CBS Wants More of a Good Thing This Fall

CBS’ fall lineup could include a few series that, in concept at least, look a lot like the most successful of the shows currently on CBS’ schedule, according to an early look at fall development that the network gave advertisers Thursday.

Betting in advance that George Clooney’s April 9 live production of the classic movie “Fail Safe” will be a hit, CBS also announced a live fall airing of the play “On Golden Pond,” starring Julie Andrews.

CBS President Leslie Moonves, unveiling half of the 20 shows CBS is considering for fall, cautioned that this is the time of year when “lots of ideas sound good, good ideas sound great, and great ideas sound too good to be true.”

Moonves added that “it’s still very early in the process.”

Taking a cue from its Tuesday night “Judging Amy” success this season, CBS is looking at two more dramas “about women reinventing themselves,” Moonves said. “Cold Shoulder” would star Kelly McGillis as a disgraced cop trying to work her way back up; “Further Adventures” features Mary Stuart Masterson in her first TV role, as a single mother of two teen boys.

In the “Everybody Loves Raymond” mode, CBS is considering a comedy built around blue-collar stand-up comedian Rocky LaPorte, as a family man. There’s also a one-hour comedy, “Homewood P.I.,” starring Tony Danza as a retired cop who opens a private investigative agency from home.

Among the other dramas in development are a grab bag of ideas, including a remake of “The Fugitive,” starring Tim Daly as the on-the-run doctor falsely accused of killing his wife; “American Family,” which Moonves called the first Latino mainstream network drama; “Hopewell,” about a Manhattan lawyer who moves to a small town for a better life; “Russo,” about a cop in a multiethnic neighborhood; and “The District,” with Craig T. Nelson as Washington’s police commissioner.

On the comedy side, CBS said it is looking at “Mr. New York,” starring stand-up comedian Jim Gaffigan as an Indiana weatherman who moves to New York (David Letterman, anyone?). And comedian Ellen DeGeneres is developing a comedy about a variety show.

In other fall lineup news, Court TV said it will spend $120 million on programming over the next two years, up 20% from last year. Among the new prime-time shows in development for the cable channel’s fall season are “The Wrong Man,” an investigative series that will look at cases of people who may be wrongly imprisoned; “Forensic Files,” about the new science being used to solve crimes; and a series of docudramas hosted by author Dominick Dunne, which Court TV calls “a very personal exploration of how the wealthy and powerful often go free and unpunished.”

The cable network also plans two documentary miniseries, one following a female New Orleans defense attorney and the other, “Brooklyn North Homicide,” about a city homicide squad.