CBS Announces Scheduling Maneuvers; The Soul Man Gets New Showrunners and Sherri Shepherd

Wednesday, November 05, 2014

CBS Announces Scheduling Maneuvers; The Soul Man Gets New Showrunners and Sherri Shepherd

As part of a year-round strategy of more original programming and fewer repeats, CBS announced the season premiere dates of The Mentalist and Undercover Boss. Both programs will bridge the time periods between the fall finales and the spring premieres of Survivor and The Amazing Race. The seventh and final season of The Mentalist will premiere Sunday, Nov. 30 at approx. 9:30PM ET/9:00PM PT, where it will air new episodes for five weeks through December. When The Good Wife returns on Sunday, Jan. 4 at 9:00PM ET/PT, The Mentalist will shift to its regular Wednesday at 8:00PM ET/PT time slot on Jan. 7. The series will conclude with a special two-hour finale on Wednesday, Feb. 18 beginning at 8:00PM ET/PT. Like The Good Wife, new drama Madam Secretary will also return Sunday, Jan. 4 at 8:00PM ET/PT. As for Undercover Boss, the sixth season will begin with three special Sunday broadcasts, Dec. 14 at 8:00PM ET/PT and Dec. 21 & 28 at 8:30PM ET/8:00PM PT. On Jan. 2, it will move to its regular Friday at 8:00PM ET/PT time period thru Feb. 20. And finally, the spring cycles of Survivor (30th edition) and The Amazing Race will both premiere on Wednesday, Feb. 25, each with a special 90-minute episode from 8:00-9:30PM ET/PT and 9:30-11:00PM ET/PT, respectively. The Amazing Race will then move to its regular time period on Friday, Feb. 27 at 8:00PM ET/PT).

Sherri Shepherd and Cedric the Entertainer - The Soul Man

TV Land announced that season four of the network's hit sitcom The Soul Man, starring Cedric "The Entertainer" and Niecy Nash, will be helmed by Bill Martin and Mike Schiff, who hail from the hit comedies 3rd Rock From The Sun and Grounded for Life. Also new for the upcoming season of The Soul Man is the return of the lively and lovely comedienne Sherri Shepherd, who is back for 10 of the season's 12 episodes as Nikki, Boyce Ballentine's (Cedric) unpredictable cousin. Nikki, who was last seen hawking sex toys to the elder ladies of Boyce and Lolli's (Nash) church, always has some new business that’s causing trouble and wreaking havoc in the Ballentines' lives. The Soul Man is set to return to TV Land in 2015. The Soul Man follows R&B super-star-turned minister Reverend Boyce "The Voice" Ballentine after he relocated from Las Vegas to St. Louis with his wife Lolli. While they're always adjusting to their new modest life, they have plenty of obstacles in their way, including Boyce’s brother Stamps (Wesley Jonathan), who is only just beginning to grow up and get his own place...finally.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Monday, December 15

St. Denis Medical - "A Waste of Time and Marble" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
With the threat of a nurse walkout, Alex is caught between her colleagues and Joyce; Ron and Bruce go above and beyond to help an unexpected patient.

The Paper - "Churnalism" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Ned takes over Esmeralda's advertorials and assigns the staff to test products themselves, but Esmeralda retaliates and covers one of Ned's stories and finds a scandal; Ken turns Adam into a lab rat; Oscar and Adelola compare pain tolerances.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 15)

Monday, December 15

Simu Liu (Kim's Convenience) - Watch Simu on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. He also talks about The Copenhagen Test on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am and in the 10am hour.
Paul Rudd (The Shrink Next Door/Living with Yourself/Wild Oats) - Paul appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Maria Bamford (Lady Dynamite/Benched) - Maria is a guest on Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - Andy Cohen interviews Kerry on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 11pm on Bravo.
Odessa A'zion (I Love LA/Fam) - Odessa talks about Marty Supreme on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Patti LaBelle (Out All Night) - Patti treats us to an EXCLUSIVE festive performance of It’s The Most Wonderful Time of The Year on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Kate Hudson (Running Point) - Kate talks about Song Sung Blue on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
Rosie Perez (Human Resources/Search Party) - Rosie co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Hank Azaria (The Simpsons/Brockmire/Free Agents/Herman's Head) - Hank and The EZ Street Band stop by for a chat and performance on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Ana Gasteyer (American Auto/People of Earth/Lady Dynamite/Suburgatory) - NBC's Today catches up with Ana in the 10am hour.
Connie Britton (SMILF/Lost at Home/The Fighting Fitzgeralds/Spin City) - Connie tells Sherri about starring in The Family McMullen, the sequel to The Brothers McMullen, on a repeat of Sherri, so check your local listings.
Ashley Park (Emily in Paris/Only Murders in the Building/Girls5eva/Nightcap) - Ashley talks about the highly-anticipated fifth season of Emily in Paris on Netflix on a repeat of Sherri, so check your local listings.
Glen Powell (Chad Powers/Scream Queens) - Glen talks about The Running Man on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
William H. Macy (Sports Night) - William talks about Netflix's Train Dreams on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Andy Richter (Andy Barker, P.I./Quintuplets/Andy Richter Controls the Universe) - Andy talks about ABC's Dancing with the Stars on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.