CBS Releases 2020-21 Fall Television Lineup

The cast of The Equalizer

Any other year, CBS’ 2020-21 schedule would be considered very conservative, with three nights left intact and the other three undergoing only minor changes, including adding two new series, drama The Equalizer starring Queen Latifah and Chuck Lorre comedy B Positive, and holding S.W.A.T. for midseason.

But in the year of COVID-19, this could be considered a risky schedule, as all entertainment series in CBS’ fall lineup, except for The Amazing Race installment already in the can, are yet to be filmed with a restart of Hollywood production still in limbo. CBS’ fall schedule is in stark contrast with the other two broadcast lineups announced so far, as both Fox and the CW relied predominantly on already produced content, including acquisitions, for fall, pushing the launch of their regular rosters to January and beyond.

“We don’t view this schedule as risky, we view this schedule as very strong and very proven,” CBS Entertainment President Kelly Kahl told Deadline. “In terms of production, we would say ‘fall’ with quotes; I don’t know if everything would start the third week of September. Yet we are very hopeful that we would get into production at some point this summer, and we would have the majority of our lineup for the fall.”

Here is CBS’ schedule, followed by more insight into what the network’s fall may look like and possible contingency plans, as well as descriptions of CBS’ three new series picked up so far. (The Silence of the Lambs sequel Clarice is held for midseason).

CBS FALL 2020-21 SCHEDULE
(New programs in UPPER CASE)

MONDAY
8-8:30 PM — The Neighborhood
8:30-9 PM — Bob ♥ Abishola
9-10 PM — All Rise
10-11 PM — Bull

TUESDAY
8-9 PM — NCIS
9-10 PM — FBI
10-11 PM — FBI: Most Wanted

WEDNESDAY
8-9 PM — Survivor
9-10 PM — The Amazing Race
10-11 PM — SEAL Team

THURSDAY
8-8:30 PM — Young Sheldon
8:30-9 PM — B POSITIVE (N)
9-9:30 PM — Mom
9:30-10 PM — The Unicorn
10-11 PM — Evil

FRIDAY
8-9 PM — MacGyver
9-10 PM — Magnum P.I.
10-11 PM — Blue Bloods

SATURDAY
8-9 PM — Crimetime Saturday
9-10 PM — Crimetime Saturday
10-11 PM — 48 Hours

SUNDAY
7-8 PM — 60 Minutes
8-9 PM — THE EQUALIZER
9-10 PM — NCIS: Los Angeles
10-11 PM — NCIS: New Orleans

  

“I think the main thing is incredible stability,” Kahl said of CBS’ 2020-21 schedule, whose only moves include The Equalizer replacing canceled God Friended Me on Sunday; Lorre and Marco Pennette’s B Positive getting the hammock 8:30 PM slot between Lorre’s two Thursday series, Young Sheldon and Mom, with The Unicorn moving to 9:30 PM; and Wednesday reverting to the late spring 2018-19 lineup of Survivor, The Amazing Race and SEAL Team, temporarily displacing S.W.A.T.

"Our Monday night, our Tuesday night, Wednesday night, Friday night, Sunday night are only down single digits (in total viewers this season), which in this environment is pretty good,” Kahl said about the rationale behind the very few changes. “The biggest thing we had to deal with was simply the loss of The Big Bang Theory, which was a hard show to replace, but the rest of the lineup performed incredibly well and is incredibly resilient.”

The departure of Big Bang made for steeper year-over-year viewership declines on Thursday, so “trying to strengthen Thursday again this year, that is a priority for us,” Kahl said.

He suggested that the fall 2020 rollout may be fluid but expressed confidence that, with some adjustments, including possible shorter fall runs, CBS’ entertainment programs could deliver originals in the fourth quarter.

“I think it’s unrealistic to think that there will be one week when everything all of a sudden is ready, and I don’t think that it also needs to be the case,” Kahl said. “Even if shows start (production) a little later in the summer than usual, it doesn’t mean that the whole schedule is pushed back by that same amount of time. Shows can turn around pretty quickly. What it might mean is, instead of 10 episodes in the fourth quarter, you get 8, but shows can certainly make late September, October launch assuming that they get into production at some point even later in the summer.”

The broadcast networks’ fall 2020 schedule already was expected to be disrupted. “Being a presidential election year, there are a lot of breaks built into the schedule for election night, for debates. That would give these shows some break, it’s not like they need to come on the air and necessarily be on 10 weeks in a row,” Kahl said. “We are hopeful we can get into production, and we are hopeful we can put this fall schedule on the air pretty close to as is.”

If that doesn’t happen as hoped, then CBS has backup plans.

CBS is currently mining the library of new corporate sibling Paramount Pictures for blockbusters to anchor its recently resurrected Sunday movie night, which has done well for the network.

Additionally, CBS is yet to schedule Season 2 of summer adventure drama series Blood & Treasure, with Kahl indicating that it may be held as a contingency for fall. “We are simply keeping our options open,” he said, not elaborating whether acquisitions of foreign English-language series is also on the table.

