'CSI' Shows To Face Fresh Competition Next Year

With the six broadcast networks' upfront presentations for the Fall 2005-2006 television season over, it's become clear that CSI will have to compete with the same NBC shows as this year, but the franchise will face new challenges from ABC.

On Mondays at 10:00pm, CSI: Miami will continue to face Medium, the paranormal NBC show that turned out to be unexpectedly popular following its midseason premiere. Through January, ABC will continue with its venerable Monday Night Football programming, but after that it will launch the new J.J. Abrams drama What About Brian in the 10:00pm timeslot. In this show, Barry Watson plays a 34-year old serial monogamist hoping to finally find real love. As Fox, UPN and the WB only air shows between 8:00pm and 10:00pm, Miami won't face any competition from that corner.

Earlier this year, ABC made the mistake of launching its new private investigator show Eyes in the Wednesday 10:00pm timeslot, where the Tim Daly drama was quickly grinded to pieces in between CSI: New York and Law & Order. Both CSI: NY and L&O will return for a rematch next season, while ABC will attempt to counter-program in this timeslot using the new science-fiction show Invasion, in which aliens begin to take over a town in Florida. Again, Fox, UPN and the WB still won't air any shows in the 10:00pm slot.

On Thursdays, the original CSI: Crime Scene Investigation will face an almost completely fresh slate of competing programs. Only NBC will still air The Apprentice in the 9:00pm timeslot, but ABC has announced it will replace it Thursday night movie with a drama block. The Alphabet has moved Alias from Wednesdays to Thursdays at 8:00pm, and will follow that at 9:00pm with the new FBI thriller The Night Stalker. There's new dramas on Fox and the WB, too, with Fox premiering the critical darling Reunion, and the Frog launching the Sex and the City-like drama Related. Even UPN will offer something new on Thursday nights, as it has shipped WWE Smackdown! to Fridays -- instead, the network hopes to attract viewers to the sitcoms Cuts and Love, Inc.

While the networks have officially committed themselves to the above shows, there is still a chance a few programming changes will occur between now and the start of the new television season in September. For now, a full overview of all the networks' plans for next year can be found at the Futon Critic.

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