CBS is giving the coveted slot after "The Big Bang Theory" on Thursday nights to the spinoff "Young Sheldon."
The eye network will air six new series in the fall and picked up an additional two to air midseason.
But it chose to pass on the reboot of "American Idol" because the "economics made absolutely no sense for us," CBS CEO Les Moonves told reporters Wednesday morning.
"The price was so expensive you need a 35 share to break even," he added -- more than a third of all TVs in use. ABC has somehow found the way to make the math work to its satisfaction, striking a deal to bring back the show on is air in the coming season.
"The Big Bang Theory" will start CBS's new season on Monday night during the weeks CBS airs "Thursday Night Football." It will be followed by "9JKL" a classic multi-cam sitcom that has an "Everybody Loves Raymond" feel, said Kelly Kahl, senior exec VP-primetime, CBS.
"Kevin Can Wait" returns for its sophomore season at 9 p.m. and will move to 8 p.m. after football ends and the schedule readjusts. That will make room for the new "Me, Myself & I," about the defining moments in one man's life over three distinct periods, at 9 p.m. and the returning "Superior Donuts," about a small donut shop in a fast-gentrifying Chicago neighborhood., at 9:30 p.m. "Scorpion" closes Mondays at 10 p.m.
The post-football CBS schedule will see "Big Bang" back in its usual home on Thursday nights, followed by "Young Sheldon," which tells the story of Sheldon as a nine-year-old starting high school. It has the tone of "Wonder Years," Kahl said.
"Mom" and "Life in Pieces" will return to Thursday at 9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., respectively, follwed by the cop show "S.W.A.T."
"10 o'clock is a hard nut to crack these days and if you are going to do it, you need to go in guns blazing," Kahl said, adding that it is a "noisy show."
On Tuesdays, when most of the other broadcasters will air comedies, CBS is countering with "NCIS," "Bull" and "NCIS: New Orleans," back in These shows will all air at the same time as this season.
Wednesday nights will continue to be anchored by "Survivor" at 8 p.m., joined at 10 p.m. by "Seal Team," a military drama that follows the professional and personal lives of the most elite unit of Navy SEALs.
Friday's lineup will remain intact. Kahl said they have a winning strategy to close out the work week with "MacGyver," "Hawaii Five-0" and "Blue Bloods."
"All three hours improved this season from a year ago," he said, tossing in an assertion that Friday nights on the rest of broadcast look like the home of misfit toys.
Sunday nights will continue to bring "60 Minutes," "NCIS: Los Angeles and "Madam Secretary." CBS will add one new show to the night, the new drama "Wisdom of the Crowd," starring Jeremy Piven as a visionary tech innovator who creates a cutting-edge crowdsourcing app to solve his daughter's murder.
New midseason shows include "By The Book," a comedy about a modern-day man who decides to live his life strictly by the Bible, and "Instinct," starring Alan Cumming as a gifted author, university professor and former CIA operative who is lured back to his old life by the NYPD when they need his help to stop a serial killer.
CBS TELEVISION NETWORK 2017-2018 PRIMETIME SCHEDULE
(N=New, RTP=Regular Time Period, NTP=New Time Period)
All Times ET/PT
MONDAY
8:00-8:30 PM
THE BIG BANG THEORY
8:30-9:00 PM
YOUNG SHELDON (N) (Special one-time preview Sept. 25)
8:30-9:00 PM
9JKL (N) (Premieres Oct. 2)
9:00-9:30 PM
KEVIN CAN WAIT
9:30-10:00 PM
ME, MYSELF & I (N)
10:00-11:00 PM
SCORPION
8:00-8:30 PM
KEVIN CAN WAIT (RTP) (Starting Oct. 30)
8:30-9:00 PM
9JKL
9:00-9:30 PM
ME, MYSELF & I (RTP) (Starting Oct. 30)
9:30-10:00 PM
SUPERIOR DONUTS (Starting Oct. 30)
10:00-11:00 PM
SCORPION
TUESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM
NCIS
9:00-10:00 PM
BULL
10:00-11:00 PM
NCIS: NEW ORLEANS
WEDNESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM
SURVIVOR
9:00-10:00 PM
SEAL TEAM (N)
10:00-11:00 PM
CRIMINAL MINDS (NTP)
THURSDAY
8:00-11:00 PM, ET/ 5:00-8:00 PM, PT
NFL THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (Premieres Sept. 28)
8:00-8:30 PM
THE BIG BANG THEORY (RTP) (Starting Nov. 2)
8:30-9:00 PM
YOUNG SHELDON (N) (RTP) (Starting Nov. 2)
9:00-9:30 PM
MOM (Starting Nov. 2)
9:30-10:00 PM
LIFE IN PIECES (Starting Nov. 2)
10:00-11:00 PM
S.W.A.T. (N) (Starting Nov. 2)
FRIDAY
8:00-9:00 PM
MACGYVER
9:00-10:00 PM
HAWAII FIVE-0
10:00-11:00 PM
BLUE BLOODS
SATURDAY
8:00-9:00 PM
CRIMETIME SATURDAY
9:00-10:00 PM
CRIMETIME SATURDAY
10:00-11:00 PM
48 HOURS
SUNDAY
7:00-8:00 PM
60 MINUTES
8:00-9:00 PM
WISDOM OF THE CROWD (N)
9:00-10:00 PM
NCIS: LOS ANGELES (NTP)
10:00-11:00 PM
MADAM SECRETARY (NTP)
