CBS's fall schedule takes a few risks

CBS, which became "America's most-watched network" by airing umpteen procedural crime dramas, hasn't added a single one to its fall schedule.

Well, unless you count the one in which the detective is a vampire.

Instead, the network of all the "CSI" shows is adding a musical, a family drama populated by Hispanics, a reality show with kids, a midseason show about wife-swappers and that vampire show, among others.

"We approached our development this year with a specific goal in mind — to be daring and different," said CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler as she introduced the new slate to advertisers in New York. "The fall and midseason series we have selected offered creativity and variety with great potential to excite and surprise television audiences everywhere."

Hey, for CBS it's "daring and different" not to add any shows that feature regular autopsies.

Not that CBS is going away from what has worked so well in recent years. All three "CSI" series were renewed, as were four of the five other procedural crime dramas already on the schedule.

And with success comes stability. The network is returning 17 shows to its fall schedule (with two more waiting in the wings as midseason replacement shows). A whopping 75 percent of CBS's fall schedule features returning shows in exactly the same time periods they occupy this season.

If you count "Without a Trace," which is returning to the Thursday-at-9 p.m. time slot it occupied for four seasons (2002-2006), that number rises to 80 percent.

NEW SHOWS on CBS this fall are:

Viva Laughlin (Sundays, 7 p.m.) is a mystery/drama/musical about a gambler (Lloyd Owen) who is determined to open a casino in Laughlin, Nev., but his plans are complicated when his partner is murdered. Based on the British series "Viva Blackpool," each episode contains several musical numbers with cast members singing and dancing to classic tunes. Hugh Jackman is an executive producer and guest stars in the series.

The Big Bang Theory (Mondays, 7:30 p.m.), a sitcom about four geniuses/nerds (Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar) and their sexy new neighbor (Kaley Cuoco). From the creator/executive producer of "Two and a Half Men."

Cane (Tuesdays, 9 p.m.) is, according to CBS, "epic drama about the external rivalries and internal power struggles of a large Cuban-American family running an immensely successful rum and sugar business in South Florida." The large cast includes Jimmy Smits, Hector Elizondo, Nestor Carbonell, Paola Turbay, Eddie Matos, Rita Moreno, Michael Trevino, Sam Carman Alona Tal and Polly Walker.