Today CBS was the last of the big four networks to take the stage at the Television Critics Association’s winter press tour. CBS entertainment president Nina Tassler didn’t spend much time talking about her network’s ratings and overall fall performance. Everyone knows that the Eye attracts the most eyeballs in terms of total viewers. After NBC’s Bob Greenblatt gloated about ranking #1 in attracting viewers in the coveted 18-49 demographic, Tassler responded with this. “I wouldn’t say there’s been much slippage [among 18-49],” she said. “We’re not a niche broadcaster. For us it’s still about getting everybody. Our advertisers are very pleased with our 25-54 numbers as well.” For the remainder of the panel, Tassler discussed the futures of long-running sitcoms How I Met Your Mother and Two and a Half Men, she commented on the subject of violence on TV (a hot topic these days), and she announced CBS’ summer schedule which includes a mysterious drama called Under the Dome from Steven Spielberg and Stephen King. By now you should know where the bullet-points begin: after the break.
- On How I Met Your Mother: “I will be happy to report in a very few days [a season 9 renewal],” she said. “We’re very confident and excited that things will work out. Almost everything is completed.” Tassler was then asked if the show might continue past a ninth season; she responded like this. “It’s funny, we talked the other day [about], ‘[Will] people watch the show beyond knowing the mother?’ I bet there are a lot of people that would continue to watch after that. But right now, it’d be the end as designed by [co-creators] Carter [Bays] and Craig [Thomas], and I wouldn’t want to even attempt to undermine what their creative goal was.”
- On Two and a Half Men: “We’ve told (Men producer) Warner Bros. TV that we would like to have an 11th season,” she said. In November star Angus T. Jones went viral in a video urging people to stop watching Men calling it “filth.” Tassler commented on the controversy. “This is a happy cast,” she said. “These are happy people. We had a little bit of a glitch, but… what else is new? The kid’s 19 years old. I have a 24-year-old. Between the ages of 19 and 24, there’s been plenty of things my kid has come out and said that I wish he hadn’t. But I think the bottom line is cooler heads prevailed. He’s been a beloved member of that cast for years and years. He issued a public apology. At the end of the day, they want him back, he wants to come back, he’s tabling next week, and that’s it. And we move on.” Like with Mother, Tassler was asked if she thinks Men will see life past an eleventh season. “You know we have such a crazy success story in terms of our long-running shows, who knows?,” she said. “We’ll see.”
- On Rules of Engagement, a show entering its seventh season that has been used time and again to successfully replace shows that CBS cancels: Tassler called it “A show that serves us well, it is the best utility warrior on television.”
- On Two Broke Girls and its racy material: “I say to [series creator] Michael [Partrick King] as long as you keep us laughing, and as long as we vet stuff through standards and practices, we’re good. It’s an adult comedy. People enjoy it.”
- On Blue Bloods‘ Jennifer Espositio who was recently let go from the show due to a medically-related leave of absence gone sour: “I don’t think we are tougher on our actors,” she said. “We employ them for many, many years. In a situation like this we are sorry to see her go, we tried to resolve it, it didn’t quite work out and we wish her the best.”
- On choosing to air Elementary in the post-Super Bowl slot: Tassler called it “the best choice” and added, “We felt it was a better fit in terms of appealing to all the viewers.”
- On violence in TV: She admitted that the recent Newtown shooting “has shaken all of us to our core” and that “people come to work with a renewed sensitivity, absolutely.” She went on discuss the particularly violent serial killer procedural Criminal Minds. “Look, that’s a much-maligned show,” she said. “I happen to enjoy the show. It’s not for everybody. It’s an adult show. It’s a suspense thriller and a character crime procedural. I don’t let my kid watch it. I do. It’s a genre show and it’s done very well.” During his time at this winter’s TCAs NBC’s Bob Greenblatt specially mentioned Criminal Minds and its violent nature. Tassler responded directly, “I think we’re making a huge mistake here — and I’d say it to Bob to his face — to allow the conversation to devolve into a discussion of one show vs. the other. This is a much bigger issue, and thank god it’s being discussed on the level that it is. It’s really a very personal issue.” She added, “Nothing that is on our air is inappropriate and our intention is to continue to be a broadcaster that creates content for a vast and diverse audience.” On a related note she said, “In looking at our pilots first and foremost it is picking the best material we can.”
- She also took this opportunity to announce CBS’ summer schedule. “This is our most aggressive summer so far with original programming,” Tassler said. Notably the schedule includes the return of Unforgettable (July 28) and Big Brother (July 2) and the series premieres of baking competition series Bake Off (May 29) and an exciting drama Under the Dome (June 24). From executive producer Steven Spielberg and showrunner Brian K. Vaughan (Lost) comes Under the Dome, a series based the 2009 Stephen King novel that is the story of a small New England town that’s suddenly and inexplicably sealed off from the rest of the world by an enormous transparent dome. The town’s residents need to survive the deteriorating post-apocalyptic conditions while searching for answers to what this barrier is, where it came from, and how to make it go away. At the TCAs Tasser said, “Every since Jericho for us, we loved these big-idea shows. And the auspices aren’t too shabby…It provides an unique opportunity, if we package it properly to do a big summer event. In summer you have to makes some noise.” The ultimate plan is for Under the Dome to be a multi-season tale that goes beyond the original 13-episode order and King’s novel. If ratings don’t allow it to come back for a second season, “there will be a key piece of information that the audience will have by the end of the summer,” Tassler assured. Previously Tassler went on record saying, “We’re excited to transport audiences Under the Dome and into the extraordinary world that Stephen King has imagined.” Dart your eyes to the space below to view CBS’ summer schedule.
CBS Monday, Effective June 24
8:00-8:30 PM HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
8:30-9:00 PM RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
9:00-9:30 PM 2 BROKE GIRLS
9:30-10:00 PM MIKE & MOLLY
10:00-11:00 PM UNDER THE DOME (Premiere)
CBS Wednesday, Effective June 26
8:00-9:00 PM UNTITLED BAKING SERIES
9:00-10:00 PM BIG BROTHER (Season Premiere)
10:00-11:00 PM CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION
CBS Sunday, Effective June 30
7:00-8:00 PM 60 MINUTES
8:00-9:00 PM BIG BROTHER (Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM THE GOOD WIFE
10:00-11:00 PM THE MENTALIST
CBS Tuesday, Effective July 2
8:00-9:00 PM NCIS
9:00-10:00 PM BIG BROTHER (Premiere)
10:00-11:00 PM NCIS: LOS ANGELES
CBS Wednesday, Effective July 17
8:00-9:00 PM BIG BROTHER (New Time Period)
9:00-10:00 PM CRIMINAL MINDS
10:00-11:00 PM CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION
CBS Sunday, Effective July 28
7:00-8:00 PM 60 MINUTES
8:00-9:00 PM BIG BROTHER
9:00-10:00 PM UNFORGETTABLE (Premiere)
10:00-11:00 PM THE MENTALIST