Could Criminal Minds be the next CSI?
After the success of the CSI franchise, it’s only natural that CBS would look at other shows on its lineup for spinoff possibilities. Oddly enough, the lucky show isn’t World’s Greatest Dog, but Criminal Minds. According to Executive Producer Ed Bernero, talks between CBS and ABC studios, who produces Minds, are currently underway, saying, “It’s safe to say there will be something soon.”
Because the Criminal Minds spinoff is still in the discussion phase, there’s no news on exactly what the new show will entail. But, since there are obviously many more specialties within the FBI besides criminal profiling, chances are the new series will focus on one of those. As is the case with most spinoffs nowadays, the new series will probably be introduced via a “backdoor pilot” in an upcoming Criminal Minds episode.
As for whether or not any current castmembers will be spun off, Bernero basically shoots down the idea while technically leaving the door open. He says that while he doesn’t think that will happen, “it’s possible characters could be on both shows… All options are open.”
So there you have it. CBS may or may not be doing a Criminal Minds spinoff, which may or may not deal with a different FBI specialty, which may or may not include current cast members. Do those of you who watch Criminal Minds think a spinoff is a good idea? Do we really have another CSI on our hands, or is the Criminal Minds franchise destined for the trash heap?
A Hogan Family Medical Center Outing
A Hogan Family Medical Center Outing
It was Hogan time, as the made-for-reality-tv family of Hulk, Brooke and Nick were spotted out on a Tuesday trip to a Beverly Hills medical center.
The former pro wrestler has been keeping busy with his new show, American Gladiators, while daughter Brooke has her sights set on competing on Dancing With the Stars.
According to recent reports, NBC is quite happy with Hulk’s Gladiators performance, as the program “finished in the #9 slot among all shows on television in the 18-49 age group last week. It was behind only heavyweight programming such as the NFL playoffs, Law & Order SVU, CSI, Family Guy and a few others.”
Meanwhile, Brooke is conjuring up her return to reality TV, as she’s seriously considering participating on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars.
“She’s singing. She auditioned for Dancing with the Stars yesterday. I think she may have her own extension of Hogan Knows Best,” Hulk confirmed in a recent interview.
CSI Offed by Housewives
The odds have caught up with CSI.
For the first time in five years, the Vegas-set crime show will not finish a season as TV's most-watched scripted show.
The 2007-08 season ends Wednesday night.
Desperate Housewives, much maligned for its own ratings slippage over the past couple of years, should finish the season on top among scripted shows, with 18.2 million viewers.
CSI, which currently holds a slight edge for second place over House, ends its eighth season averaging 16.89 million viewers, its least amount ever. The show's previous "low" was 17.8 million, posted during its first season.
The last time CSI didn't wind up as TV's top scripted show was 2001-02, when the departing Friends ruled.
CSI enjoyed its best season to date in 2002-03, when the CBS series averaged 26.2 million, and bested everything on TV, scripted or no.
Since 2003-04, CSI has been trumped by American Idol for the overall No. 1and sometimes the overall No. 2spot. But up until this season, it was the standard-bearer for scripted shows.
Ratings-wise, CSI has been in decline for more than a year. From the 2005-06 season to the 2006-07 season, the show lost 5.3 million viewers.
CSI opened this past season big and through November was TV's No. 1 show. Then came the writers' strikeand there went 21 percent of its audience. By comparison, Desperate Housewives only lost about 7 percent of its viewers from the start of the strike through the end of the season.
In addition to the strike, CSI went through cast upheaval, with the early season departure of Jorja Fox and the late season word that Gary Dourdan would not be back in the fall.
Desperate Housewives' win, meanwhile, is its first. It takes the scripted crown the old-fashioned wayit actually had more viewers this season than last, adding more than 1 million fans to its ranks.
Overall, Housewives looks to finish sixth, behind various editions of Dancing With the Stars and American Idol, which despite all the hand-wringing over what's wrong with it, should finish the season as TV's No. 1 and No. 2 shows.
Again.
Elsewhere, here are the ratings highlights for the TV week ended Sunday:
- In the battle of season finales, at least, CSI (fourth place, 18.1 million) killed Desperate Housewives (sixth place, 16.8 million), Grey's Anatomy (seventh place, 15.5 million) and every other scripted show.
