CBS Extends Five New Shows

Nov. 1 -- CBS’ fall lineup is comparable to the bullish rise of the dot-com economy: Everything is rosy for the net’s new shows.

Propelled by the summertime success of Survivor, the Eye is enjoying its first truly golden season in more than five years. Everyone is happy, rich, and most importantly, crouched in front of the TV set. Will the bottom drop out for CBS like it did for the wave of Internet startup companies? Not according to the network, which just made a decision to order full-season episodes for five out of its seven new shows.

Keep ’Em ComingCBS has announced that it will order 22 episodes each for weekend dramas C.S.I., The Fugitive, and The District, as well as for comedies Bette and Yes, Dear. According to Variety, the net is still considering renewals for its other two new shows, Welcome to New York and That’s Life.

The freshmen series were promoted during ratings phenomenon Survivor, which broke CBS out of its mothballed age bracket. However, CBS prez Les Moonves thinks the shows’ creative sparks are driving more traffic to his network. “When I first came here, there were a lot of holes in our schedule,” Moonves told Variety. “Now when you look out across the landscape, there are a lot more hits than holes.”

C.S.I., a Friday night forensics thriller, is the season’s top drama among total viewers, despite receiving less play than its lead-in, The Fugitive. “C.S.I. is a real surprise,” analyst Stacey Lynn Koerner of TN Media said. “Everybody was so busy looking at The Fugitive, they forgot about C.S.I.

The Fugitive remake, starring Tim Daly, is garnering the lowest ratings of CBS’s freshman class, but it is the most expensive. Moonves is still pleased with the show’s performance. “Suddenly, it’s giving us something we’ve never had before: young men on Friday night,” he explained. Well, we still don’t get many young men on Friday night, so don’t rub it in, Les.