Networks Fine Tune Second Half of Season
As November sweeps end and the holiday lull sets in, the networks have begun modifying their line-ups for the second half of the season.
ABC
Nathan Fillion’s Castle will arrive on March 9 with his crime novelist character coming to the aid of Manhattan’s finest when a copycat uses his novels as inspiration. It’ll lead into the spring season of Dancing with the Stars meaning it will be heavily promoted and sampled.
The revamp of Rob Thomas’ Cupid arrives March 24 with Bobby Cannavale and The Spirit’s Sarah Paulson in the leads.
Meantime, Life on Mars takes over the Wednesday at 10 spot as previously reported but when its season ends; it will be replaced with The Unusuals as of April 8. The crime series stars Amber Tamblyn (Joan of Arcadia) as a cop in the homicide division.
CBS
The serial murder mystery Harper’s Island is getting an April 9 debut and will run for consecutive weeks without repeat until the thirteen episode event winds up on July 2, well after the season officially ends. It takes the 10 p.m. slot, following Eleventh Hour. The Jerry Bruckheimer series just had five more episodes order, a sure sign of support from the network.
Variety noted, “The solution was to premiere Harper’s Island late in the season but give it a big push during CBS’ NCAA March Madness coverage. Harper’s also will benefit from several original, season-ending CSI episodes before it goes out on its own in the warm months.”
Harper’s Island is about a group of family and friends who travel to a secluded island for a destination wedding. They’ve come to laugh… to love… and, though they don’t know it… to die. As the wedding festivities begin, friendships are tested and secrets exposed as a murderer claims victims, one by one, transforming the wedding week of fun and celebration into a terrifying struggle for survival. In every episode, someone is killed and every person is a suspect, from the wedding party to the island locals. By the end of the 13 episodes, all questions will be answered, the killer will be revealed and only a few will survive.
Their crime series Flashpoint, starring Enrico Colantoni, Hugh Dillon, Amy Jo Johnson, David Paetkau, Michael Cram, Sergio Di Zio, Ruth Marshall and Mark Taylor, has posted decent enough ratings in the Saturday death slot that it moves to Friday nights on January 9, running behind the Ghost Whisperer at 9 p.m.
CW
Reaper, expected far sooner, will finally return to the schedule on March 17 at 9 p.m. It has a thirteen episode order and will run right through the spring.
FOX
They previously announced their plans, notably the Friday night pairing of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Dollhouse as of February 13.
NBC
The peacock network has not made any significant changes as yet although several moves are planned once January winds down.