CBS Announces Midseason Line-up Changes

CBS announced its midseason lineup on Tuesday, including debut dates for the Criminal Minds spinoff and the new comedy Mad Love plus new nights for Blue Bloods and The Defenders.

Blue Bloods, the season’s No. 2 freshman series among viewers and Friday’s top program in viewers and adults 25-54, will move to Wednesdays at 10 for four consecutive weeks beginning Jan. 19 and return to its regular Friday time period on Feb. 11.

The Defenders, currently airing Wednesdays, relocates to Fridays at 8 starting Feb. 4. Rules of Engagement will also move from Mondays to Thursdays at 8:30 beginning Feb. 24.

Here’s the full midseason lineup:

Wednesdays, beginning Jan. 19
8 p.m. Live to Dance
9 p.m. Criminal Minds
10 p.m. Blue Bloods

Fridays, beginning Feb. 4
8 p.m. The Defenders
9 p.m. CSI: NY

Fridays, beginning Feb. 11
8 p.m. The Defenders
9 p.m. CSI: NY
10 p.m. Blue Bloods

Wednesday, beginning Feb. 16
8 p.m. Survivor: Redemption Island
9 p.m. Criminal Minds
10 p.m. Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior

Monday, beginning Feb. 21
8 p.m. How I Met Your Mother
8:30 p.m. Mad Love
9 p.m. Two and A Half Men
9:30 p.m. Mike & Molly
10 p.m. Hawaii Five-0

Thursday, beginning Feb. 24
8 p.m. The Big Bang Theory
8:30 p.m. Rules of Engagement
9 p.m. CSI
10 p.m. The Mentalist

Friday, beginning April 1
8 pm. Chaos
9 p.m. CSI: NY
10 p.m. Blue Bloods

Here are descriptions of their new shows:

Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior stars Forest Whitaker, Janeane Garafolo and Kirsten Vangsness.

Mad Love stars Jason Biggs, Sarah Chalke, Tyler Labine and Judy Greer and is about four New Yorkers, two of whom are falling in love while the other two hate each other.

Chaos featuring Freddy Rodriguez, Eric Close, Tim Blake and Kurtwood Smith, is a comedic drama about a group of rogue CIA spies in the Clandestine Administration and Oversight Services.

CBS Extends Season for All New Fall TV Shows

If you had any doubt that CBS was enjoying a successful fall season, this next sentence should make you a believer: The Eye net has extended full-season orders to all five of its freshman series.

For the record, the winning quintet includes Hawaii Five-0, Blue Bloods, Mike & Molly, The Defenders, and $#*! My Dad Says.

Of the five, Mike & Molly and Five-0 have emerged as the net’s biggest new hits — although the latter is beginning to look vulnerable on Mondays-at-10. The older-skewing Blue Bloods is Friday’s top show (and that’s among new and returning series), while $#*! continues to retain an acceptable percentage of its Big Bang lead-in on Thursdays. Lastly, The Defenders is holding its own on Wednesdays-at-10.

CBS Wins First Week of New 2010-11 TV Season

Thanks to strong premieres by Hawaii Five-O and Blue Bloods and the return of Big Bang Theory, CBS won the first week of the TV season in viewers (12.5 million) and adults 18-49 (3.3 rating/10 share). CBS had 13 of the top 20 shows among viewers and adults for the week ending September 26th, more than on any other network. Hawaii Five-O (14.2 million) currently stands as the most-watched new program in viewers while $#*! My Dad Says is the No. 1 new comedy among adults 18-49 (4.0 rating). Each 18-49 ratings point represents 1.31 million viewers.

CBS won five nights of the week in viewers (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday) and three nights among adults 18-49 – more than any other network. The network is also up 6% in viewers, 3% in adults 18-49 and 10% among adults 18-34 versus the same period last year.

ABC finished second for the week in viewers (9.58 million), followed by NBC (8.15 million) and Fox (6.52 million). NBC and ABC tied for second place among adults 18-49 (2.8/8), while Fox came in third (2.6/7). Fox won the week among adults 18-34 with a 2.6/8.

Given how DVR usage by TV watchers is at 38% right now – up from 33% from last fall – the networks expect the playback rate to have an impact on ratings beyond same-day viewing. The results won’t be available for another week, however, so stay tuned to find out just how many of you delayed viewing of, say, Lone Star or The Event.

Fall TV Premieres: Friday, September 24th

It's TGIF and the fifth day of the 2010/2011 Fall TV Premiere week. Several favorite series including Smallville and CSI: NY return with their season premiere, along with a new show starring Tom Selleck, Blue Bloods.

Today's Spotlight: Blue Bloods

­Blue Bloods is a drama about a multi-generational family of cops dedicated to New York City law enforcement. Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck) is the New York City Police Commissioner and heads both the police force and the Reagan brood. He runs his department as diplomatically as he runs his family, even when dealing with the politics that plagued his unapologetically bold father, Henry (Len Cariou), during his stint as Chief.

The show stars: Tom Selleck, Donnie Wahlberg, Will Estes, and Len Cariou.

Tonight's premiere schedule:

8:00 pm
CBS - Medium
CW - Smallville

9:00 pm
CBS - CSI: NY
CW - Supernatural
FOX - The Good Guys
NBC - Dateline

10:00 pm
ABC - 20/20
CBS - Blue Bloods (new)

All times are based on Eastern Time zone.

(new) = new series premiere