Upfronts! CBS Unveils Its New Fall and Mid-Season Shows
May 16, 2012, saw CBS’s annual upfront presentation, where the eye network unveiled their programming plans for the 2012-2013 television season. Since they are bringing back so many dynamic programs from the past few years, they didn’t have a whole lot of new to introduce. But the small offering was still hungrily devoured by advertising executives—just as hungrily as they surely gobbled the celebratory 2 Broke Girls cupcakes passed out in the audience. By Danielle TurchianoFall 2012 sees the addition of three new dramas and one sitcom. Partners comes from Will & Grace creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick and is once again a story of their friendship for the small screen. Lifelong besties and now current business partners (David Krumholtz and Michael Urie) have their relationship turned upside down when Krumholtz decides to propose to his girlfriend (Sophia Bush). If you’re still experiencing Will & Grace withdrawal, this will definitely do the trick. Krumholtz’s character is sure to be as neurotic as Grace Adler, but thankfully not as unlucky in love right out of the gate. Partners will air on Monday nights at 8:30 p.m.
It is in the dramatic offerings that CBS seems to really shine, though. They have Made in Jersey, featuring the potential new breakout star Janet Montgomery as a “bridge and tunnel” chick rising fast in her high-powered New York City law firm due to some Legally Blonde skills. Made in Jersey will air on Friday nights at 9 p.m.
They also have Elementary, their modern-day retelling of Sherlock Holmes, starring Jonny Lee Miller as the iconic mystery solver and Lucy Liu as a new take on Watson. It’s their first procedural to break out as quirky immediately in the pilot episode. Elementary will air on Thursday nights at 10 p.m.
Vegas, based on the true tale of Ralph Lamb (Dennis Quaid), is CBS’s shot to deliver compelling, completely serialized drama. The high-concept series is set in the 1960s—as Las Vegas was just being built, but crime and corruption were already running rampant. Michael Chiklis is back doing what he does best as the threat to the town’s innocence (and we all know how that turns out, right?), while Quaid is the rogue cowboy brought in to be sheriff of the town. It’s a darker look for the network, and it’s confidence-inspiring in terms of evolving their programming. Vegas will air on Tuesday nights at 10 p.m.
Meanwhile, in mid-season an additional comedy and drama will be scheduled. Friend Me, starring Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Nicholas Braun, is the network’s outreach to the millennial audience—the kids who spend the majority of their lives online and reference their Facebook friends and their just regular friends. This sitcom sees two twentysomethings leaving their Middle America hometown to move out to L.A. and work for Groupon but find themselves not immersing as quickly in a new lifestyle as they—or at least one of them—had hoped. CBS stepped up their social media game last season, and with a show like Friend Me, they are proving commitment to the digital space.
Golden Boy is another more serialized drama, focused on a detective’s rise to police commissioner. It’s intriguing for its cast alone—Theo James, Holt McCallany, Chi McBride, Kevin Alejandro, and Bonnie Somerville, to name a few. CBS hasn’t even unveiled its first look at this series yet, but Snakkle has it on our must-watch list already!