CBS has NFL as well as the Superbowl, but that's about all it has to write home about. Full of aging sitcoms, softening reality entries and run-of-the-mill procedurals, the network has not updated itself in some time. The network reclaimed 1st place for much of the 2000-11 seasons with Survivor, Big Brother and then trending procedurals CSI and NCIS, and has seemed to be stuck in these 2000's trends. CSI and its spinoffs long came and past, and its cavalcade of inspired procedurals now are middling at best. A brief renaissance came in the early 2010's as Chuck Lorre's sitcoms such as The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men and others burned red-hot while flooding the Tiffany Network with brash toilet humor, but that renaissance faded as these series ended their runs. Barely holding a series that can break the 1.0 Nielsen mark in 2020, CBS's scripted series have fallen below powerful NBC and fellow middling ABC. The network is looking tired, and the ratings now show it.
After 8 days of performance, CBS already has winners and losers predicted. Young Sheldon bounced back after taking a hit from its once mammoth numbers. It is no longer a mega-hit like its heyday of being broadcast's 2nd strongest sitcom. In fact, it is in 4th among the 14 sitcoms airing (read about that in the SITCOM SCORECARD). But it is also in its 4th season and has helped restore CBS' reputation tarnished by prior Chuck Lorre sitcoms exhibiting crass toilet humor and is a Certain Renewal. Outsourced Mom just entered its 8th season minus principle lead Anna Faris and holding sturdy but middling. Allison Janney's contract is slated to expire this season, so a Likely Renewal is predicted if the series can deliver strong minus Faris as well as secure a deal with Janney.
The NCIS franchise delivered a mild Football Inflation to NCIS: Los Angeles and registered a hearty 0.8. It will likely shed 25% of that overage but nonetheless the franchise has provided CBS an effective solution to weak Sunday programming. Unless either series' showrunners decide to throw in the towel, it is a Likely Renewal. Veteran series SWAT on the other hand delivered poor ratings in its two-hour debut on Wednesday November 11. In fact, it took 3rd in both of its timeslots. The series remains On the Bubble pending ABC's performance with returning series For Life. To see how CBS' dramas are stacking against the other networks, read about it in the DRAMA SCORECARD.
