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For more than 30 years, John Kiesewetter has been the source for information about all things in local media — comings and goings, local people appearing on the big or small screen, special programs, and much more. Contact John at johnkiese@yahoo.com.

Fall TV Scorecard: 7 Renewals, Last 3 New Shows This Week

CBS Television

So far, so good. One month into the TV season – and before the final three shows premiere this week -- the networks haven't canceled a single show.

And seven already have been renewed, according to Metacritic

Assured a full season are:  "Designated Survivor," "Speechless" (ABC); "Bull," "MacGyver," "Kevin Can Wait" (CBS); "Lethal Weapon" (Fox); and "This Is Us."

The last pieces of the Fall TV Season fall into place this week, when CBS sets its Monday and Thursday comedy lineups after ending Thursday night NFL telecasts. Why? Because the four-week November ratings "sweeps" period starts Thursday.

Credit CBS Television
Diana Maria Riva plays the kindergarten teacher on "Man With A Plan."

Kevin James' "Kevin Can Wait" moves into its 8 p.m. Monday time slot, with the "Big Bang Theory" returning to Thursday nights.  

Here's what's new:

MONDAY, OCT. 24

8 p.m.: "Kevin Can Wait," CBS. Time period premiere after airing at 8:30 p.m.

8:30 p.m. "Man with a Plan," CBS. Premiere. In this sitcom, Matt LeBlanc ("Friends") plays a contractor who discovers his kids are more than a handful when he stays at home while his wife (Liza Snyder, "Yes Dear") returns to work full-time in a hospital lab. Delhi Township native Diana Maria Riva ("Telenovela," "The West Wing") plays stern kindergarten teacher Mrs. Rodriguez. See her comments about the show on my "Diana Maria Riva Back In The Classroom"blog last week.

Credit CBS Television
Dermont Mulroney (left) and Augustus Prew star in CBS' "Pure Genius."

THURSDAY, OCT. 27

8 p.m.: "Big Bang Theory," CBS. Time period premiere.

8:30 p.m.: "The Great Indoors," CBS. Premiere.  Joel McHale ("Community," "Talk Soup") stars in this comedy as a globe-trotting reporter for Outdoor Limits magazine which re-assigns him to the digital desk, forcing him to work in an office with online savvy millennials who have only experienced adventures by looking at a screen.

9 p.m.: "Mom," CBS. Season 4 premiere.

9:30 p.m.: "Life In Pieces," CBS. Season 2 premiere.

10 p.m.: "Pure Genius," CBS. Premiere.  A billionaire genius (Augustus Prew, "About A Boy," "Kick-Ass 2") builds a high-tech Silicon Valley hospital with a "mission control" video wall filled with patients' complete information, and hires the most brilliant minds in medicine and technology (Dermot Mulroney, "Shameless"; Odette Anabell, "Astronaut Wives Club"; Aaron Jennings, "Bones," "Aquarius").

Sweeps end Wednesday, Nov. 21. Then the networks analyze sweeps research and cancel low-rated shows, replacing them with holiday specials in December.

John Kiesewetter, who has covered television and media for more than 35 years, has been working for Cincinnati Public Radio and WVXU-FM since 2015.