CBS picks up ‘NCIS’ spinoff, ‘Madam Secretary,’ ‘Odd Couple’ remake

CBS on Friday picked up seven new shows for series in the 2014-15 TV season, including another spinoff of its smash “NCIS” franchise, according to a source close to the network.

“NCIS: New Orleans” leads the drama pack, which was expected due to a two-part episode arc of CBS’ No. 1 crime procedural, “NCIS,” being set in New Orleans earlier this spring with Scott Bakula in the lead role.

The network is also picking up “Madam Secretary,” with Tea Leoni returning to TV as a diplomat that many consider modeled on Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Kevin Willamson is the writer-producer behind “Stalker,” an L.A. crime drama starring Maggie Q and Dylan McDermott. There’s also “Scorpion,” an espionage caper about an underground network of geniuses.

CBS had already announced that it was ordering “Battle Creek,” the much-anticipated detective drama from “Breaking Bad” creator Vince Gilligan, straight to series.

Leading the comedy roster is “The Odd Couple,” former “Friends” star Matthew Perry’s reboot of the Neil Simon classic, which started as a Broadway hit and later was a 1970s TV staple with Tony Randall and Jack Klugman as unlikely roommates.

CBS also grabbed “The McCarthys,” a family drama starring Tyler Ritter (son of TV’s late John Ritter) as a gay man much put upon by his extended Irish family.

It remains unclear which of these shows will be earmarked for fall or midseason, but CBS, like its rival broadcasters, is preparing to announce its full schedule next week in New York.