- Of course, Housewives did hold the demographic edge over all scripted series. Among young adults, CSI finished behind Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, House and Two and a Half Men.
- Judging by the Idol numbers, it's not that people don't want to hear this season's contestants sing, it's that they don't care as much what fate befalls them. Tuesday's performance show (second place, 24.8 million) was in line with last year's Top Three episode. Wednesday's results show (first place, 24.9 million) wasn'tit was off by more than 3 million.
- CBS' Moonlight (41st place, 7.5 million) went out the way it went in, losing about 1 viewers from Ghost Whisperer (31st place, 8.4 million).
- The Office's season closer was good for Angela and Dwight, but the NBC show has seen bigger climaxes than 8.2 million viewers (35th place).
- Right about now, the canceled Women's Murder Club (36th place, 7.9 million) must be wondering what dirt the renewed According to Jim (80th place, 4.2 million for its first episode; 74th place, 4.5 million for its second) has on ABC execs.
- The win for a "full-figured" gal fattened up CW's America's Next Top Model (69th place, 4.8 million).
- To summarize cable's top prime-time shows: Basketball, basketball, wrestling.
- Sci Fi Channel's Saturday-night offering of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (3.9 million), and Disney Channel's Friday-night revisit to High School Musical 2 (3.8 million) represented for nonprofessional athletes.
- In daytime, Snoop Dogg romanced viewers of One Life to Live, fo' shizzle. A cameo by the gentleman rapper helped the ABC soap pad its young adult women numbers by 4 percent for the week of May 5.
Overall, CBS won the week in viewers (10.3 million), and preemptively declared itself the like winner of the May sweeps. Fox won the week in 18-to-49-year-olds (4.6 million), and did CBS one better, declaring itself the demo winner of sweepsand the season.
Make that, Fox did CBS two better. It also said it would best CBS as the most watched network of 2007-08, the first such victory for Fox.
In cable, basketball-powered TNT averaged the most prime-time viewers (3.1 million), followed by wrestling-powered USA (2.4 million) and basketball-powered ESPN (2.1 million).
Here's a look at the 10 most-watched broadcast network prime-time shows for the week ended Sunday, according to Nielsen Media Research:
- American Idol (Wednesday), Fox, 24.9 million viewers
- American Idol (Tuesday), Fox, 24.8 million viewers
- Dancing With the Stars (Monday), ABC, 18.5 million viewers
- CSI, CBS, 18.1 million viewers
- Dancing With the Stars (Tuesday), ABC, 17 million viewers
- Desperate Housewives, ABC, 16.8 million viewers
- Grey's Anatomy, ABC, 15.5 million viewers
- House, Fox, 15 million viewers
- NCIS, CBS, 14.9 million viewers
- Without a Trace, CBS, 14.5 million viewers
CSI Dourdan’s Desert Drug Bust
Gary Dourdan should know better than anyone that crime doesn't pay.
Unfortunately, the soon-to-be former CSI star was arrested in Palm Springs early Monday for allegedly possessing a virtual pharmacy's worth of prescription and illegal drugs, among them heroin, cocaine and Ecstasy.
The Palm Springs PD said the 41-year-old actor was busted at approximately 5:12 a.m. when officers approached his vehicle, which was parked on the wrong side of the street at the time.
The officer who spotted the vehicle said the interior light of the car was on and that Dourdan appeared to be asleep behind the wheel.
According to the police report, the arresting officer described Dourdan (identified on his California driver's license as Robert Gary Durdin) as "disoriented" and appearing to be under the influence of either drugs or alcohol.
A search of the car turned up cocaine, heroin, Ecstasy, several as yet unidentified prescription drugs and drug paraphernalia, per the police.
The actor was taken into custody at the scene and booked at the Palm Springs jail for possession of narcotics and possession of dangerous drugs. He was held for several hours and ultimately released at 10:30 a.m. on $5,000 bail.
Earlier this month, CBS and Dourdan confirmed he would not be renewing his contract or returning as the pill-popping Warrick Brown on the smash crime procedural after the show's May 15 finale.