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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.

CBS Doubles Down On Sheldon Cooper

Courtesy CBS Broadcasting Inc.
Iain Armitage stars as "Young Sheldon," CBS' new fall sitcom about Sheldon Cooper as a 9-year-old genius in Texas.

At CBS, they're turning back the clock a different way. Instead of reviving a 1990s show like NBC ("Will & Grace") and ABC ("Roseanne"), CBS will launch a "Young Sheldon" fall sitcom about the childhood of "Big Bang Theory" main character Dr. Sheldon Cooper.

As I reported in March,Iain Armitage (HBO's "Big Little Lies") plays 9-year-old Sheldon going to high school in east Texas. Jim Parsons, the Emmy-winning "Big Bang" star, narrates the comedy as adult Sheldon. Zoe Perry ("Private Practice," "The Family") will play Sheldon's mother Mary. She's the daughter of Laurie Metcalf, who guest stars as Sheldon's very religious mother Mary on the CBS hit sitcom.

CBS viewers will see plenty of familiar faces in the three new dramas and three new sitcoms for fall: John Larroquette ("Night Court"), Sharon Lawrence ("NYPD Blue"), Jaleel White ("Family Matters"), Jeremy Piven ("Entourage," "Ellen"), David Boreanaz ("Bones"), Elliott Gould ("M*A*S*H," "Ray Donovan"), Linda Lavin ("Alice") and Mark Feuerstein ("Royal Pains").

Credit CBS Broadcasting Inc.
Shemar Moore leaves "Criminal Minds" to become a Los Angeles "S.W.A.T." commander this fall.

GONERS: "The Odd Couple," "2 Broke Girls," "Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders," "The Great Indoors," "Training Day," "Doubt," "Pure Genius," "American Gothic" and "Brain Dead" according to TVLine.

BACK FOR MORE: "Elementary," "Mom," "Man With A Plan," "Code Black," "Big Brother," "Zoo," "The Amazing Race" and "Undercover Boss" were renewed, TVLine says.

THREE DRAMAS: Emmy-winner Piven plays a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who creates a crowd-sourcing app to solve his daughter’s murder in "Wisdom of the Crowd" (8 p.m. Sunday); Boreanaz stars as the Navy "SEAL Team" leader (9 p.m. Wednesday); and Shemar Moore leaves "Criminal Minds" to become a "S.W.A.T." commander in Los Angeles (10 p.m. Thursday).

THREE COMEDIES: In addition to "Young Sheldon," CBS will premiere "Me, Myself & I (9:30 p.m. Monday), a "This Is Us" style time-shifting show about a guy at 14 in 1991 (Jack Dylan Grazer), at 40 (Bobby Moynihan from "Saturday Night Live") and at 65 in 2042 (Larroquette). Sharon Lawrence and Jaleel White also are cast members.

Feuerstein stars as a divorced actor who moves back to New York to be near family (Lavin, Gould) in "9JKL" (8:30 p.m. Monday).

MIDSEASON: Coming in 2018 is a comedy of Biblical proportions: Jay R. Ferguson ("The Real O'Neals," "Mad Men") stars as a New York film critic who tries to live strictly by the Bible. Co-stars include Camryn Manheim ("The Practice," "Person of Interest") and Ian Gomez ("Drew Carey," "Cougar Town").

The lone drama is "Instinct," about a former CIA agent turned author/university professor (Alan Cumming, "The Good Wife") hired by New York police to catch a serial killer. Khandi Alexander ("Scandal," "CSI: Miami") also is in "Instinct."

Credit CBS Broadcasting Inc.
"Me, Myself & I" stars Jack Dylan Grazer (lef), Bobby Moynihan (center) and John Larroquette.

THE LINEUP (new programs in bold)

SUNDAY: 7, 60 Minutes; 8, Wisdom of the Crowd; 9, NCIS: Los Angeles; 10, Madam Secretary.

MONDAY: 8, Big Bang Theory; 8:30, Young Sheldon (Sept. 25 only)/9JKL (Oct. 2); 9, Kevin Can Wait; 9:30, Me Myself & I; 10, Scorpion.

Starting Oct. 30: 8, Kevin Can Wait; 8:30, 9JKL; 9, Me, Myself & I; 9:30, Superior Donuts; 10, Scorpion.

TUESDAY: 8, NCIS; 9, Bull; 10, NCIS: New Orleans.

WEDNESDAY: 8, Survivor; 9, Seal Team; 10, Criminal Minds.

THURSDAY: 8, NFL Thursday Night Football.

Starting Nov. 2: 8, Big Bang Theory; 8:30, Young Sheldon; 9, Mom; 9:30, Life in Pieces; 10, S.W.A.T.

FRIDAY: 8, MacGyver; 9, Hawaii Five-0; 10, Blue Bloods.

SATURDAY: 8, Crimetime Saturday; 10, 48 Hours.

CBS' six new fall series is more than ABC (five) and Fox and NBC (three each).

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.