Crimetime After Primetime
Crimetime After Primetime is the umbrella title for a group of late-night crime-investigation shows that debuted at various times on CBS during 1991 and 1992, running through late summer of 1993. The line-up was originally supposed to debut in January 1991, but was delayed several weeks due to the beginning of the Gulf War.
History
Prior to 1989, CBS aired the similarly formatted CBS Late Night. The block was canceled to make way for The Pat Sajak Show, a conventional late-night talk show. After the shortening, and eventual failure, of The Pat Sajak Show, a revamped CBS Late Night block debuted, airing a variety of news, talk shows, reruns, and adult game shows.
In March 1991, after a two-month hiatus due to Gulf War coverage, CBS retooled the block by airing original series under a new umbrella title of Crimetime After Primetime.
Much like CBS Late Night did in the late 1980s, Crimetime After Primetime relied heavily on dramas that were imported from Canada, giving the programs (most of which were produced to meet Canadian content quotas) an additional revenue stream. CBS also invested in producing some original series for the block.
The block was dropped when CBS began broadcasting Late Show with David Letterman.
Series lineup
The shows in the series followed this general lineup:
- late Monday nights/early Tuesday mornings: Sweating Bullets (known as Tropical Heat outside of the U.S.),[1] and Urban Angel.
- late Tuesday nights/early Wednesday mornings: Forever Knight (later new episodes were syndicated through May 1996, after CBS cancelled it), and The Exile[2]
- late Wednesday nights/early Thursday mornings: Scene of the Crime, replaced by Dangerous Curves[3]
- late Thursday nights/early Friday mornings: Fly by Night,[4] replaced by Silk Stalkings (continued with new episodes on USA Network through April 1999, after CBS cancelled it)
- late Friday nights/early Saturday mornings: Dark Justice (the series was later rerun by TNT)
Short-lived revival
The concept was temporarily revived under the branding CBS Summer Showcase[5] in 2015 in the interregnum between the finale of Late Show with David Letterman on May 20, 2015 and the premiere of Late Show with Stephen Colbert on September 8, 2015, as the network carried current or last-season repeats of their primetime dramas in the 11:35 pm time slot under the following schedule:[6][7]
- The Mentalist (May 21–June 5)
- Hawaii Five-0 (June 8–12 & July 27–31)
- CSI: Cyber (June 15–19 & August 17–21)
- Elementary (June 22–26)
- Blue Bloods (June 29–July 5)
- The Good Wife (July 6–10 & August 24–28)
- NCIS: Los Angeles (July 13–17)
- NCIS (July 20–24 & September 7)
- Scorpion (August 3–7)
- NCIS: New Orleans (August 10–14)
- Madam Secretary (August 31–September 4).[8][9]
See also
References
- ↑ "Sweating Bullets". TV Guide. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ↑ "The Exile". TV Guide. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ↑ "Dangerous Curves". TV Guide. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ↑ "Fly by Night". TV Guide. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ↑ "Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers Beat the ABC and CBS Time-Slot Competition in All Key Measures for the Week of May 25-29". zap2it. June 4, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
- ↑ "Stephen Colbert To Debut On ‘Late Show’ In September – TCA". Deadline Hollyood. January 12, 2015. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
- ↑ "Not quite Stupid Human Tricks: Repeats of “The Mentalist” will replace Late Show with David Letterman from May 21-June 5". The Comic's Comic. May 20, 2015. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
- ↑ "CBS releases list of "Summer Showcase" programs to replace the Late Show with David Letterman". WDEF News. May 20, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
- ↑ "Biding time between Letterman and Colbert". The Bulletin. June 2, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
External links
- Dangerous Curves at the Internet Movie Database
- Sweating Bullets at the Internet Movie Database
- Fly by Night at the Internet Movie Database