “The Practice”), Bill D’Elia, Emmy Award winner Jason Winer (“Modern Family”), Dean Lorey, John Montgomery and Mark Teitelbaum are executive producers for Twentieth Century Fox Television. Jason Winer directed the pilot.
Initial reaction: Here’s another CBS series with impressive pedigree and cast: From David E. Kelley (Ally McBeal, The Practice) comes The Crazy Ones which brings comedic legend Robin Williams back to TV for the first time in 31 years (he previously starred in the ABC sci-fi sitcom Mork & Mindy). Williams and James Wolk (Lone Star) have fantastic chemistry (I still can’t stop laughing from that off-the-cuff jingle sequence). Simply put, Robin Williams is Robin Williams here, so if you’re a fan of his quick-wit style you’ll want to check this one out. I love it when Amanda Setton’s character (you might recognize her from The Mindy Project) cannot control her laughter when Williams goes on one of his schticks; she, essentially, represents us! It’s hard not to contain yourself in RW’s presence. Add Sarah Michelle Gallar and special guest star Kelly Clarkson into the mix and you’ve got a winner. Plus Jason Winer (Modern Family, 1600 Penn) directed the pilot, so there’s more great pedigree. I say: watch it.
Friends With Better Lives — FRIENDS WITH BETTER LIVES is a romantic comedy about six friends at different stages in their lives – married, divorced, newly engaged and single – who are outwardly happy, but secretly questioning if their friends have it better. Andi (Majandra Delfino) and Bobby (Kevin Connolly) are happily married with two kids but at times long for the days they had less responsibility and more fun; Will (James Van Der Beek) is newly single and preaching the bachelor lifestyle, but still pining for his ex-wife; Jules (Brooklyn Decker) and Lowell (Rick Donald) are high on their passionate new relationship; and Kate (Zoe Lister Jones) has a successful career but may take a swan dive into the L.A. River when she finds out her last remaining single friend, Jules, just got engaged. When it comes to relationships, these six friends are finding it a challenge to look at each other without wondering… who really has the better life? Dana Klein and Aaron Kaplan are executive producers for Twentieth Century Fox Television. Emmy Award winner James Burrows directed the pilot.
DRAMAS
Hostages — HOSTAGES, from executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer, is a high-octane suspense drama starring Emmy Award winner Toni Collette as a premiere surgeon thrust into a chilling political conspiracy when her family is taken hostage by rogue FBI Agent Duncan Carlisle (Dylan McDermott). Dr. Ellen Sanders (Collette) and her family are held captive in their home by Carlisle, a desperate man doing the wrong thing for the right reasons, who orders her to assassinate the President (James Naughton) when she operates on him. His highly skilled accomplices include his brother-in-law Kramer (Rhys Coiro), whose loyalty to Carlisle will be tested; quick-tempered and intimidating Archer (Billy Brown), an ex-military man with a razor-sharp tongue; and the only woman involved, Sandrine (Sandrine Holt), a mysterious last-minute replacement to the team. With her family’s life in peril, Ellen faces an incomprehensible moral dilemma in order to save her overbearing husband Brian (Tate Donovan), her secretive daughter Morgan (Quinn Shephard) and her not-so-innocent son Jake (Mateus Ward). In this high-stakes standoff between Ellen and Carlisle, fraught with tremendous national and personal consequences, the choices between right and wrong become even more blurred. Jerry Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman, Jeffrey Nachmanoff, Rick Eid, Omri Givon, Rotem Shamir and Chayim Sharir are executive producers for Jerry Bruckheimer Television in association with Warner Bros. Television.
Initial reaction: CBS is packing the heat when it comes to star quality for the 2013-14 season. Hostages brings together Dylan McDermott (The Practice, American Horror Story: Asylum), Toni Collette (United States of Tara), and Tate Donovan (The OC, Deception) in a political thriller that’s got many twists and turns at the ready. It’s unfortunate that this first-look trailer packs too many spoilers to handle; that last second glimpse of McDermott and Collette’s characters hooking up is too much! The setup is exciting–a rogue FBI agent takes a family hostage and forces the surgeon mother to assassinate the president by botching up a surgery–although it fleetingly reminds one of the short-lived Mob Doctor. Another nitpick: I know that CBS only order 15 episodes for this, but it’s hard for me to imagine how the show will sustain itself for even that long. The surgery does get delayed by two weeks…but still. I say: try it.
