PROGRAMMING
Kelly Kahl Has His Eye on the Fall
Double the excitement from last season, CBS Entertainment president says, as production heads back to normalcy
International and CSI: Vegas. It just feels like our lineup is strengthened — each night of the week, we’re strong. It really feels like we have a renewed, energized lineup. The reaction from advertisers has been terrific. We had a terrific upfront. It feels like a real game again. B+C: What is the thinking behind the spinoffs for NCIS, FBI and CSI? KK: The audience is receptive to these shows. They like them, they continue to watch them through thick and thin. Business-wise, they’re very smart for us. They travel well internationally, they sell well domestically. They’re good sources of streams and subscribers for Paramount Plus. B+C: Tell me how CSI: Vegas came to be. KK: It was the right producers and the right idea, and being able to get Billy [Petersen] and Jorja [Fox] back was huge as well. We expect that to be a hook for viewers to come back to see — a couple of very, very popular characters in TV history.
By Michael Malone michael.malone@futurenet.com @BCMikeMalone
CBS Entertainment
K
elly Kahl, CBS Entertainment president, has overseen the network’s prime schedule for many years. Last season was unique, with COVID-19 causing all sorts of production delays. But 2021-2022 is starting to feel much more like a traditional TV season. “We just feel like we’re headed toward a much bigger, better fall than we had last year,” said Kahl. Kahl spoke with B+C/Multichannel News about CBS’s fall season, which includes spinoffs of CSI, NCIS and FBI, and
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what the traditional broadcast schedule represents in this era of on-demand viewing. The interview was edited for space and clarity. B+C: Years back, you likened the days just before the season starts to a football player in a locker room, ready to go. Does it still feel like that in this time of streaming? Kelly Kahl: The excitement is still there. It’s probably twice as much this year. Taking the analogy further, it feels like we’ll be playing in front of a full stadium this year. It feels like we’re gonna have a full team on the field. We’ve got new franchises or new editions of some of our franchises, NCIS: Hawaii, FBI:
The Equalizer, starring Queen Latifah, drew in strong viewership for CBS during the pandemic.
B+C: Will it feel similar or much different from the original CSI? KK: I think the answer is yes. [Laughs.] If you liked CSI in the past, you’ll see the same excitement, the same characters, the same wry humor. But we’re also very cognizant that TV has moved on in the last few years. Things that were new at the time when CSI came on, the close-ups and the visual effects, those are almost customary now. The producers understood they have to update the way the show looks to make it look very contemporary and, hopefully, like the original CSI, maybe a little ahead of its time. B+C: Were there many COVIDrelated hiccups for this coming season? KK: Nothing yet, and I’m knocking on wood as I say that. We were probably very lucky last year. Like anybody else, Multichannel.com