Also providing flexibility later in the season will be S.W.A.T., the only returning CBS series not to land on the fall schedule.

The 2019-20 season marked the end of several long-running CBS drama series, including Criminal Minds, Hawaii Five-0, and Madam Secretary. Because of the uncertainty surrounding Hollywood production, the network brass is nowhere near discussing possible endgames for any veteran series next season, Kahl said.

The 2019-20 season was also marked by solid new series launches with five out of CBS’ eight freshman scripted series making it to Season 2. Kahl is confident the 2020-21 lineup will perform as well.

CBS is unveiling its 2020-21 schedule to advertisers in a video upfront presentation this afternoon. More new series for midseason would likely be added later this summer as the network makes more decisions on its 2020 pilots, grounded by the pandemic.

**This article is courtesy of Deadline.com 

Blige's Body Cam Single "Can't Be Life" Drops

Mary J. Blige dropped a new single entitled “Can’t Be Life” today in conjunction with the new film, Body Cam that debuted this week on Digital platforms.  The song will be available on Apple Music and Spotify and is featured over the end credits of the film.

The song reunites Blige with longtime collaborators Chucky Thompson (My Life, Mary, The Breakthrough), Denise Rich (“Don’t Waste Your Time” duet w/Aretha Franklin from Mary) and Bruce Miller (No More Drama, Love & Life), and brings in longtime songwriting vets Stacy Barthe (Beyonce, Nipsey Hussle, Rihanna), Jimmy Cozier (Janet Jackson, Chris Brown, Alicia Keys) and Aaron Phillips (P!nk, Demi Lovato, Kelly Price). “Can’t Be Life” is an original song for the film Body Cam and speaks candidly to the current times.

An intense action thriller, Body Cam stars Blige, Nat Wolff (Semper Fi), David Zayas (“Dexter”), and Anika Noni Rose (“Bates Motel”) and is directed by Malik Vitthal whose directorial debut, Imperial Dreams, won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival.

When a routine traffic stop results in the unexplained, grisly death of her colleague, a cop (Blige) realizes footage of the incident will play for her eyes only. As the attacks mount, she races to understand the supernatural force behind them.

Body Cam is available to purchase now on Digital platforms including Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, Microsoft Movies & TV, Sony PlayStation Video, FandangoNOW and more.

“Can’t Be Life” was written by Mary J Blige, Denise Rich, Chucky Thompson, Stacy Barthe, Aaron Philips, and Jimmy Cozier.  Production by Chucky Thompson, @chucklife 365 music & Denise Rich, Denise Rich Songs.  Executive producers Mary J Blige for Mary Jane Productions, Inc, Denise Rich for Denise Rich Songs. Co-executive producers Bruce Miller for Blue Light Media, Blossette Kitson for Kitson Entertainment Group, Leyla Kuday for Denise Rich Songs.  Mixed by Serge “Sergeical” Tsai at Platinum Sound Studios.

John David Washington Stars In Nolan's 'TENET'

The highly-anticipated action thriller from Christopher Nolan, TENET, starring Golden Globe nominee John David Washington who debuted the trailer on Fortnite today, is out in theaters July 17.

Washington is the new protagonist in Christopher Nolan’s original sci-fi action spectacle “TENET.” Armed with only one word—Tenet—and fighting for the survival of the entire world, the protagonist journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real-time. Not time travel.  Inversion. 

"The Good Fight' Gets CBS All Access Order

CBS All Access today announced the season five order of its hit original series THE GOOD FIGHT. The fourth season of THE GOOD FIGHT is currently underway, with new episodes dropping weekly on Thursdays exclusively on CBS All Access. Due to the ongoing halt in production since early March, season four of THE GOOD FIGHT will conclude with episode seven on Thursday, May 28.

“THE GOOD FIGHT remains one of the most beloved and critically acclaimed original series on CBS All Access, and we’ve seen a tremendous response from fans this season,” said Julie McNamara, Executive Vice President and Head of Programming, CBS All Access. “While we all had hoped to provide audiences with a 10-episode fourth season, we, among many others, have had to adapt due to the pandemic. Although it’s a shortened season, the incredible cast and crew, helmed by the incomparable Robert and Michelle King, have produced a phenomenal seven episodes. We can’t wait for viewers to see the remainder of the season and are excited to bring subscribers even more of the timely, gripping storylines the Kings bring to life next in season five.”

“It's been weird to not be able to finish the fourth season,” said Robert and Michelle King. “It left the story in even more absurd a place than usual. So we're thrilled that CBS All Access wants to bring THE GOOD FIGHT back for an additional season, and we know what story we're planning to tell. It's like getting the answers to the SAT ahead of time.” 

Season four of THE GOOD FIGHT finds Reddick, Boseman & Lockhart navigating a very different landscape. After they lost their biggest client, Chumhum and their founding partner’s name was tarnished, Reddick, Boseman & Lockhart were forced to accept an offer by a huge multi-national law firm, STR Laurie, to become a small subsidiary. Suddenly, all of their decisions can be second-guessed by the giant firm that is literally on top of them. While STR Laurie initially seems like benevolent overlords, we find Diane Lockhart and her colleagues chafing at their loss of independence while simultaneously investigating the emergence of a mysterious “Memo 618.”

