CBS: We're out to make a 'Big Bang'
'The Big Bang Theory,' about three genius roommates and their wildly attractive new neighbor, is CBS's only new sitcom of the fall season.Despite last week's brink-of-war cliff-hanger, the CBS postnuclear drama "Jericho" was canceled yesterday - the most prominent victim of fallout from the network's newly announced fall schedule.
To start the 2007-08 TV season, CBS is adding five new shows: three dramas, one sitcom and one high-concept alternative series.
"The New Adventures of Old Christine" and "The Amazing Race" are not on the fall schedule, but will appear at midseason - as will "Swingtown," a 1970s drama about suburbanites who may or may not explore the then-trendy phenomenon of "swinging."
"Close to Home," "The Class" and the going-out-a-winner "King of Queens" are among the network's other cancellations.
As for the demise of "Jericho," CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler said the serialized drama, like ABC's "Lost" and NBC's "Heroes" this season, lost momentum after a lengthy midseason hiatus. "The show just really sort of lost its engine," Tassler said yesterday. She added, "It just wasn't performing."
The new programs for fall, Tassler said, were selected in a conscious effort to "stir things up" and "make a little noise."
The dramas are "Moonlight," starring Australian actor Alex O'Loughlin as a private eye who's also a vampire; "Viva Laughlin," an Americanized version of the drama-with-music BBC America miniseries "Viva Blackpool!" ("It's not 'Cop Rock,'" CBS president and CEO Les Moonves assured afterward), and "Cane," starring Jimmy Smits in a multi-generational ensemble show about a Cuban-American family with a rum and sugar business in South Florida.
"There's a little bit of a 'Scarface' feel in there," Tassler said of "Cane" - adding that was meant to be a good thing.
The sole new sitcom is "The Big Bang Theory," from Chuck Lorre, whose successful "Two and a Half Men" will follow "Big Bang" on the CBS Monday schedule. Johnny Galecki from "Roseanne," Jim Parsons from "Judging Amy" and Kaley Cuoco from "8 Simple Rules" and "Charmed" star in "Big Bang" as genius roommates with a gorgeous new neighbor.
Finally, the new alternative series, originally developed for summer but saved for fall, is "Kid Nation," in which youngsters from 8 to 15 are sequestered in a New Mexico ghost town to create their own laws, businesses and society.
"Forty kids, 40 days, one town, no parents," Tassler said, and calls the results "aspirational and exciting." It comes from the producers of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."
In addition to its fall plans, CBS also announced one additional game show for summer: "Power for 10," hosted by Drew Carey. Contestants are asked five questions about the beliefs or behaviors of U.S. citizens - and if they answer them all correctly, the prize is $10 million.
