• by Wayne Friedman , January 14, 2009

UNIVERSAL CITY, CA -- Undaunted in its already big array of procedural crime dramas, CBS will spin off resurgent veteran "NCIS." Nina Tassler, president of CBS Entertainment, confirmed the news during CBS' part of the Television Critics Association tour.

Tassler did not reveal many other details about the upcoming show. "NCIS" was spun off from its predecessor, an episode of "Jag." "NCIS," a 6-year-old show, made headlines this fall when--almost out of the blue--it rose to 18.8 million viewers at one point this November, its best numbers ever.

"NCIS" will be a repeat of CBS' recent tradition of spinning off crime dramas--especially its "CSI" franchise, which includes three different dramas.

Other news for CBS: The network is taking another stab outside its standard half-hour comedy and hour-long crime-drama strategy. Tassler confirmed that CBS is working on a variety show featuring singer/songwriter John Mayer.

Tassler noted that CBS' early fall success with "NCIS," its rookie show, "The Mentalist" and its growing comedies disproved many myths about television.

She also said that the 18-49 numbers for its comedies were up 8% on Monday. The network also successfully expanded comedy to a second night, Wednesday 8 p.m. to 9 pm. In a world of growing DVR usage, she notes that CBS' success still comes from standard TV tenets: "We still think program compatibility and lead-in help maximize audience."

Overall, she believes that network TV is on good ground, noting that 28 million viewers a night watched NBC's Beijing Olympics last summer and that 30 million viewers came back to watch "American Idol" this past Tuesday night.

"Network TV still works," she says. "Advertisers are still putting their dollars into network despite the recession."

Although CBS ruled the fall, Fox starts up its usual big shows--"American Idol" and "24"--in January. For the past several years, those shows have given Fox a major push, helping it become the No. 1 network among 18-49 viewers.

Tassler was upbeat about this season's battle with "Idol" so far: "We retained 95% of our audience."

Some networks are laying off staffers in this economy, but Tassler says CBS is "incredibly lean." Since all senior CBS executives come from a production background, she said CBS keeps a major focus on costs. Tassler added that summer drama "Flashpoint" a Canadian production, has been a cost-effective show.