CBS unveiled its full slate of original programming for the 2022-2023 season coming off of 14 consecutive seasons as the most-watched broadcaster. This time around, the network is leaning more heavily on its dramas while relying on its heavy hitters to toe the line and keep the laughs coming in a smaller time slot. To make up for the greater space, three of the broadcaster's new shows this season are dramas headlined by So Help Me Todd and Fire Country.
So Help Me Todd kicks off the series of new dramas on Thursday nights with Academy Award winner Marcia Gay Harden and Skylar Astin starring. The series centers on Margaret Wright (Harden) and her scrappy son Todd (Astin), two distinctly different members of an affluent family. Margaret is a perfectionist lawyer who doesn't settle for anything less than excellence and strict adherence to the law while Todd is a more laid-back yet clever former investigator who's willing to bend the rules to solve cases and gets out of jams through pure ingenuity. The two are constantly at odds, but begin to work together after Margaret was impressed by Todd's cleverness and tech-savvy. Madeline Wise, Tristen J. Winger, Inga Schlingmann, and Rosa Arredondo also star. It airs from 9 to 10 p.m., taking up what used to be the second hour of Thursday night comedy.
Following up is Fire Country, which stars SEAL Team's Max Theriot as a convict looking to redeem himself and get early release through the prison release firefighter program. There, he and other inmates team up with veteran firefighters to tackle dangerous wildfires across Northern California fire country. In a cruel twist, he gets sent back to his hometown where his past mistakes still haunt him. The show is inspired partially by Theriot's own experiences growing up in the area the show's set in. He executive produces and stars alongside Billy Burke, Kevin Alejandro, Diane Farr, Stephanie Arcila, Jordan Calloway, and Jules Latimer. Fire Country will air on Fridays from 9 to 10 p.m. right before Tom Selleck's Blue Bloods closes out the night.
Rounding out the new dramas is the gritty series East New York centering on New York's 74th precinct and the police that work there. Amanda Warren plays the police department's newly promoted boss Deputy Inspector Regina Haywood who's trying to win over her new colleagues after they cast doubt on her rise to the top. With the precinct in the midst of massive changes and social upheaval, Haywood wants to do everything in her power to not only serve her local community but make the department a respected part of it. Joining Warren is a talented cast including Emmy winner Jimmy Smits, Tony winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Kevin Rankin, Richard Kind, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Lavel Schley, and Olivia Luccardi. The series slots in from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays, in between Queen Latifa's The Equalizer and Season 14 of NCIS: Los Angeles.
One new unscripted series will join the fray in the fall with The Real Love Boat, which makes the concept of the classic 1976 sitcom into a reality by gathering singles to mingle on a Mediterranean cruise airing on Wednesdays from 10 to 11 p.m. Some previously announced unscripted series both new and old will make their way to the network including the musical spectacle/game show Superfan, the RuPaul Charles-hosted game show Lingo, Tough As Nails, and Secret Celebrity Renovation. At midseason, the network will also begin airing the True Lies reboot inspired by James Cameron's film of the same name.
In terms of returning shows, plenty of favorites will be back on the air for another go-around. New episodes of Bob Hearts Abishola and The Neighborhood on Mondays with Young Sheldon and the sophomore outing of Ghosts on Thursdays make up the comedy slate for the season. Tuesday night is FBI night with the original series plus FBI: International and FBI: Most Wanted all returning with NCIS: Hawai'i, CSI: Vegas, S.W.A.T., and true crime docuseries 48 Hours rounding out the dramas. Other long-running CBS programs, including The Amazing Race, Survivor, and 60 Minutes will also return. As usual, CBS will ring in the holidays with some new movies including When Christmas Was Young, Fit for Christmas, and Must Love Christmas. Rounding out all the content is the network's usual special programming consisting of The Grammys, The CMT Music Awards, NFL playoffs, and much more.
"CBS had another incredible season. In addition to repeating as America’s most-watched network, we launched several breakout hits, not to mention winning and improving many time periods across our schedule,” said Kelly Kahl, president of CBS Entertainment. “For the new season, we once again looked for ways to strengthen our position with new, compelling series, scheduling them strategically to guarantee sampling and maximize consistency and flow. We believe these great new shows, returning hits and our robust slate of event programming positions us for another winning year."
All of CBS' programming will be available to stream live for Paramount+ subscribers and on-demand the next day for essential-tier subscribers.