Intelligence — INTELLIGENCE is a dramatic thriller starring Josh Holloway as a high-tech intelligence operative enhanced with a super-computer microchip in his brain. With this implant, Gabriel (Holloway) is the first human ever to be connected directly into the worldwide information grid and have complete access to Internet, WiFi, telephone and satellite data. He can hack into any data center and access key intel in the fight to protect the United States from its enemies. Leading the elite government cyber-security agency created to support him is Director Lillian Strand (Marg Helgenberger), a straightforward and efficient boss who oversees the unit’s missions. Strand assigns Riley Neal (Meghan Ory), a Secret Service agent, to protect Gabriel from outside threats, as well as from his appetite for reckless, unpredictable behavior and disregard for protocol. Other skilled members of the Cybercom team include Chris Jameson (Michael Rady) and Gonzalo “Gonzo” Rodriguez (James Martinez), two resourceful federal investigators. The brains behind the design of the chip is Dr. Shenendoah Cassidy (John Billingsley), whose son, Nelson (PJ Byrne), is jealous of Gabriel’s prominent place in his father’s life. As the first supercomputer with a beating heart, Gabriel is the most valuable piece of technology the country has ever created and is the U.S.’s secret weapon. Michael Seitzman, René Echevarria, Tripp Vinson, and David Semel (for pilot) are executive producers for ABC Television Studios in association with CBS Television Studios.
Initial reaction: Josh Holloway, the guy who played Sawyer on Lost, is back on network TV and that is something to get excited about. Can he carry an action drama on his burly shoulders, though? That remains to be seen. Intelligence will likely draw a similar audience to it that CBS’ Person of Interest currently gets. Holloway stars as a high-tech intelligence operative with a chip implanted in his brain that makes him super-smart because he is directly wired to the Internet when he’s in the field. Hacking is literally second nature for him. On the procedural side of things, Holloway will go on missions taking down bad guys with the help of his supercomputer brain and his partner played by Once Upon A Time‘s Megan Ory. I’m hoping like POI Intelligence won’t take long to gain traction in developing an overarching mythology. The idea of other people getting their hands on the embeddable chip sounds like a start. I say: watch it.
Reckless — RECKLESS is a sultry legal drama set in Charleston, S.C., where a gorgeous Yankee litigator and a charming Southern attorney must hide their intense mutual attraction as a police sex scandal threatens to tear the city apart. Jamie Sawyer (Anna Wood) is enviously cool, confident and armed with south-side-of-Chicago street-smarts as she takes on the good ol’ boys in the South. Her handsome courtroom rival, Roy Rayder (Cam Gigandet), a divorced father of two, embodies the Old South and is the newly minted City Attorney, thanks to his influential former father-in-law, Dec Fortnum (Gregory Harrison). When disgraced cop Lee Anne Marcus (Georgina Haig) hires Jamie to represent her in a lawsuit against the police department, Jamie and Roy discover that Lee Anne is at the epicenter of a sinister case with dire implications for the members of the Charleston P.D. Heading that department is Deputy Chief Holland Knox (Michael Gladis), a family man who radiates integrity. Working under him are Terry McCandless (Shawn Hatosy), a cocky and corrupt detective, and Preston Cruz (Adam Rodriguez), Jamie’s well-respected boyfriend who might not be all that he appears. Helping Jamie is her confidante and paralegal, Vi (Kim Wayans), an expert at digging up case-winning information. As Jamie and Roy spar in and out of the courtroom, dark secrets simmer behind every door and threaten to tarnish the genteel facade of seductive Charleston. Ian Sander, Kim Moses, Dana Stevens, Corey Miller and Catherine Hardwicke are executive producers for CBS Television Studios. Catherine Hardwicke (“Twilight”) directed the pilot.
CBS FALL 2013-2014 SCHEDULE
(New programs in UPPER CASE; NT=New Time)
MONDAY
8-8:30 PM – How I Met Your Mother
8:30-9 PM – WE ARE MEN
9-9:30 PM – 2 Broke Girls
9:30-10 PM – MOM
10-11 PM – HOSTAGES / INTELLIGENCE (Midseason)
TUESDAY
8-9 PM – NCIS
9-10 PM – NCIS: Los Angeles
10-11 PM – Person Of Interest (NT)
WEDNESDAY
8-9 PM – Survivor
9-10 PM – Criminal Minds
10-11 – CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
THURSDAY
8-8:30 PM – The Big Bang Theory
8:30-9 PM – THE MILLERS
9-9:30 PM – THE CRAZY ONES
9:30-10 PM – Two And A Half Men (NT)
10-11 PM – Elementary
FRIDAY
8-9 PM – Undercover Boss
9-10 PM – Hawaii Five-0 (NT)
10-11 PM – Blue Bloods
SATURDAY
8-8:30 PM – COMEDYTIME SATURDAY
8:30-9 PM – COMEDYTIME SATURDAY
9-10 PM – Crimetime Saturday
10-11 PM – 48 Hours
SUNDAY
7-8 PM – 60 Minutes
8-9 PM – The Amazing Race
9-10 PM – The Good Wife
10-11 PM – The Mentalist
MIDSEASON: Mike & Molly, Friends with Better Lives, Reckless, Intelligence