CBS has unveiled its fall 2017 lineup and, in terms of women-centric programming, it’s a wasteland. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the network is moving forward with eight pilots: four dramas, four comedies. And none of them feature a female protagonist.
Four of the projects are standard CBS-fodder (i.e. procedurals and “The Big Bang Theory”): “Instinct” with Alan Cumming; David Boreanaz-starrer “SEAL Team”; “SWAT,” starring Shemar Moore and Jay Harrington; “Wisdom of the Crowd,” toplined by Jeremy Piven; and “Big Bang Theory” prequel “Young Sheldon.” The other series are “By the Book,” a comedy about a man (Jay R. Ferguson) who lives his life according to the Bible; Bobby Moynihan-starrer “Me, Myself and I,” which depicts the protagonist at three different phases of his life; and family sitcom “9JKL” with Mark Feuerstein.
CBS also renewed five of its freshmen series: “Bull,” “Kevin Can Wait,”
“MacGyver,” “Man With a Plan,” and “Superior Donuts.” All of those shows are male-centric and “Superior Donuts” is the only one not toplined by a white dude.
The lack of of women in the schedule might seem egregious, but CBS CEO Les Moonves isn’t particularly concerned. “We do a number of pilots, a lot of them have women in starring roles. There are a lot of women in the schedule,” he told the press at before the CBS upfronts. “The best pilots went at the end of the day and we think our track record is OK.”
Yeah, it’s not. Women, indeed, were the leads or co-leads on six projects — but CBS decided not to pursue any of them. Among the rejects are Amy Brenneman-starrer “The Get,” “Perfect Citizen” with Kristin Chenoweth, and an untitled Jenny Lumet project starring Sharon Leal.
Driving home his point — and painting himself further into the corner — Moonves referenced the current slate of women-centric projects at CBS. “I don’t think we’ve ever had to apologize for having [Tea Leoni-starrer] ‘Madam Secretary’ and Lucy Liu [of ‘Elementary’] and ‘The Good Fight’ and ‘The Good Wife’ and I think we do fine in that area.”
Yes, Liu is great on “Elementary” — but she is not the star. When push comes to shove, it is Sherlock’s (Jonny Lee Miller) story, not Watson’s (Liu). Second, we’re happy that CBS aired “The Good Fight,” a women-centric, diverse show starring a woman over 40. Good on them, but Moonves shouldn’t pat himself too hard on the back. “The Good Fight” is only available on CBS All Access, a streaming platform with few offerings that costs $5.99 per month. Most viewers aren’t willing to sign up for a streamer in order to watch only one original series, so “Good Fight” shouldn’t be your go-to example to explain why CBS doesn’t hate women. Also, “The Good Wife” isn’t on the air anymore, so it’s time for Moonves and CBS to forfeit their bragging rights on that one.
Even more frustrating? This is the second consecutive year CBS has been called out for its lack of inclusivity — and the second consecutive year they’ve shrugged off the criticism. Matt LeBlanc, Kevin James, Michael Weatherly, and a bevy of other white (and mostly male) leads dominated the network’s fall 2016 schedule. Network president Glenn Geller responded by citing “Madam Secretary,” “Mom” with Allison Janney and Anna Faris, long-running comedy “2 Broke Girls,” and “Doubt” with Katherine Heigl and Laverne Cox. He described the 2016 slate as “are more diverse this year than last year” in his defense and concluded, “We are definitely moving in the right direction.”
It’s worth pointing out that both “2 Broke Girls” and “Doubt” have since been cancelled. So much for that argument.
So, it’s time that Moonves realizes that CBS’ fall 2017 lineup isn’t “fine” and the network’s track record is far from “OK.” If the network truly wants to move “in the right direction,” they should try greenlighting shows — hell, a show s— focused on women. Supporting multiple shows with inclusive casts and women of color in prominent roles would be even better. Because, honestly, no one wants to have this conversation about CBS again in 2018.