The season four cast of THE GOOD FIGHT includes Christine Baranski, Cush Jumbo, Sarah Steele, Nyambi Nyambi, Michael Boatman, Zach Grenier, John Larroquette, Audra McDonald, and Delroy Lindo. Hugh Dancy also joined season four in a recurring role.

Robert and Michelle King serve as showrunners and executive producers of the series, which they co-created with Phil Alden Robinson. Ridley Scott, David W. Zucker, Brooke Kennedy, Liz Glotzer, William Finkelstein, and Jonathan Tolins also serve as executive producers. The series is produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Scott Free Productions and King Size Productions. The series is distributed worldwide by the ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group.

CBS All Access’ growing slate of original series currently includes THE GOOD FIGHT, NO ACTIVITY, THE TWILIGHT ZONE, WHY WOMEN KILL, INTERROGATION, and TOONING OUT THE NEWS. CBS All Access’ slate of original series will continue to expand with THE STAND, THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH, THE UNTITLED RICHARD LINKLATER PROJECT and THE HARPER HOUSE, with additional programming to be announced. CBS All Access is also the exclusive domestic home to STAR TREK: DISCOVERY, STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS and STAR TREK: PICARD.

The USA Network Cancels Two High-Profile Series

The USA Network drama series The Purge which was on for two seasons and Treadstone, one for one, has been canceled. Both high-profile series were based on popular Universal movie franchises, The Purge, and Bourne, respectively. 

Both series fell victim to low viewership. After one season, The Purge was down 50%. 

USA, which also canceled to original drama series Dare Me, is shifting to more live and unscripted programming and will decrease its ongoing script series.

This is a programming strategy followed by a number of basic cable networks, including Turner, A+E and ViacomCBS nets, as it is becoming increasingly challenging for premium scripted series to be sustained by the linear ad-supported cable business model.

USA, whose flagship series are WWE Raw and Chrisley Knows Best, has been beefing up its unscripted slate, recently adding reboots of Temptation Island and The Biggest Loser. The two upcoming scripted programs on the network’s roster are both event-style, the second installment of anthology Dirty John, starring Christian Slater and Amanda Peet, and limited series Evel headline by Milo Ventimiglia.

Written by Tim Kring, Treadstone explored the origin story and present-day actions of a CIA black ops program known as Operation Treadstone — a covert program that uses behavior-modification protocol to turn recruits into nearly superhuman assassins. The first season follows sleeper agents across the globe as they’re mysteriously “awakened” to resume their deadly missions.

Kring executive produced with Ramin Bahrani, who directed the pilot. Ben Smith, Jeffrey Weiner, Dan Friedkin, Bradley Thomas, and Justin Levy also executive produced.

Information obtained from Deadline.

The Robey Theatre Company Receives Grant Award

The California Arts Council announced a grant award of $18,000 to The Robey Theatre Company to assist with its Community Creatives project.

A new play is being commissioned from the critically-acclaimed playwright Levy Lee Simon (whose plays The Magnificent Dunbar Hotel and the For the Love of Freedom trilogy received Critics Choice designations from the Los Angeles Times). The play is being crafted with input from members of the community in regards to its themes and content and will constitute a true collaboration with the community.

The Robey Theatre Company’s Producing Artistic Director and Co-Founder Ben Guillory states, "Accomplishing Robey's mission and continuing to make significant contributions to the Los Angeles community especially at this time would not be possible without the ongoing support of the California Arts  Council. Thank you, CAC for your work."

The Robey Theatre Company was featured as part of a larger announcement from the California Arts Council of more than 1,500 grants awarded to nonprofit organizations and units of government throughout the state for their work in support of the agency’s mission to strengthen arts, culture, and creative expression as the tools to cultivate a better California for all. The investment of nearly $30 million marks a more than $5 million increase over the previous fiscal year and the largest in California Arts Council history.

Organizations were awarded grants across 15 different program areas addressing access, equity, and inclusion; community vibrancy; and arts learning and engagement; and directly benefiting our state's communities, with youth, veterans, returned citizens, and California's historically marginalized communities key among them. Successful projects aligned closely with the agency's vision of a California where all people flourish with universal access to and participation in the arts.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the California Arts Council recognizes that some grantees may need to postpone, modify, or cancel their planned activities supported by CAC funds, due to state and local public health guidelines. The state arts agency is prioritizing flexibility in addressing these changes and supporting appropriate solutions for grantees.

"Creativity sits at the very heart of our identity as Californians and as a people. In this unprecedented moment, the need to understand, endure, and transcend our lived experiences through arts and culture is all the more relevant for each of us,” said Nashormeh Lindo, Chair of the California Arts Council. “The California Arts Council is proud to be able to offer more support through our grant programs than ever before, at a time when our communities’ need is perhaps greater than ever before. These grants will support immediate and lasting community impact by investing in arts businesses and cultural workers across the state.”