CBS makes a surprise choice for the post-Super Bowl spot
One of the most coveted parcels in prime time real estate is the hour after the broadcast of the Super Bowl. In 2010, CBS has the big game on Sunday, February 7, and after the pads pop and the Vince Lombardi trophy is hoisted, the program that the Tiffany network will air is not one of the usual suspects. The slot won't be used to pump up the next edition of Survivor, as many experts guessed. It also won't be used to reinforce the success of sophomore drama The Mentalist, nor will the space be handed over to The Big Bang Theory for a one-hour stretched out sitcom episode. And the network isn't going to pump up a slipping series like CSI, which isn't getting the gaudy numbers it did in the William Peterson days. So, what will they run? Follow me after the jump to find out -- and consider this a SPOILER ALERT.
The answer is CBS will run Undercover Boss after Super Bowl XLIV. Now, before you start squawking, let me tell you why this is a smart move. First of all, I've seen the pilot for Undercover Boss. It's a good show. The premise is simple: take a top executive, the CEO of a company, and put him/her into their work force to experience what it's like to be an employee and make sure he/she goes through all the different layers.
Like I said, I watched the pilot and I thought it worked very well. Putting Undercover Boss on after the Super Bowl ensures that a huge audience is going to sample it. It ensures that when Undercover Boss is slated for broadcast on February 14 -- without a football lead-in -- it will probably do well.
The premiere episode after the Super Bowl will be the show I saw: Larry O'Donnell, president and COO of Waste Management, going to work at a recycling center, cleaning port-a-johns and other fun, garbage jobs. Undercover Boss will run at 9 p.m. Sundays in league with the next The Amazing Race -- at 8 p.m. -- and followed by Cold Case at 10 p.m.
By the way, the last time a network used the post-Supe spot for a new show was Fox. They introduced American Dad in 2005, but it had an episode of The Simpsons to share the hour. In 1995, ABC used the entire hour after the game to air Extreme.
A couple of other bits of news from CBS:
• The next Survivor will be a Heroes vs. Villains all-star edition. Survivor premieres Thursday, February 11, in a two-hour special.
• The current Survivor slot, Thursday at 8 p.m., will be used for a new Jeff Probst and Mark Burnett reality show, Live for the Moment. In the show, a terminally ill person takes an adventure of a lifetime. It debuts on January 28 as a stand alone special.
• Surviving Survivor (working title) will air on February 4, a 10th anniversary hour with the best of Survivor from the last decade.

13 Comments