Fall TV season is in full swing at this point, with many of the shows in the lineup already several episodes in. Now, CBS has revealed three of its freshman series that it's apparently quite happy with, as they all received full season orders. Viewers can expect a full season of God Friended Me, as well as The Neighborhood and the Magnum P.I. reboot.
God Friended Me is arguably one of the unlikeliest hits of the fall season. Airing Sunday nights on CBS means that episodes can be pushed back due to NFL football games running longer than expected. Admittedly, NCIS: Los Angeles has survived just fine on Sunday nights despite unpredictable football delays, but NCIS: LA aired on Mondays or Tuesdays for its first seven seasons, gaining a sizable audience there before making the move to Sunday primetime.
A dramedy about God friending an atheist on social media seemed to me like one that wouldn't last too long in that time slot, even if it did enjoy early ratings success thanks to viewers who stuck around after football ended. Despite my predictions, God Friended Me has been solid, with an average viewership or more than 10 million people after three episodes in the 8 p.m. time slot on Sundays. Its viewership is an 8% increase over the viewership for the same slot this time last year.
The Neighborhood also scored a full season order. Starring Cedric the Entertainer, Max Greenfield, and a 2 Broke Girls alum, it isn't doing as well as God Friended Me, but it's still delivering an average of more than eight million viewers per week. Notably, The Neighborhood's numbers mark a boost of 14% over last season in the same time. The show that previously held the slot was Kevin Can Wait, which seemed poised for a long life on CBS until viewers dropped out, following the leading lady getting killed off.
The comedy airs on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET. Given its current success in that slot, CBS could have a winner and new anchor for the foreseeable future on Monday nights. We'll have to wait and see.
The third show to score a full season order was none other than Magnum P.I., which rebooted the original series that starred Tom Selleck and his iconic mustache. The new Magnum didn't come with a mustache on its leading man, but that hasn't prevented folks from tuning in. Magnum P.I. currently averages more than nine million viewers per week, and that is a massive bump from the same time slot last year.
In the 9 p.m. ET time slot on CBS, Magnum P.I.'s average is up a whopping 50% from last season. CBS has another hit reboot on its hands. I now have to wonder what the fate will be for Happy Together, which is the new series that airs between The Neighborhood and Magnum P.I. on Mondays. It may be a bad sign for the series that its two lineup neighbors were given full series orders without any good news of its own. Was this another dud for Damon Wayans Jr?
We'll have to wait and see. CBS' freshman drama FBI has also been ordered for a full season. For more viewing options for CBS and other networks, swing by our fall TV premiere schedule.
