Kevin James is Back with CBS Fall Preview of New Shows
James has not toplined a network series since “The King of Queens” ended its nine-season run on CBS in 2007. Since then, he’s starred in two “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” films and two “Grown Ups” movies, as well as other features.
“CBS Fall Preview” has been a staple on the network since 2004, tapping a variety of talent to host it, including the casts of “How I Met Your Mother,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “We Are Men” and Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs from “2 Broke Girls.” CBS sportscaster Jim Nantz hosted two years ago, when CBS added “NFL Thursday Night Football” to its lineup. Last year, Jane Lynch (“Angel from Hell”) hosted.
This time around, James will give viewers a first look at his new show and five of the network’s other new fall series in a half-hour special shot on Long Island, the setting for “Kevin Can Wait.” (The half-hour comedy premieres September 19 at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT, before moving into its regular time slot of 8 p.m. ET/PT on October 24.)
James’ character, conveniently named Kevin, is a recently retired police officer, married with three kids, who hangs around with a group of other retired cops. Most are still in their 40s, and they have big plans about what to do with the rest of their lives. Yet after turning in their police badges, they discover bigger challenges at home than they did working the streets.
Erinn Hayes plays Kevin’s wife Donna, and joins James in one of the segments of “CBS Fall Preview,” which features clips, exclusive behind-the-scenes footage and cast interviews from “Bull,” “MacGuyver,” “Man with a Plan,” “The Great Indoors” and “Pure Genius.”
In “Bull,” (September 20, 9-10 p.m. ET/PT) Michael Weatherly plays Dr. Jason Bull, a brilliant and brash physician who creates winning strategies for clients involved in high-stakes court cases. The character is inspired by the early legal consulting career of Dr. Phil McGraw. Using a combination of psychology, intuition and high-tech data, he analyzes what makes jurors, lawyers, witnesses and the accused tick in order to win trials.
“MacGuyver” (September 23, 8-9 p.m. ET/PT) reboots the classic series in an action-adventure drama starring Lucas Till as Angus “Mac” MacGuyver. The original ran on ABC between 1985 and 1992 and spawned the long-running “SNL” spoof “MacGruber.” The new series follows MacGyver as he creates a secret organization within the U.S. government and uses his unconventional problem-solving abilities and vast scientific knowledge to save lives.
Matt LeBlanc plays Adam in “Man with a Plan” (October 24, 8:30-9:30 p.m. ET/PT). The lead character is a contractor whose life changes when his wife (Liza Snyder) goes back to work and he begins spending more time with his kids and discovers – like many parents do – that their little angels are really crazy little people. Kevin Nealon, Jessica Chaffin, Diana Maria Riva and Matt Cook round out the cast.
In “The Great Indoors” (October 27, 8:30-9 p.m. ET/PT) Joel McHale plays Jack, who is a well-known adventure reporter for an outdoor magazine. As the title indicates, he finds himself at a desk job, alongside a group of millennials (Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Christine Ko and Shaun Brown) in the digital department of the publication. Culture and generational clashes ensue.
“Pure Genius” (October 27, 10-11 p.m. ET/PT) stars Dermot Mulroney as a veteran surgeon with a controversial past. Brought in by a young Silicon Valley tech titan played by Augustus Prew, Mulroney’s Dr. Walter Wallace takes leadership of a state-of-the-art hospital called Bunker Hill, specializing in treating rare and challenging medical conditions. Created by Jason Katims (“Parenthood,” “Friday Night Lights”), the series could pull on heartstrings as well.
(“CBS Fall Preview” airs September 12 from 8:31-9:01 p.m. ET/PT. It is also available on demand via CBS All Access, the CBS app and CBS.com, along with participating CBS stations’ sites.)
