TELEVISION; CBS Execs Say Networks Have Regained Buzz
Posted on: Wednesday, 20 July 2005, 18:00 CDT
LOS ANGELES - Vampire bats, aliens, dysfunctional families and Martha Stewart.
What do these things have in common, besides striking fear in the hearts of millions?
They're all coming to CBS this fall.
And the Eye network hopes its mix of movies and series about all of the above and more will have viewers buzzing like they did last season about ABC shows such as "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost."
"It's been a great year for CBS and a great year for network television," said Nina Tassler, CBS entertainment president, at the annual gathering of television critics here yesterday. "I think network television turned the corner this year -- we've reclaimed control of the water cooler from cable."
Tassler said all networks should tip their cap to ABC for its phenomenal successes, but she credited CBS' own "CSI" and "Survivor" and Fox's "American Idol" for jumpstarting the engine of prime-time programming.
The No. 1 network plans to stay the course by mixing in five new shows with such returning hits as "Two and a Half Men. "
Some of the premises might sound a little familiar. "Ghost Whisperer" stars Jennifer Love Hewitt as a woman who sees dead people. "Criminal Minds" follows an FBI profiling team cracking murder cases and "Threshold" is about aliens landing in the ocean.
Two new comedies will appear on either side of "Men": "Out of Practice," about a fractured family of doctors starring Stockard Channing and Henry Winkler, and the 20-something ensemble show "How I Met Your Mother" with Alyson Hannigan and Neil Patrick Harris.
To combat "Desperate Housewives," CBS will counterprogram with high-concept popcorn movies a la its previous effort "Spring Break: Shark Attack." The titles include the Stewart film "Martha Behind Bars," with Cybill Shepherd reprising her role as the domestic diva and ex-con, "Vampire Bats,""The Hunt For the BTK Strangler" and, finally, obviously, "Category 7: The End of the World."
Source: Boston Herald
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