CBS at Press Tour: Life After Grissom
If the season opener of
CSI is any indication- CBS gave critics screeners of the episode this week- William Petersen is going to get quite the emotional workout in his final 10 episodes as a series regular. He gives one of his strongest performances to date as he grapples with the aftermath of the climactic shooting of Warrick (Gary Dourdan) in last season's cliffhanger shocker. The episode also brings Jorja Fox's Sara (looking softer and prettier) back into the picture, at least temporarily.
CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler, kicking off CBS's portion of the fall-season TCA press tour on Friday morning, spent much of her session explaining the new character who will be introduced to eventually take over the team. Described by Tassler as "an outsider coming into the CSI unit not immediately as the boss," he's a doctor and scientist with "an interesting genetic profile that, in certain sort of medical contexts, they've noticed that many times serial killers have that same genetic profile." Tassler says exec producers Carol Mendelsohn and Naren Shankar aren't copying Showtime's
Dexter here; for one thing, he's not symptomatic.
"This gentleman knows this [genetic background] about himself and is sort of on this journey to discover who his true character will ultimately become. Since [
CSI] is rooted in science, they wanted him to have a quality that would really inform his curiosity. He's not only learning what it is to be a CSI, but also a journey of self-discovery." Tassler says the new character, who she promises will be played by "an actor of stature," will give the remaining ensemble a chance to "show parts of their personality that the audiences perhaps haven't seen ever before or at least in a while."
With so much change afoot, Tassler is calling this the "DVR-proof season of
CSI."
In the bigger network picture, CBS is returning to its core strengths- procedurals with a twist, and broad comedies- in its new fall lineup, after a year in which experiments in form like
Viva Laughlin, Cane and
Moonlight failed to survive last season. "Certainly a couple of the [new] shows are more within our wheelhouse. There's no doubt about it," says Tessler, while noting "a marked departure, an evolution in the form in terms of tone, style, sensibility. The characters are a little bit more idiosyncratic," like Simon Baker's charmingly perceptive investigator in
The Mentalist and Rufus Sewell's intense scientific crimebuster in
Eleventh Hour.
CBS, which continues to have great success with traditional sitcoms like
The Big Bang Theory and
Two and a Half Men, is also trying something relatively new on Mondays with the new single-camera comedy
Worst Week, an adaptation of a British comedy about a hapless stooge (affable newcomer Kyle Bornheimer) who wreaks slapstick havoc whenever he tries to impress his pregnant fiance's skeptical parents (including
That '70s Show's hilarious Kurtwood Smith). "[
Worst Week] certainly speaks to a look to the future of comedy at the network," Tassler says.
In other highlights, Tassler did nothing to endear herself to disgruntled
Moonlight fans- as if such a thing were possible- when she addressed that cult vampire drama's cancellation. While saying she loved vampires, as well as witches, werewolves and warlocks, The response to
Moonlight was actually more actor-centric, so I think it certainly measures our decision on the show. Right now, I don't question the choice we made. I'm not getting as much mail, and most of those comments were actor-centric." Which begs the question: Are they interested in being back in business with Alex O'Loughlin? "We'd love to." But don't expect another
Jericho-style resurrection on this front.
Other notes:
Don't look for CBS to repeat last season's strike-induced experiment of repeating
Dexter, or any other Showtime series, on their schedule.
Scrubs' Sarah Chalke will make multiple appearances in
How I Met Your Mother this season. (
Scrubs is expected to wrap production on its upcoming season for ABC in early September, so she'll be available.) But Tassler says, "Right now, I don't think she's the mother."
She's noncommittal about the future of '70s-set summer series
Swingtown, except to say she's "disappointed in the ratings" but "very proud of the show. I love the show."
And how will the networks' biggest comedy hit,
Two and a Half Men, confront the issue that Angus T. Jones isn't getting any younger? "You're going to see Angus is going to be going through typical teen [stuff]. I mean, he's 14. So it opens up a whole new treasure trove of stories. Charlie's got a whole host of issues that he has to deal with in terms of having a teenager in the house."
