Welcome back to CBS R/C after the holidays delivered its share of late starts for the Tiffany Network. Since CBS' entries were last dissected, the Friday trio MacGyver/Magnum PI/Blue Bloods, as well as Wednesday showpiece SEAL Team made their way onto the schedule in early December. The results? All delivered sturdy yet sleepy entries, most of which average a 0.5 entry on good evenings. SEAL Team's arrival bolstered a struggling SWAT, which broke out of abysmal numbers and ticked up a tenth.
Given the pandemic left a narrow margin for new arrivals, the renewal side of the schedule leans heavily in favor of CBS comfort food. Sunday NCIS spinoffs are performing at expectations, Monday sitcoms are keeping at average or higher, Tuesday's procedurals remain a sweet spot and rank higher in their respective timeslots and the Friday crime element helps CBS win another season. Where the network needs help is Wednesdays deliver stiffer competition from FOX reality platforms and NBC's Chicago-verse. Monday's dramas deliver ordinary results despite some powering from the sitcoms, and Thursdays have an uneven tone with Young Sheldon winning, B-Positive and Mom performing at bar and The Unicorn is sinking.
In a better year, Mom would rank higher as a Certain Renewal. However, they lost a lead star, and all hinges on if Allison Janney wishes to continue her run. The same dynamic comes into play with procedurals Blue Bloods, NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS: New Orleans. All are veterans of 7-12 seasons and are relying on if the stars remain intact. Blue Bloods would register higher, but last season's surprise ending of Hawaii: Five-O lead to cautious optimism. SWAT is demonstrating codependence on SEAL Team, leaving it as a On the Bubble. The same goes for All Rise, which does not hold the starpower of Bull despite narrowly outrating. And B-Positive? It is indeed performing at expectations, but again is contingent on other show's renewals and whether CBS wishes to update and do away with the Thursday 9:00 hour for sitcoms and plug in another run of the mill procedural.
