"Brother" a keeper on CBS midseason schedule

By Nellie Andreeva

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - CBS' strike-affected midseason lineup will include three hours of the first-ever in-season "Big Brother," the return of "The New Adventures of Old Christine," "Jericho" and "Power of 10," and the debut of the Jeffrey Tambor comedy "The Captain."

Taking a break on Mondays are the promising freshman comedy "The Big Bang Theory" and the sophomore comedy "Rules of Engagement," which wrapped production early because of the Hollywood writers strike, which is now in its fifth week with no resolution in sight.

The Julia Louis-Dreyfus comedy "Old Christine" will move into its original Monday 9:30 p.m. slot, following "Two and a Half Men," while "Captain" will follow "How I Met Your Mother" at 8:30 p.m. Tambor, recently seen in the short-lived sitcom "Twenty Good Years," plays a retired writer.

Also benched are two Tuesday dramas: the low-rated Jimmy Smits freshman "Cane" and the military saga "The Unit," which had struggled at 9 p.m. against Fox's "House." They will be replaced by "Big Brother" and "Jericho," which both will premiere February 12.

The Tuesday installment of "Big Brother" will be joined by a Wednesday edition at 8 p.m., which debuts February 13, and a Sunday one at 8 p.m., which launches February 17.

That is close to the reality show's summer scheduling pattern, when it airs Tuesday at 9 p.m., Thursday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 8 p.m.

In-season, the Thursday 8 p.m. time period belongs to "Survivor," whose 16th installment premieres February 7.

In the Wednesday 8 p.m. hour now occupied by "Kid Nation," "Big Brother" will succeed the quiz show "Power of 10," which will run for six weeks beginning January 2.

Remaining intact are CBS' Thursday and Friday lineups, leaving "Moonlight" as the network's only freshman series to make it to midseason. Given the poor repeatability of serialized dramas, CBS is sticking with procedurals for the second half of the season, when all scripted series will switch to reruns if the writers are still out.

Additionally, the six-hour miniseries "Comanche Moon" will air from 9-11 p.m. on Sunday, January 13, Tuesday, January 15 and Wednesday, January 16.

Two installments of "48 Hours Mystery" will air in the Tuesday 10 p.m. hour January 22 and January 29.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter