12 Jan 2015 9:20 AM PT Updated 11:21 AM PT
Today at the Television Critics Association Winter Tour (TCAs) CBS gave their updates. CBS has given the green-light for a second season each to Scorpion, NCIS: New Orleans and Madam Secretary. All three dramas have done well and CBS placed faith that they will continue to do so for the remainder of their first seasons.
CBS Entertainment Chairman Nina Tassler also announced that, David Letterman’s replacement, Stephen Colbert will debut on The Late Show beginning September 8. Letterman exits the show on May 20th. Tassler said it is likely that it will re-run popular shows during the span between May and September during its time slot. Colbert quipped, “I have nine months to make a show, just like a baby. So first, I should find out how you make a baby.”
Stay tuned, we will bring more CBS updates.
Update #1:
Late, Late Night which saw Craig Ferguson exit in December, will see James Corden take over the desk on March 23rd. Tassler said of Corden, “You knew that you were in the presence of someone a little crazy and someone incredibly talented. To say that we were mesmerized by him is an understatement…you couldn’t take your eyes off him.” Tassler called Corden a mix of Jack Black and Fred Astaire.
Happy Day! Get to know the new host w/ 10 fun facts about :
— CBS Television (@CBS)
Tassler said The McCarthys saw it’s best ratings this past week and certainly will be a contender for next year.
CSI Cyber will focus on what is going on in the world today. It is keeping a pulse on the Sony hack in one of their episodes, for example. “It’s very relevant and topical.” Tassler went on to say that CSI continues to be a strong performer. No decision has been made on whether it is the last season for the 15-season show.
Tassler said that The Odd Couple is “the origin for relationship shows on television.”
“We’re watching an evolution with the way superheroes are portrayed,” said Tassler about Supergirl. Tassler is very excited about Supergirl and gave a shout out to all the powerful women characters. When the question was posed to Tassler about why CBS and not CW, she replied that Supergirl ““embodies so many of the qualities and characteristics of the classic female heroines on CBS.”
About the casting of the lead role, “we’re looking for quality, looking for charisma,” Tassler said after the session. “We are looking for someone who inhabits the freshness of being a woman in today’s challenging climate, someone who can carry this kind of series on her shoulders.”
Asked about the new Criminal Minds spinoff and Tassler responded that “Erica Messer is an extraordinary writer. That’s one of the key differences in the spinoff [responding to questions about the failed previous spin-off of the series]. Messer has been one of the best showrunners in the business and has been part of Criminal Minds since Day 1.”
CBS is trying to keep relevant in fast-paced world where changes are always coming upon us. They continue to experiment with sci-fi formats with Under the Dome and Extant. They look for how to remain relevant for the times, while recognizing their niche. They know they excel in crime dramas, yet still focus on keeping them moving forward with the times.
Tassler talked about the casting changes on Extant, “we are making changes in terms of the mythology of show. “Molly (Halle Berry’s character) is much more proactive after the thereat to her world and the sanctity life family.”
Tassler responded to queries about the cancellation of The Millers, a show she defended last Summer tour, “We are looking for shows that get traction and build, like Mom has done tis season. It was a tough call. We are looking for him [Greg Garcia, the showrunner of The Millers] to develop another hit.”
Tassler went on to reflect CBS’s struggle with comedy beyond the success of Chuck Lorre, “Comedy is hard, but you know what – here’s what we have to realize. There’s so many different ways – traditional, non-traditional ways- to get their comedy appetite fixed. Whether it’s watching niche, online or big broadcast cast hit, viral videos or late night. Comedy is alive and all over everybody’s schedule. It takes a little bit longer for things to build.”
The Dovekeepers Diego Boneta, Kathryn Prescott, Cote De Pablo, Rachel Brosnahan, and Roma Downey
Roma Downey, about Dovekeepers said she “absolutely fell in love with the story. What attracted me to this story was that it had these amazing, courageous, and powerful women.”
Roma continued to state, “All over the world, there are unfortuantely people everywhere being persecuted for their faith and [Dovekeepers] speeks to that. It is a profoundly moving story that has a tragedy to it, of course, but at the heart of it there is a beauty and a hope.”
Diego Boneta enjoyed the location shoot. “Being able to shoot surrounded by history made it feel that much more authentic” when talking about The Dovekeepers.
The Dovekeepers is based on Alice Hoffman’s best seller book about the Siege of Masada, focusing on “four extraordinary women whose lives intersect in a fight for survival. [The siege of Masada in 70 C.E. after Jews were forced out of their homes in Jerusalem by the Romans, many escaped to the caves of Masada.]
Having just returned from a trip to Masada, Tassler was approached by Downey who pitched the tale and Tassler was taken with the story. She liked the sacrificial tale.
Dovekeepers begins airing March 31st.
Behind the scenes at – talking all things
— CSI: Cyber ()
Matthew Perry claims he is more like Oscar, when talking about The Odd Couple, “In real life, I’m much more of an Oscar…it’s been a dream come true.” Whereas Thomas Lennon feels he brought he brought some of himself to the OCD character Felix. Yvette Nicole Brown prasied that “there was really nothing that they tell Thomas Lennon to do that he cannot do well. ” Lennon on the other hand praises the writers saying that “the scripts are so funny that we just try to live up to them.”
The Odd Couple does source material from the Neil Simon play. EP Bob Daily also respects the work that Gary Marshall did with the 1970’s series, stating that Marshall was one of his inspirations and reasons he became a TV writer.
Wendell Pierce, who plays character Teddy in the series, enjoys that The Odd Couple is “playful, it’s improvisational, and fun.”
Trombone Shorty created a theme song for The Odd Couple, rebooting Nel Hefti’s original TheOdd Couple theme.
Behind the scenes at – & chatting before an interview
— The Dovekeepers ()
Overheard backstage at : "I'm on the Internet!!" – Garry Marshall
— The Odd Couple ()
Just hanging & humming theme song at ?
— The Odd Couple ()
CSI Cyber session included Golden Globes winner, Patricia Arquette who had this to say about the technical dialog of the series “It took me a good six episodes to get my mouth around [some of these words].”
Creator of the CSI franchise, Anthony Zuiker promises that CSI Cyber “will provide a level of entertainment and edutainment as well,” speaking of the educational by-product that may come from the series because of all the technical jargon and technology. Zuiker is pleased that he was able to bring back the same team that started it all.
CSI Cyber Consultant Mary Aiken assures “we’re trying to deliver an authentic interpretation of cyber-crime.”