Passwords, swingers and dogs mark CBS’ summer schedule
Like many of its network companions, CBS is using the lazy days of summer to roll out a schedule light on original scripted fare and heavy on unscripted programming. Unlike many of its network companions, CBS is going a different route with some of its original material.
Out of the two original dramas Swingtown is probably the one readers of TV will remember as it was introduced to us during the network’s upfronts last year. The show will cover the social and sexual revolutions of the 1970s — a time when gas was in short supply, inflation was skyrocketing, and the world was in political upheaval. You know, nothing like it is now in the 2000s. The other scripted show will be Flashpoint. This cop drama will follow the adventures of SRU, a task force that is sent out to diffuse emergency situations.
On the reality side, two new shows will be joining veteran(!) Big Brother, now in its 10th season. One of them, Mark Burnett’s Jingles, we have already mentioned on TV. To summarize, the show will feature a competition where contestants have to create commercial jingles for various products. The other new unscripted series will be Greatest American Dog. This show is similar to the gazillion other reality shows out there: dogs and their owners live together with other dogs and their owners and compete to crown America’s next top dog. Look for some blood to be shed on this show as the owners try to get the upper hand by training their dogs to kill at a moment’s notice.
The final show to premiere this summer on CBS is the revival of a classic game show that premiered on the network 47 years ago. Million Dollar Password, hosted by Energizer bunny Regis Philbin, will include modernized elements of the original show, as well as those from Password Plus and Super Password. The end game this time around will be for a top payoff of one million dollars which, if things go the way they are in the economy, will pay for a tank of gas or two.
In addition to these on-going series, CBS will roll out two mixed martial arts specials in May and July (entitled CBS EliteXC Saturday Night Fights) and a new American Film Institute special that will focus on the top 10 movies from the top 10 genres. Hm, I wonder if Satanic Clown Porn Humor is one of those genres.
CBS starts to outsource writing
When the WGA Strike originally started, I recall someone presenting the solution to me that the networks could import shows from other countries. Well, it looks like CBS is doing just that.
CBS has teamed with Canada’s CTV to produce a police drama called Flashpoint. Mind you, this is far from the first time an American company has partnered with a production company from another country. HBO and the BBC have several shows they have co-produced, including Extras.
The difference with Flashpoint is that its the first scripted series to be ordered by a network since the writers’ strike began. CBS has given assurances that this is not intended to be strike-related programming and the 13 episodes of the series would likely air in May or June. It will be shown simultaneously on CBS and CTV.
While this is a method of getting scripted shows without writers, there is a whole new level of corporate and union politics in doing this. First, there are now two sets of producers fighting over the show with different values and ideas. Second, I don’t think American actors would be too keen on having the next generation of American television stars being Canadian (William Shatner being the exception, of course). Most likely this is filler until the strike is settled. What do you think?