Does CBS need to bring back The Person of Interest and The Big Bang Theory to resuscitate its dying legacy?
CBS has been home to many successful shows, but two of its most outstanding ones include the 2007 sitcom with a backdrop of science, The Big Bang Theory, and its 2011 sci-fi crime show, Person of Interest. Both these series were successful in drawing the attention of the audiences with their unique plots, superior writing, and noteworthy performances, and became two of the highest-rated shows CBS had ever seen. So, does CBS need to bring TBBT and Person of Interest back in order to revive itself in the rating game?
Highlights —
- Person of Interest: A science fiction with a kick of crime
- The Big Bang Theory – The show that changed the face of comedy
- Does CBS desperately need The Person of Interest and Big Bang Theory back?
Person of Interest: A science fiction with a kick of crime
Created by Jonathan Nolan, Person of Interest became one of the most popular shows on American television with its premiere. The series was an ideal mix of crime and sci-fi and featured an ensemble cast of Jim Caviezel, Taraji P. Henson, Kevin Chapman, and Michael Emerson. It revolved around a software called the Machine, developed by a tech billionaire, Harold Finch(Emerson) that could foretell criminal acts and even determine the persons involved. To use his invention for the good of people, he hired John Reese (Caviezel), an ex-CBI officer to investigate the data provided by the machine and act on it.
The series met universal acclaim for its intelligent storyline, well-executed action sequences, and talented actors, and brought CBS viewers in big numbers. Except for its final season, the series saw ratings between 12 and 17 million viewers per season. However, the success was cut short with Person of Interest sudden cancellation in 2015 after five seasons. Since the show was owned by WB, CBS couldn’t rake in profits and this forced the network to cancel this fan favourite series.
The Big Bang Theory – The show that changed the face of comedy
Chuck Lorre’s The Big Bang Theory was arguably one of CBS’s biggest comedies.
The series was a rating hoarder as it managed to keep its viewership between 10 and 20 million viewers throughout 12 hit seasons. The premise of the series involved four socially inept scientists and how things changed for them when a hot new neighbour moved in next door.
The series found critical as well as popular acclaim around the world with fans loving this proud representative of nerd culture of a show. It made enormous profits for CBS and was so successful that CBS would have easily renewed it for more seasons had the cast and creators been willing.
The influence of the series is so great that now that it has ended, its spin-off, Young Sheldon has become the most popular sitcom on CBS.
Does CBS desperately need these shows back?
The opinion on this may be divided, but it remains a fact that both shows were hugely successful and still have a cult following. Bringing back both would be the best present fans could receive.
The current line-up of dramas on CBS mainly consists of action-adventure, police procedurals, and courtroom dramas. There is an absence of genres like science fiction and artificial intelligence. Also, none of the existing shows have peaked in the number of viewers as much as Person of Interest. Amongst sitcoms, none have a viewership anywhere close to what The Big Bang Theory saw. The most viewed situational comedy on CBS right now is Young Sheldon, which is its spin-off.
In order to diversify its current original programming, it is essential that CBS includes more genres in its TV manual. Person of Interest and The Big Bang Theory reboots might be the perfect additions to its currently incomplete line-up. It is time that CBS focuses on resuscitating its image and it seems to like rebooting these shows might be the easiest way to do it.
Would you like to see these two shows get rebooted? Do you think CBS needs a greater variety of shows to revive its image? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.
