CBS Settles Bubble Show Status As Upfront Nears

While all eyes this week are on network's new fall schedules, investors aren't quite able to forget about the series being bumped to clear room for newcomers. After all, a number of these shows were at one time presented as the "next big thing" themselves…some as recently as last year.

Of all the big networks, CBS Corporation CBS had quiet, which was strange in the wake of Les Moonves comments a few months ago that he was expecting to renew the majority of its freshman series. In the end, Moonves' network will end up taking just three of its rookies, while another is shifted off to the CW.

With "Supergirl" changing networks and "Life In Pieces" given the all-clear for a sophomore run, that left "Limitless," "Rush Hour," "Code Black" and "Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders" wondering about their futures. Those, along with established series "The Odd Couple" and "Undercover Boss" landed firmly on the proverbial bubble.

Related Link: Networks Prepare For Upfronts By Wielding Axes On "Black Thursday"

On Monday, CBS made up its mind, and of those six, just one flat out got the ax ("Rush Hour"), while another seems likely to quietly fade away ("Limitless"). The remaining four will find their way (somehow) into the new fall schedule when it's revealed on Wednesday.

Analysts wouldn't have been shocked either way, as all of them are not much more than bench players at this point. The only one to really defy the odds was "The Odd Couple," which was spared due to surprisingly solid ratings for its under-promoted return.

It also doesn't hurt that CBS just took a new sitcom featuring "Friends" star Matt LeBlanc, and the network is likely drooling over the idea of reuniting him with "Couple's" Matthew Perry even if it is just for promotional purposes.