CBS Announces Reality Plans for Midseason 2010; Fox Makes Changes to Two Nights in Midseason

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

CBS Announces Reality Plans for Midseason 2010; Fox Makes Changes to Two Nights in Midseason

CBS has announced their reality series plans for mid-season 2010. CBS will premiere its new reality series Undercover Boss following CBS Sports' coverage of Super Bowl XLIV on Sunday, Feb 7 from 10:00-11:00 PM ET/7:00-8:00 PM PT; time is approximate after Post Game coverage. Undercover Boss, which follows high level chief executives as they slip anonymously into the rank and file of their companies, moves to its regular time period the following Sunday on Sunday, Feb. 14 at 9:00 PM ET/PT, as part of a new two-hour reality block, where it will be paired with the 16th edition of The Amazing Race. The Amazing Race has its 16th edition premiere on that night (Sunday, Feb. 14 at 8:00 PM ET/PT). Because of these changes, crime drama Cold Case will move back to 10:00 PM ET/PT starting this night.
In other CBS reality series news, two specials will air on Jan. 28 and Feb. 4. Live for the Moment, a one-hour special from Emmy Award winners Jeff Probst and Mark Burnett, will be broadcast Thursday, Jan. 28 at 8:00 PM ET/PT. Live for the Moment reveals how one person's life-changing event inspired them to live life to the fullest. Host Jeff Probst takes that person on a series of adventures and experiences that create special life moments with family and friends. This person shares their inspiring insights on how they live their lives differently and by doing so, possibly will change the way others live too. Surviving Survivor (working title), a one-hour special will air on Thursday, Feb. 4 at 8:00 PM ET/PT, revisiting some of the greatest moments in Survivor history and following up on life after Survivor with some of the most memorable castaways. The special, executive produced by Susan Zirinsky for Eye2 Productions, contains fresh interviews with Survivor favorites, and offers a sneak peak at the new Survivor, which will launch on Feb. 11. Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, the 20th edition of the franchise, premieres with a two-hour episode, Thursday, Feb. 11 from 8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT. Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains will reunite some of the most memorable, heroic and controversial castaways from previous Survivor seasons. The series' best strategists will face off in their attempt to overcome - or embrace - the label placed upon them as they return for revenge or redemption. The series will air weekly in the 8:00 PM ET/PT hour, as always, starting Feb. 18.
CBS still has not announced premiere dates and information on any mid-season scripted series. Returning sitcom Rules of Engagement and new dramas Miami Medical and The Bridge have not yet been given premiere dates. I can see Rules and Miami Medical launching in March with The Bridge probably in the summer. Stay with us for details on these as soon as we get it.

Meanwhile at Fox, they have announced they will make some time changes for Wednesdays and Sundays. American Idol and new drama Human Target will have their times flipped starting Jan. 27. Idol will shift to 9pm, while Human Target moves to 8pm. Human Target will still have its Wednesday launch on Jan. 20 following Idol, but will then have to lead off the night starting Jan. 27. Human Target will still have its series premiere on Sunday, Jan. 17 following NFL Divisional Playoff coverage.
The other mid-season time change for Fox will be on Sundays, but not until March 14. New mid-season sitcom Sons of Tucson will now air Sundays at 9:30pm, rather than 8:30pm. This means The Cleveland Show will stay put at 8:30pm, as it was slated to move to 9:30pm. Fox has ordered 13 episodes oddly of Sons of Tuscon, but they will not be able to fit all 13 in this season, unless it gets additional airings elsewhere. No word on where American Dad! will go, but it is likely it will move to 7:30pm starting March 14 or at a later date (or maybe if Tucson bombs, it returns at 9:30pm a few weeks later?).

So we are just about set for all the networks for January and February. NBC and Fox has announced nearly all of their plans for the entire mid-season, but CBS and ABC still have some March dates to announce. ABC also has to announce what they plan to do on Tuesdays at 8:00pm starting Feb. 9 and Fridays at 9:00pm starting Feb. 12. Scrubs and Better off Ted are done with their seasons after Jan. 26, more on that tomorrow.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Friday, July 3

The Dick Van Dyke Show - Now in Living Color! - (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
CBS will honor the memory of legendary actor, producer, director, writer, comedian and Emmy Award winner Carl Reiner with THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW – NOW IN LIVING COLOR! A SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO CARL REINER, featuring two colorized back-to-back classic episodes of the beloved 1960s series, Friday, July 3 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. As series creator and co-star, Carl Reiner personally supervised the original colorization of the episodes.

The special features “Coast to Coast Big Mouth,” which ranked #8 on TV Guide’s list of the “100 Greatest TV Episodes of All-Time,” and “October Eve,” which Mr. Reiner considered to be one of the series’ funniest episodes. Both were written by Bill Persky and Sam Denoff.

In “Coast to Coast Big Mouth,” Laura Petrie blurts out a top secret on a national television quiz show, revealing that comedian Alan Brady wears a toupee. The episode, which was the show’s fifth and final season premiere, was originally broadcast on Sept. 15, 1965. “Coast to Coast Big Mouth” won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series in 1966.

In “October Eve,” a painting of Laura returns to haunt her when, despite her having posed fully clothed, the artist (played by Carl Reiner) takes the liberty of “undraping” her. The episode was first presented on April 8, 1964, during season three.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 29)

Friday, July 3

Kevin Hart (The Big House/Undeclared) - Watch Kevin on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 12:35am on ABC.
Tina Fey (30 Rock) - Tina appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Laura Dern (Enlightened) - Laura is a guest on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Mark Duplass (Togetherness/The Mindy Project/The League) - Mark appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Melissa McCarthy (Mike & Molly/Samantha Who?) - Melissa guest hosts a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Brett Gelman (Camping/Fleabag/Love/Married/Go On) - Brett appears on a repeat of A Little Late with Lilly Singh at 1:35am on NBC.
Tika Sumpter (mixed-ish/The Game) - Tika talks about the season finale of mixed-ish and her latest project helping new moms on a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Peter Gallagher (Grace and Frankie/The Secret Lives of Men) - Peter talks about Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist and Grace and Frankie on a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.