Well, I am just getting back from Chicago and the CBS upfront. It looks good – they didn’t have to do a lot of hole-filling in their schedule. It seems they are a bit cocky, but I don’t think you can fix what isn’t broken. (Side note, Mariah Carey was there and looked AWESOME. She has lost some weight and looks better than she has in a long time. CBS has a Mariah special next fall, which should be interesting.)

As far as new programs go, CBS announced 1 comedy and only 3 dramas. The upfront presentation actually stayed within the 2 hours they said it would – rare for Les Moonves! The presentation was fairly bland – randomly the Jersey singers were there singing ’50s classics which didn’t make much sense until later when they announced that CBS has the Tony Awards and the Jersey singers are up for a Tony. aha.

As far as top picks go – if you only have 3 new dramas to choose from, it really slims it down. The pilot I personally want to watch is Jericho. I love shows that explore what would happen if the worst case scenario happens. Anyway – I like this kind of thing, I’m not sure if the American public would agree with me.

Dramas

Smith – Produced by John Wells (ER/West Wing). Starring Ray Liota, Virginia Madsen, Amy Smart, Franky G. You get up in the morning, you hug the kids, you kiss your wife goodbye. For Bobbie life is perfect – except his life is a lie. He is parat of a group of thieves who outsmart the best security and escape with the most priceless possessions. And at the end of the day – he goes back to an average life.

Jericho – Produced by John Turtletaub. Starring Ashley Scott, Skreg Braydon, Skeet Ulrich. Jay Green goes home to Jericho, KS to make peace with his past. That same day, a nuclear bomb goes off west of the city and communication with the outside world is cut off. The residents of Jericho must figure out how to survive while the world around them is falling apart.

*Also features additional story lines online.

Shark – Created/produced by Ron Howard and Spike Lee. Starring James Woods. James Woods stars as an ace defense attorney, Stark, known for getting the sleaziest clients off the hook. After one of his clients is released and then kills his wife, Stark feels guilty. He is offered a position with the DA’s office and takes it and is in charge of a group of young, wanna-be prosecutors.

Comedy

The Class – Created by David Crane (Friends). Starring Jason Ritter. A 3rd grade class is reunited for a classmate’s surprise birthday party. Watch what happens when old friends reconnect and pick up where they left off years ago. How many of them are going to mess up their lives along the way?