Next to The CW, CBS is the network we’ve heard next to nothing from in regards to shows getting picked up. Some announcements were made last month as well as yesterday, but over all there hasn’t been a definitive list yet. But that all changes this morning as CBS has announced their schedule for next season. As for the full list of returning shows? Not many surprises there: How I Met Your Mother; Hawaii Five-0; NCIS: LA; Criminal Minds; CSI: Crime Scene Investigation; The Mentalist; CSI: NY; Blue Bloods; Rules of Engagement; 48 Hours Mystery; The Good Wife; and CSI: Miami. As for the schedule itself? It’s actually quite radical. So before commenting on it, you should read it for yourself:

In what is perhaps the most shocking and unexpected TV news of the day, Deadline Oxford is reporting that House M.D. star Lisa Edelstein (Cuddy) will not return to the show next season. Supporting cast members Omar Epps (Foreman) and Robert Sean Leonard (Wilson) both renewed their contracts this month to return for the eighth (and what is most likely going to be final) season. Edelstein was the only remaining cast member still in the negotiation process and has apparently decided not to return. There is no word on how her character will be written out of the show or if she will appear for the premiere of season eight to conclude her character’s story line. But the silver lining is that the news will most likely soften the blow of recent CBS show cancellation, Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior. A spin-off starring Forest Whitaker to CBS’s hit procedural Criminal Minds was never really that good and the ratings were a testament to the fact that the series truly felt like a cash grab. It also didn’t help that unlike many of CBS’s spin-off series, this one had nothing new to offer to the franchise, not even a city. It was nothing more than another (and inferior) BAU unit going around the country to stop serial killers.

With premiere week over I’ve compiled a list of the week’s top premieres from each night. The winner of each night is based upon the quality of the writing, the shows entertainment value and if it’s a new series, the shows sustainability. This year had some extremely heavy hitters and some of the best performances we have seen on the small screen. So without further ado, here are the winners of the FSR Fall 2010 Watch List (please note that this list only applies to shows that started before or during the week of September 19th). Sunday: Boardwalk Empire In what should come as no surprise, Boardwalk Empire was top dog on Sunday. I’m not big into period pieces which is why I really never got into Mad Men, but Scorsese has made me fall in love with the 20′s and Atlantic City. Steve Buscemi is a great lead and a guy I can’t wait to watch every week. If only Scorsese could direct every episode and not just the pilot.

We’ve done it! We’ve reached the final night of the week. Friday, the night often known as the night where shows go to die, has seen a resurgence in good programming in the last decade. Shows like Law & Order: SVU, Flashpoint and Ghost Whisperer all either started or still currently air on Friday nights. I can’t help but attribute that rise in programming to the invention of DVRs. Now you don’t have to be home to enjoy the programming of the empty night. So send the kids out on their sleep over, break out that 15 year old bottle of scotch and refresh those DVR batteries because here comes part VI of the FSR Fall 2010 Watch List.

You Can’t Spell “Can’t Anyone Stop This?” Without “CSI:NY”