Ok, since I’m just back from the CBS presentation and it’s fresh in my mind, I’ll start with them. I’ll probably post the other networks tomorrow when I have a little more time (ie, when I want to procrastinate at my job.)
CBS has only five new shows this fall. I thought they looked fairly decent, for the most part, and when you see their entire schedule laid out on a grid - it looks very solid. They’re easily going to have a good 2010/2011 season ratings wise.
Ok, here are the new shows and what I thought of them:
"Mike & Molly" - Romantic comedy created by Chuck Lorre who also came up w/ “Big Bang Theory” and “2& 1/2 Men.” Show is about a Chicago cop who meets and starts going out w/ a school teacher. The “angle” is that they’re both overweight and they meet at an Overeaters Anonymous meeting. As a heavy guy in Chicago, I can relate to the concept, and the leads are pretty charming, but the clips we looked like most of the jokes will be pretty easy fat-jokes, which I was annoyed with. From that creator, I guess you gotta expect the easy jokes, but it did show some promise just because the leads were so engaging. Will be airing Mondays at 9:30p after “2 & 1/2 Men.”
**“Blue Bloods”- **Probably the most interesting of CBS’ offerings. It’s from some producers of “The Sopranos” and is a NYC family/cop drama. Tom Selleck is the father and I believe the chief of police (or someone high enough up to give press conferences), Donnie Wahlberg plays his son who is a detective w/ questionable tactics and ethics, and there is a daughter who is an attorney and a younger son who is a rookie on the force. This looks really well produced and like it could have some really interesting storylines. I think it’s on Fridays at 10p.
"The Defenders" - Jim Belushi and Jerry O’Connell as best buddies/defense attorneys in Las Vegas. The kind of defense attorneys that advertise w/ billboards (Better call Saul!). I started out annoyed by the idea but by the end of the preview thought it could have some potential. Looks like it could have some good laughs for a legal drama (dramedy, I guess).
**“Hawaii Five-O” **- Another Alex O’Laughlin series (after the failed Moonlight and Three Rivers). Also has Daniel Dae Kim from “Lost” in it speaking w/ his regular voice for a change. Looks like it has a lot of great action and was a bit more gritty than I was expecting. Could be decent. It’s current, not a period remake… And we even got to hear O’Laughlin say “Book’em Dano!”
"$#! My Dad Says"* - Ugh. This looked really horrible. “Cavemen” horrible. Basically just William Shatner spouting off about everything. Shatner is terrible by the way and I agree with posters in the other thread that thought he was miscast. Alan Arkin would have been a much better choice, but he was probably smart enough to turn it down. Apparently, it’s going to be pronounced “[BLEEP] My Dad Says” but I found it interesting that nobody from NBC actually said the name (and beleive me, they’re not afraid to curse at these things… I’ve heard quite a few F-bombs dropped at these upfronts the last few days.) The only time we heard the name of the show spoken was at the end of the preview clip. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this get revamped a bit before the Fall w/ maybe a new name, and hopefully some better writing. Otherwise, I predict this will be the first cancellation of the Fall.