CBS doesn't change much

Riding a wave of success, CBS took a relatively conservative approach to its fall schedule, adding just four new shows.

But the network is taking chances, including moving one of its biggest hits — "Without a Trace" — from Thursdays to Sundays. CBS has dominated Thursdays, and "Trace" became the first show to beat up "ER" in the ratings. But the network is establishing a new crime-drama block on Sundays and is using the No. 6 show on TV as a linchpin of that plan.

CBS' long-anticipated abandonment of its Sunday movie marks the end of an era. It's the first time since 1963 that no broadcast network has a Sunday movie on its schedule and the first time since 1960 that no broadcast network has had a regularly scheduled movie anywhere on its schedule.

As a result of its ongoing ratings success — which includes renewing six series that premiered this season ("How I Met Your Mother," "New Adventures of Old Christine," "The Unit," "Criminal Minds," "Ghost Whisperer" and "Close to Home") — CBS made only a few minor changes other than the big moves on Sunday and Thursday.

THE NEW COMEDY is:

The Class (Mondays, 7:30 p.m.), from the co-creator of "Friends" and a producer of "Mad About You," is about a group of eight twentysomethings who met in third grade and are still "inextricably bound together," according to CBS.

THE NEW DRAMAS are:

Smith (Tuesdays, 9 p.m.) stars Ray Liotta as a family man who's really a criminal mastermind — he and his team pull off "intricate and ingenious high-stakes heists." Virginia Madsen also stars. From the producer of "ER."

Jericho (Wednesdays, 7 p.m.) is the name of a small Kansas town where residents see a nuclear mushroom cloud on the horizon are cut off from everyone and everything and wonder if they're the only people left on Earth.

Shark (Thursdays, 9 p.m.) stars James Wood as a cut-throat defense attorney who, "after a shocking outcome in one of his cases and a personal epiphany," switches sides and becomes a prosecutor. Jeri Ryan ("Voyager") also stars; Spike Lee directed the pilot.

MIDSEASON REPLACEMENTS include the long-running King of Queens, which didn't make the fall schedule.

Other replacements waiting in the wings include 3 LBS, a drama about New York neurosurgeons that stars Stanley Tucci; Waterfront, a drama about a colorful mayor that stars Joe Pantoliano; and Rules of Engagement, a comedy about two couples and a single guy that stars Patrick Warburton.

CANCELED SHOWS include "Courting Alex," "Love Monkey," "Out of Practice," "Still Standing," "Threshhold" and "Yes, Dear."

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E-mail: pierce@desnews.com