Flush with the success of monster hit "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS will add four new dramas to its schedule in the fall (of five total dramas) and only two comedies. The network is making changes on six nights, leaving only Tuesdays intact.
And one of the bigger surprises is a change CBS didn't make — it didn't cancel the made-in-Utah series "Touched by an Angel," which will return for its ninth season in the fall. (The network decided to live with its low ratings and poor demographics on viewer-starved Saturday nights — plus CBS owns "Touched" and the Pax network has a contract to buy every episode produced.)
CBS is obviously looking to replicate the success of "CSI." Not only has it picked up the spinoff, "CSI: Miami," but it ordered a similar series ("RHD/LA") from the "CSI" producers. (Those three shows plus the returning "Amazing Race" add up to four hours of CBS's primetime schedule produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.)
CBS's new dramas are:
CSI: Miami (Mondays, 9 p.m.) is, of course, a spinoff of the original "CSI." David Caruso ("NYPD Blue"), Emily Procter ("West Wing"), Khandi Alexander ("NewsRadio") and Adam Rodriguez ("Brooklyn South") star.
Presidio Med (Wednesdays, 9 p.m.) is an ensemble drama about doctors who run a "tight-knit medical group" where they "set bureaucracy aside and put patients first." The cast includes Blythe Danner, Dana Delany, Anna Deavere Smith and Oded Fehr. From the producers of "ER" and "The West Wing."
Without a Trace (Thursdays, 9 p.m.) is a "procedural drama" about the FBI's Missing Persons Squad. The cast includes Anthony LaPaglia, Poppy Montgomery and Eric Close. From the producers of "CSI."
Hack (Fridays, 8 p.m.) is about a disgraced cop-turned-taxi driver (David Morse of "St. Elsewhere") who "seeks redemption for a fall from grace by fighting for and righting the wrongs of others." Andre Braugher ("Homicide") also stars as the hero's former partner. Executive producers include "Spider-Man" screenwriter David Koepp.
RHD/LA (Fridays, 9 p.m.) is an ensemble cop drama about the Robbery and Homicide Division of the LAPD. Tom Sizemore heads the cast.
CBS's new comedies are:
Still Standing (Mondays, 8:30 p.m.) is about a blue-collar couple (Mark Addy and Jami Gertz) raising three kids in Chicago. From the producers of "Yes, Dear."
Bram and Alice (Sundays, 7 p.m.) is about the shaky relationship between "an incorrigible scoundrel of a novelist (Alfred Molina) and his devoted fan (Traylor Howard of "Two Guys and a Girl") — who suddenly learn they are father and daughter." From the former producers of "Frasier."
CBS has also ordered Queens Supreme, an hourlong "seriocomic" courtroom drama, as a midseason replacement show. Oliver Platt, Robert Loggia and Annabelle Sciorra star. From Julia Roberts' production company; Tim Robbins directed the pilot. And while this spring's midseason show "Baby Bob" didn't get a spot on the fall schedule, more episodes have been ordered as a back-up.
Among the shows the network axed are "Family Law," "The Education of Max Bickford," "That's Life," "First Monday," "The Ellen Show" and "Wolf Lake."
E-mail: pierce@desnews.com