CBS Tries Adventurous New Schedule, Cancels `Jericho,'

NEW YORK (AP) _ CBS canceled the nuclear apocalypse drama, ``Jericho,'' on Wednesday, another sign that television networks are shying away from serial dramas after overloading on them last season.

Wednesday, May 16th 2007, 10:02 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ CBS canceled the nuclear apocalypse drama, ``Jericho,'' on Wednesday, another sign that television networks are shying away from serial dramas after overloading on them last season.

The network unveiled a fall schedule with five new shows, three of them dramas.

``Jericho'' started out strong last fall for CBS. However, like ``Lost'' on ABC and ``Heroes'' on NBC, many viewers abandoned the show after it went on a long midseason hiatus.

``We lost a lot of steam,'' said Kelly Kahl, CBS' chief scheduling executive. ``I know we had loyal viewers ... but the show sort of lost its engine and wasn't performing.''

CBS' only new show that is heavily serialized, ``Swingtown,'' will start in midseason and run uninterrupted until the end of the season. The series is set in the shag-carpeted 1970s, with Chicago-area couples navigating the sexual freedom of the era.

To counter its stodgy image, CBS has scheduled a handful of edgy new shows for the fall: a drama about a vampire, a musical and a drama about a Cuban-American family running a sugar business in Florida.

``For those of you who accuse CBS of being too conservative, you will feel differently when you see the shows we have lined up,'' said Leslie Moonves, chairman of CBS Corp.