‘The Good Wife,’ ‘Criminal Minds’ Among 18 Shows Renewed by CBS

CBS isn’t looking to rock the boat as it looks forward to the 2014-15 season. The eye network has announced early renewals for 18 (yes 18) series including veteran dramas The Good Wife and Criminal Minds.

Combined with two previously announced renewals – The Big Bang Theory and Survivor – the network has now picked up 20 returning series for 2014-2015, encompassing 17 hours of primetime programming.

“The best way to launch new shows in the fall and throughout the season is to surround them with a strong and stable lineup of successful series,” said Nina Tassler, Chairman of CBS Entertainment. “The shows we’re picking up today cut across every night of the week and feature genre leaders, time-period winners and the most-watched shows on broadcast television.”

Stability and growth have been the name of the game for CBS. Having found a successful formula of procedurals, episodic dramas with elements of serialized storytelling, quirky multi-camera comedies and established reality shows, it’s no surprise that the state of CBS’ business is strong. Season-to-date, CBS is television’s #1 network in viewers for the 11th time in 12 years, averaging 10.84 million viewers. Returning series will include the number one drama, number one comedy, number one new comedy and number one news program.

The 18 series renewed today comprise 15.5 hours of CBS’s weekly primetime schedule and include nine dramas, five comedies, two reality series and two news programs.

The nine dramas picked up are: NCIS, television’s #1 drama/scripted program for the fifth consecutive year; NCIS: LOS ANGELES, the #2 drama for the fourth straight year; time-period winners PERSON OF INTEREST, CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION, HAWAII FIVE-0 and BLUE BLOODS; as well as CRIMINAL MINDS, ELEMENTARY and the acclaimed drama THE GOOD WIFE.

The renewed comedies are 2 BROKE GIRLS, THE MILLERS, which is the #1 freshman comedy of the 2013-2014 season, MIKE & MOLLY, MOM and the long-running hit TWO AND A HALF MEN.

In alternative programming, the Network announced pick-ups for its Emmy Award-winning reality series THE AMAZING RACE and UNDERCOVER BOSS.

Finally, in news, CBS will return 60 MINUTES, television’s #1 news program for more than four decades, and 48 HOURS, Saturday’s #1 non-sports program.

In addition to these 18 series, CBS announced a three-year broadcast deal for THE BIG BANG THEORY on Wednesday. Previously, the Network announced two more editions of the reality series SURVIVOR for next season.

With a whopping 20 series renewed, the network has few shows left to decide the fate of — the Simon Baker starrer The Mentalist, freshman comedy The Crazy Ones and midseason series Intelligence and Friends With Better Lives.