CBS Upfronts: Sayonara, Midseason

05.14.2014

If nothing else, 2013-14 was The Year CBS Said Goodbye to "How I Met Your Mother."

So it came as somewhat of a shock Wednesday morning that CBS boss Les Moonves unveiled the Eye's new 2014-15 schedule for the press in New York ahead of the network's annual Upfront presentation and the HIMYM spin-off "How I Met Your Dad" was nowhere to be found.

The one series that seemed to almost everyone to be a Sure Thing, turns out, just wasn't ready for primetime.

"There were elements on the pilot that didn't work out," CBS entertainment boss Nina Tassler told the press assembled at the breakfast. "I'm heartsick."

Tassler said that the network tried to get the producers and the studio to re-work the pilot, but that was a non-starter.

So now, producer 20th Century Fox Television will probably shop "HIMYD" elsewhere, while CBS moves forward with a schedule that is light on comedy, and that officially consigns the term "midseason" to the circular file. "We'll roll out our big shows all year round," Tassler said.

CBS is deflating its traditional Monday night comedy block a bit, putting the new drama "Scorpion" on at 9pm.

"Big Bang Theory" is being drafted to Monday nights during the fall-while football is on Thursdays-to help boost "Mom." The two sitcoms will air back-to-back at 8pm and 8:30pm. "2 Broke Girls" will join Mondays at 8pm once "Big Bang" returns to its Thursday slot following the end of football season.

Another new arrival on Monday nights? "NCIS: LA," which will come in to help boost CBS Mondays, a night that suffered against NBC's breakout hit "The Blacklist" this season. (Come February, NBC will move "The Blacklist" to Thursdays, so the two procedurals will only go head-to-head in the early season).

Emmy favorite "The Amazing Race" is shifting to Fridays, while "Survivor" keeps its Wednesday spot.

And new entry "Madam Secretary" gets the 8pm Sunday slot between "60 Minutes" and "The Good Wife," while the the granddaddy of all the Acronym Procedurals on CBS-"CSI: Crime Scene Investigation"-moves to Sundays at 10pm, to be replaced by the new "CSI: Cyber" when it runs out of original episodes.

The final bit of news on Wednesday: "Two and a Half Men" will, indeed, end after next season. But Tassler was coy when asked if Charlie Sheen would be returning for the final run.

CBS FALL 2014-2015 SCHEDULE

(New programs in ALL CAPS)

MONDAY

8 PM - The Big Bang Theory/2 Broke Girls

8:30 PM - Mom

9 PM - SCORPION

10 PM - NCIS: Los Angeles

TUESDAY

8 PM - NCIS 9 PM - NCIS: NEW ORLEANS

10 PM - Person Of Interest

WEDNESDAY

8 PM - Survivor

9 PM -

10 PM - STALKER

THURSDAY

8-11 PM ET - NFL THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (Sept 11-Oct 23)

Beginning Oct 30:

8 PM - The Big Bang Theory

8:30 PM - The Millers

9 PM - Two And A Half Men

9:30 PM - THE MCCARTHYS

10 PM - Elementary

FRIDAY

8 PM - The Amazing Race

9 PM - Hawaii Five-0

10 PM - Blue Bloods

SATURDAY

8 PM - Crimetime Saturday

9:00 PM - Crimetime Saturday

10 PM - 48 Hours

SUNDAY

7 PM - 60 Minutes 8 PM - MADAM SECRETARY

9 PM - The Good Wife

10 PM - CSI/CSI: CYBER