USA TODAY International Edition
CBS settles into fall with ‘Murphy,’ ‘Magnum,’ ‘God’
CBS plans six new fall series, more than any of its rivals, in a schedule that offers fewer comedies and few time slot changes among returning shows.
Two of the “new” series are a revival of Murphy Brown, featuring much of the original cast, and a remake of Hawaii detective series Magnum P.I. starring Jay Hernandez in the role played by Tom Selleck.
In the new version of Murphy, which aired on CBS from 1988 to 1998, the gang, including Candice Bergen, Faith Ford, Joe Regalbuto and Grant Shaud, has moved from FYI to a cable-news morning show, says Thom Sherman, senior executive VP of CBS Entertainment.
Her son, Avery, played by multiple child actors in the original but now played as an adult by Jake McDorman, is “going to be on a competing (and conservative) network in the same time period.” The series will return for 13 episodes on Thursday nights, following The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon and Mom.
Magnum offers a new take on the Navy SEAL-turned-private-detective saga, with a woman (Perdita Weeks) stepping into the role of foil Higgins, played by John Hillerman in the 1980-88 run.
Other new series:
❚ FBI, a drama from Law & Order and NBC’s Chicago franchise creator Dick Wolf, is set in the New York field office and stars Missy Peregrym, Zeeko Zaki and Jeremy Sisto.
❚ God Friended Me is a drama starring Brandon Micheal Hall (The Mayor) as an avowed atheist who receives a Facebook friend request from God and “unwittingly becomes an agent of change in the lives and destinies of others around him,” CBS says.
❚ Comedy Happy Together stars Damon Wayans Jr. and Amber Stevens West as a thirtysomething married couple who get a dose of cool when a young pop star (Felix Mallard) moves in. The series was inspired by producer Ben Winston’s former roommate, Harry Styles.
❚ And The Neighborhood stars Cedric the Entertainer as a skeptical Los Angeles neighbor to an extremely friendly family of Midwest transplants, headed by Max Greenfield (New Girl).
After intense criticism of its track record, the new CBS series have far more diversity in casting.
The biggest (and riskiest) scheduling changes are on Mondays, where the two new comedies open the night and Magnum will lead into Bull, which moves from Tuesdays to make room for FBI. Life in Pieces, Man With a Plan, Instinct and Elementary will sit out the fall, along with The Amazing Race.
Kevin Can Wait, Scorpion and Superior Donuts are among casualties of the current season, which CBS now projects to finish in first place among all viewers despite NBC’s airing of the Winter Olympics and Super Bowl.
Sherman also explained the decision to cancel Kevin Can Wait, starring Kevin James, after two seasons, citing weakened ratings and a loss of creative momentum: “The show made a choice (to kill off James’ TV wife) last season, which we went along with, but the audience didn’t respond.”