Upfronts 2011: CBS

This week I’m going to be posting my reactions to the Upfront presentations. For more info on the Upfronts click here.

After two days of extremely lackluster schedules, lets see what CBS has to offer. Since it has historically been the oldest skewing and most risk averse, it’s probably not wise to go in with expectations too high…

CBS:

2 Broke Girls:

While the concept doesn’t sound like much (two girls work at a restaurant), the script for the pilot generated a lot of positive buzz. That, coupled with the fact that it stars one of my personal favourites, Kat Denning, means that I’ll probably give it a chance.

Unforgettable:

A procedural on CBS? What a new and novel concept! This one is about a woman with a condition that sounds a lot like a photographic memory who solves crimes by remember things. In fact, the original title was Rememberer (nope, not a real word). Doesn’t sound good, but procedurals have a habit of sticking around on this network, so this one just might make it.

How To Be A Gentleman:

Taking a page out of ABC’s book, this is yet another sitcom about how incredibly hard it is to be a manly man in today’s world (apparently I’m doing something wrong, because I don’t seem to be having nearly as much trouble with this as network executives seem to think I should). A strong cast may help this one find footing, even if the idea will be oversaturating the airwaves this fall.

Person Of Interest:

Starring the great Michael Emerson, produced by J.J. Abrams, and written by Jonathan Nolan, this one would seem like a sure bet. It’s a procedural (shocking!) about two cops who try to stop crimes before they occur, but how they do this is not yet clear.

A Gifted Man:

This show is about a doctor who’s dead wife begins appearing to him as a ghost and inspires him to become a better person and use his medical skills to help the poor, downtrodden, etc., etc. The fact that it’s on Friday means it won’t have to do very well to stick around (hello Blue Bloods), but I still think this one will have a though time remaining on the schedule.

The 2-2:

Not on the fall schedule, but being held for whatever show fails first, this is arty, existential look at what makes… no, it’s yet another procedural. There doesn’t appear to be a single thing that differentiates this show from all the others, so expect it to do just as well.

And that’s it for CBS. The only network remaining (such as it is) is the CW, which I’ll cover after they formally announce their new schedule tomorrow.

Sleep well,

DTE