Brent88
01-17-2004, 05:16 PM
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - CBS on Saturday (Jan. 17) became the first network to pick up first-year shows for the 2004-05 season, ordering second seasons of four series.
"Cold Case," "Joan of Arcadia," "Navy NCIS" and "Two and a Half Men" will all return in the fall, CBS CEO Les Moonves says. With a third "CSI" already announced and most of the network's other series likely to be back as well, there will be little room on the schedule for new shows.
"To get on the schedule next season, [a show] is going to have to be damn good," he says.
Sitcom "Two and a Half Men," which stars Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer, is the highest-rated new series this season, with about 15.2 million people watching each week. The show, which sits comfortably between established hits "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "CSI: Miami," ranks 11th overall in total viewers.
"Cold Case," with close to 14.3 million viewers, is the most-watched freshman drama. "NCIS" (12.5 million) and "Joan of Arcadia" (11 million) also rank in the Nielsen Top 40.
Missing from the list of pickups is "The Handler," which has struggled some on Friday nights. Its average audience is about 8.3 million, and it loses close to 4 million viewers from its lead-in, "JAG."
CBS recently cut back the episode order on "The Handler" from 22 to 15, and the series will end its run in the next few weeks. The network's other new show, "The Brotherhood of Poland, N.H.," died a quiet death last fall.
"Cold Case," "Joan of Arcadia," "Navy NCIS" and "Two and a Half Men" will all return in the fall, CBS CEO Les Moonves says. With a third "CSI" already announced and most of the network's other series likely to be back as well, there will be little room on the schedule for new shows.
"To get on the schedule next season, [a show] is going to have to be damn good," he says.
Sitcom "Two and a Half Men," which stars Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer, is the highest-rated new series this season, with about 15.2 million people watching each week. The show, which sits comfortably between established hits "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "CSI: Miami," ranks 11th overall in total viewers.
"Cold Case," with close to 14.3 million viewers, is the most-watched freshman drama. "NCIS" (12.5 million) and "Joan of Arcadia" (11 million) also rank in the Nielsen Top 40.
Missing from the list of pickups is "The Handler," which has struggled some on Friday nights. Its average audience is about 8.3 million, and it loses close to 4 million viewers from its lead-in, "JAG."
CBS recently cut back the episode order on "The Handler" from 22 to 15, and the series will end its run in the next few weeks. The network's other new show, "The Brotherhood of Poland, N.H.," died a quiet death last fall.