That was fast. If this were a newspaper, the ink would barely be dry on my previous post about the dismal ratings for The Ex List. Now, the die has been cast: CBS has canceled The Ex List.

This Friday's show will be the end of the run. The four remaining shows in the can may be run off some time in the future, but more than likely they won't. For the immediate future, reruns of NCIS will fill the Friday 9 p.m. slot.

The Ex List is the first hour-long drama to be dumped this season. It's a sad commentary on CBS that they are so challenged when it comes to developing TV dramas that don't involve criminal activities.

As Jason wrote the other day, this has been a strange TV season thus far, with only two shows having been given the pink slip. That said, I think CBS's The Ex List is not long for this world. There are a couple of really good reasons I say this, and just so you know, I'm not wishing for its demise. I can just read the handwriting on the wall.

The Nielsen ratings from last Friday show that the shows around The Ex List -- Ghost Whisperer and Numb3rs -- posted their highest ratings of the season to date. Nearly 10 million viewers watched the Jennifer Love Hewitt show, while another 9 million were glued to the Rob Morrow brotherly procedural at 10 p.m. In between, however, The Ex List drooped to a season low 5.6 million.

• Bravo has a Swingtown marathon all night.
• At 8, ABC has a new Wife Swap, followed by new episodes of Supernanny and 20/20.
• CBS has a new Ghost Whisperer at 8, then new episodes of The Ex-List and Numb3rs.
• NBC has new episodes of Deal Or No Deal, Crusoe, and Life.
• The CW has a new Everybody Hates Chris at 8, followed by a new episode of The Game.
• PBS has a new Washington Week at 8, then new episodes of NOW and Bill Moyers Journal.
• MyNetwork TV has a new Smackdown! at 8.
• There's a new Real Simple, Real Life on TLC at 8, then a new What Not To Wear.
• Also at 8: Cartoon Network has a new Secret Saturdays.
• At 8:30, Lifetime has a new Rita Rocks.
• Food Network has a new Rachael's Vacation at 8:30.
• At 9, Sci-Fi has a new Stargate Atlantis, followed by a new Sanctuary.
• Cartoon Network has a new Clone Wars at 9, then a new Ben 10: Alien Force.
• Hallmark has the movie Ladies of the Night at 9.
• At 10, USA has a new episode of The Starter Wife.
• At 11, HBO has a new Real Time with Bill Maher.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

• At 8, ABC has a new Wife Swap, then new episodes of Supernanny and 20/20.
• CBS has a new Ghost Whisperer at 8, followed by new episodes of The Ex-List and Numb3rs.
• NBC has the two-hour series premiere of Crusoe at 8, then a new Life.
• The CW has new episodes of Everybody Hates Chris and The Game.
• PBS has a new Washington Week at 8, followed by new episodes of NOW and Bill Moyers Journal.
• MyNetworkTV has a new Smackdown at 8.
• Cartoon Network has a new Secret Saturdays at 8.
• At 9, Sci-Fi has a new Stargate Atlantis, then a new Sanctuary.
• Cartoon Network has a new Clone Wars at 9, followed by a new Ben 10: Alien Force.
• At 10, USA has a new episode of The Starter Wife.
• E! has a new episode of The Soup at 10.
• STARZ has the series premiere of Crash at 10.
• Also at 10: The N has a new Degrassi, then a new South of Nowhere.
• At 11, HBO has a new Real Time with Bill Maher.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

• At 8, ABC has a new Wife Swap, followed by new episodes of Supernanny and 20/20.
• CBS has a new Ghost Whisperer at 8, then new episodes of The Ex-List and Numb3rs.
• NBC has a new America's Toughest Jobs at 8, followed by new episodes of Deal Or No Deal and Life.
• FOX has new episodes of Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? (with Ken Jennings) and Don't Forget The Lyrics.
• PBS has a new Washington Week at 8, then a new NOW.
  
• There's a new Smackdown! on MyNetwork TV at 8.
• Cartoon Network has a new episode of The Secret Saturdays at 8.
• Also at 8: ESPN has College Football, Louisville vs. Memphis.
• At 8:30, TBS has Game 1 of the Red Sox/Rays playoff game.
• Food Network has a new Rachael's Vacation at 8:30.
• At 9, USA has the season premiere of The Starter Wife.
• Sci-Fi has a new Stargate Atlantis at 9, then a new Sanctuary.
• Cartoon Network has a new episode of The Clone Wars at 9.
• At 10, E! has a new episode of The Soup.
• At 11, HBO has a new Real Time with Bill Maher.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

• At 8, ABC has the season premiere of Wife Swap, followed by the season premiere of Supernanny and a new 20/20.
• CBS has the season premiere of Ghost Whisperer at 8, then the series premiere of The Ex-List and the season premiere of Numb3rs.
• NBC has a new America's Toughest Jobs at 8, followed by new episodes of Deal Or No Deal and Life.
• FOX has new episodes of Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? and Don't Forget The Lyrics.
• PBS has a new Washington Week at 8, then new episodes of NOW and Bill Moyers Journal.
• MyNetwork TV has a new Smackdown! at 8.
• Also at 8: Disney has a new Suite Life on Deck, followed by a new Phineas & Ferb.
• At 8:30, Food Network has a new Rachael's Vacation.
• At 9, Sci-Fi has the series premiere of Sanctuary.
• Cartoon Network has the series premiere of Star Wars: The Clone Wars at 9, followed by another new episode.
  
• At 10, History Channel has a new Shockwave.
• At 11, HBO has a new Real Time with Bill Maher, then Down & Dirty with Jim Norton.
  

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

There's no way that the creator/executive producer of a new series walking away from the show before the season premiere can be a good thing. In fact, it's down right ominous. Therefore, the news that Diane Ruggiero has walked off The Ex List before the October 3rd premiere does not bode well for the comedy-drama. It's not like the prospect of succeeding in the dreaded Friday at 9 P.M. ET on CBS (the place where Moonlight died) was a sign of good things to come, but having seen the pilot, I was keeping my fingers crossed. Now, I'm worried.

Reportedly, Ruggiero unexpectedly quit The Ex List on Friday morning. Rick Eid, executive producer of the show, will continue on in her place as showrunner. However, the writing staff will have to continue without their guiding light because make no mistake, the heart and soul of the main character -- Bella Bloom -- was a reflection of Diane Ruggiero. She's a strong writer with a distinct voice, one she lent to her other success (with Rob Thomas) Veronica Mars.

Of all the networks, CBS has the most new shows on deck, including two new comedies, Worst Week and Project Gary, and two new dramas, The Ex-List and The Mentalist. Another drama is set for mid-season, Harper's Island.

We've had a chance to look over these new TV shows, and by and large, it's a fascinating bunch. Also adventurous. No procedurals. More character-driven programming it seems. CBS seems determined not to rest on their laurels.

Read what we thought about these advance screeners, bearing in mind that things are liable to change before the shows start to air.

It looks like someone took the effort to create a Flash player with embedded videos of many of the upcoming new fall shows. Included are clips from Dollhouse, Fringe, Life on Mars, The Eleventh Hour, Scrubs, The Cleveland Show, The Goode Family (pictured right) as well as several others. I only had a chance to look at some of them. The previews aren't of all the new shows available in the fall (NBC only has one preview), but it's still quite a few. Which ones are missing?

Embedded videos after the jump