Assessing the CBS Sitcom Landscape
4:30 PM in COMMENTARY, ENTERTAINMENT, TELEVISION by Casey Trowbridge
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While I was leaving a comment on this post over at TVByTheNumbers.com it occurred to me that I could probably write about this, you know, on the website I own.
This is an examination of the CBS schedule as it relates to sitcoms and what the network could do for the fall of 2010.
Currently CBS airs six sitcoms with 4 on Monday and Two on Wednesday night.
I’ll look at each of the sitcoms and try to project what might be in store for it next year. I’ll list the show, the season it is currently in and its current timeslot. The bias will be my own attitude towards the show, in other words if you see a 1/7 that means out of the seven sitcoms we’re dealing with, that one is my favorite. The lower the number the more I like the show.
- Two and a Half Men
- Current season: 7
- Timeslot: Monday 9:00 PM ET
- Casey’s Personal Bias: 2/7
This is the easiest of the seven to project. The show has been picked up through season 9 and it is the top sitcom on TV in terms of total audience. It has been surpassed by The Big Bang Theory in the key 18-49 demographic but is still a solid #2 in that department.
So not only is it a lock to return next fall but it is a virtual certainty to return in the same timeslot. You don’t need to fix what isn’t broken.
- The Big Bang Theory
- Current Season: 3
- Current Timeslot: Monday 9:30 PM ET
- Casey’s Personal Bias: 1/7
This show’s place on the schedule is also secure as it was picked up through season 4 over a year ago. It is the top sitcom on Television in the key adults 18-49 demographic and is second in total viewers.
It is hard for me to imagine it not being back in the 9:30 PM ET timeslot because like I already said, why fix what isn’t broken? Still, I can’t rule out the idea of CBS trying to anchor an earlier hour or even another night with the show, even if the possibility is very remote.
- How I Met Your Mother
- Current Season: 5
- Current Timeslot: Monday 8:00 PM ET
- Casey’s Personal Bias: 5/7
The show has already been renewed for a sixth season so that makes it easy to deal with and the ratings are steady and solid.
It has done better than I thought it would do leading off the Monday block as last season it did not impress when given that task. So it either remains in that spot or perhaps gets moved to Wednesday to sure up that block. I’m open to either possibility at this point.
- Rules of Engagement
- Current Season: 4
- Current Timeslot: Monday 8:30 PM ET
- Casey’s Personal Bias: 3/7
I have no idea what the future of this show is going to be. The past two seasons it has been used as a midseason replacement and the ratings this year have been enough to merit at least that much next year. However, I’d really like to see the show get a full 22 episodes as the fact it is my third favorite of the seven would indicate.
Still, renewal is not a lock and it is also not a lock that it will return in this timeslot. I could see it being benched until midseason again, moved to Wednesday night or moved in to the lead spot on Monday if HIMYM were moved to Wednesday.
Pretty much nothing that CBS can decide to do with this show will surprise me. It could get a full season or canceled and I wouldn’t be shocked either way. I’d be very upset if it were canceled but stranger things have happened.
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- Gary Unmarried
- Current Season: 2
- Current Timeslot: Off Schedule
- Casey’s Personal Bias: 4/7
We are now firmly in wildcard territory. Anything can happen with this show and the next two and a lot will be decided in the next few weeks. A lot will also depend on whether CBS even wants to continue the comedy block on Wednesday next season and how many pilots it orders to series.
Gary Unmarried concluded its second season on March 17 and ended it with a cliffhanger. The fact it ended with a cliffhanger makes me want to see a season 3 that much more but is hardly a guarantee of such a thing.
The show is doing slightly better than its lead-in in the key demographics but not *that* much better. It seems to me that if Rules of Engagement were canceled or given a full season order that this show would be the perfect one to bring off the bench at midseason. Plus, just out of my own curiosity I’d like to see what the show could do on Monday.
- Accidentally on Purpose
- Current Season: 1
- Current Timeslot: Wednesday 8:30 PM ET
- Casey’s Personal Bias: 6/7
When this show debuts in its new timeslot on March 31 that is when the future will start to become clearer. I really don’t think that the fact that Rules of Engagement is performing better after HIMYM than AOP did means all that much now. The fait of the show will be decided from this point forward.
I have no clue how the show will do on Wednesday. Will it do close to what it did on monday? I highly doubt it. Will it do better than Gary Unmarried was doing in the 8:30 PM slot, that’s definitely a possibility.
One aspect of this show that interests me is the fact that I don’t think it has much of a shelf life. The premise don’t lend itself to a long-running series. It seems that the story that is being told can be done in one or two seasons. I’m not sure how much that matters – probably not much at all – but it is something I’ve thought of in the past.
- New Adventures of Old Christine
- Current Season: 4
- Current Timeslot: Wednesday 8:00 PM ET
- Casey’s Personal Bias: 7/7
There is one thing that this show does have going for it. The fact that ABC expressed an interest in picking it up last season had CBS elected to cancel it. Now, would ABC feel that way now? I don’t know but they do have their own hole to fill Wednesday at 8:00 PM.
It is not doing as well as Gary Unmarried in the key demographic of adults 18-49 so far this year. However, the averages for the two shows are close enough that other factors might be taken in to consideration if it comes down to one or both of them for next year.
So much depends on how well Accidentally on Purpose does starting on March 31.
I’m going to assume that CBS will keep the Wednesday comedy block next season. I am going to also assume that they pick up two comedy pilots this year which would be one more than they picked up for the 2009-2010 season. I’m more confident about the first assumption than the second. I will also assume that they keep one series as a midseason replacement as has been their tendency over the past few seasons.
Now in my opinion, I don’t see CBS debuting both new comedies on Wednesday night. It is possible but I just don’t see it happening. So assuming they pick up two, that means that one would land on Monday and the other on Wednesday.
Rules of Engagement, Gary Unmarried, Accidentally on Purpose and Old Christine are competing against each other and against new pilots for the remaining 4 slots.
If I had it my way, this is how I would structure the lineup.
Monday night
8:00 – Rules of Engagement
8:30 – New Comedy
9:00 – Two and a Half Men
9:30 – The Big Bang Theory
Wednesday Night
8:00 – How I Met Your Mother
8:30 – New Comedy
Midseason Replacement – Gary Unmarried
I went with Gary both because it is my favorite of the Wednesday bubble shows, it is a younger series than Old Christine and the premise can be stretched out more than Accidentally on Purpose.
I’m not saying that’s my official prediction but it would be my preference if the world wereperfect and I got everything I want. I won’t make any kind of predictions until Accidentally on Purpose has aired on Wednesday night and once I can get a better read on what CBS is thinking about its pilots and about Rules of Engagement.
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