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CBS Announces 5 New Series, Thursday Night Football In Fall Primetime Schedule

NEW YORK (CBS) -- CBS, the top-rated broadcast network, released a new schedule Wednesday that includes five new series to start in the fall, four of them dramas. A New Orleans-based spinoff of television's most popular series, "NCIS," is among them.

Tea Leoni will portray the U.S. secretary of state in a new CBS drama this fall, and the long-running comedy "Two and Half Men" will enter its final season.

CBS is making a few shifts, moving "NCIS: Los Angeles" to Monday nights and "The Amazing Race" to Friday. The network's deal to show NFL football games on Thursday through late October means TV's most popular comedy, "The Big Bang Theory," will temporarily move to Mondays.

In addition to the new shows, the network previously announced the return of 21 established series, many of which rank among the top-rated shows on television.

The 2014-2015 night-by-night schedule follows:

MONDAYS – The #1 scripted series "The Big Bang Theory" moves to 8:00 p.m. to start the season, providing a strong launch pad for the night. When "The Big Bang Theory" returns to its Thursday night home, "2 Broke Girls" moves to the 8:00 p.m. slot, paired nicely with the critically acclaimed "Mom", this year’s #2 new comedy, which is moving to 8:30 p.m. At 9:00 p.m., "Scorpion", a new high-octane drama with a lot of humor, leads into "NCIS: Los Angeles", broadcast television’s second-most-watched drama, which moves to Monday at 10:00 p.m, delivering a strong finish to the night.

TUESDAYS – Television’s most-watched drama, "NCIS", is back at 8:00 p.m. as a seamless lead-in to its spinoff, "NCIS: New Orleans", at 9:00 p.m. "Person Of Interest" returns at 10:00 p.m., where it increased the time period by nearly +30% in key demographics this season, contributing to a consistently dominant night.

WEDNESDAYS – The resurgent reality series "Survivor" returns at 8:00 p.m., following another time period-winning season in viewers and demographics. "Criminal Minds", which increased its audience this year and was the #1 program of the night, returns at 9:00 p.m. as an ideal lead-in for the gripping new psychological thriller "Stalker" at 10:00 p.m.

THURSDAYS – "NFL Thursday Night Football" kicks off on Sept. 11, giving CBS a strong platform to launch the new season. The Network’s top-rated entertainment schedule resumes on Oct. 30, offering virtually all new episodes for the rest of the season. "The Big Bang Theory" moves back to its 8:00 p.m. slot, leading into "The Millers", last season’s #1 new comedy in viewers and demographics, at 8:30 p.m. With the popular "two And A Half Men" returning at 9:00 p.m., the new multi-camera family comedy "The McCarthys" has three top comedies leading into its 9:30 p.m. slot. "Elementary" caps the night, returning to its time period-winning 10:00 p.m. slot.

FRIDAYS – At 8:00 p.m, "The Amazing Race" becomes the latest Emmy Award-winning reality series to open Friday night. It joins the top-rated duo of "Hawaii Five-O" at 9:00 p.m. and the night’s #1 program, "Blue Bloods", at 10:00 p.m.

SATURDAYS – CBS’s Saturday lineup features "Crimetime Saturday", encore broadcasts of the Network’s popular dramas at 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., followed by the night’s top-rated series for the last eight years, "48 Hours", at 10:00 p.m.

SUNDAYS – Two key time period changes bolster the night. The renowned "60 Minutes", television’s #1 news program, returns at 7:00 p.m. Joining the night at 8:00 PM is the new stately drama series "Madam Secretary", providing an ideal bridge between "60 Minutes" and one of television’s finest dramas, "The Good Wife", at 9:00 p.m. The popular "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" is new to the night at 10:00 p.m. When it completes its run of original episodes, the new CSI spinoff, "CSI: Cyber", will take over, creating an extended run of original episodes in the time period.

CBS will finish the current season as America’s most-watched network in viewers for the 11th time in 12 years.

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